Lauren: You all should know up front how much I love Michelle Pillow. She’s one of the people I think consistently makes romance authors look professional. She works hard, she always conducts herself like an adult in public, she’s not prone to oversharing or acting like a tool and she also happens to be a great writer. On top of all that, she quite often shares what she knows with other authors – proving time and again, what community really means. So, it’s not a surprise really that I read her books and thought interviewing her here would be fun. Without any further delay….

LD – Where to start? You’re such a jack of all trades, woman, it’s sort of intimidating!

MP: LOL. People say that, but I hardly feel intimidating. Though, I’ve been told I have a pretty mean growl—gerrrrrr… See, as fierce as a baby kitten.

LD: Let’s see – how about you give us a few details on your upcoming Cheek release, Along For The Ride?

MP: I can do that. *wink*

My books for the CHEEK series are just fun, light contemporaries with lots of erotic romance thrown in.

LD: This is book two in a series about the Matthews sisters – how many books planned in the series?

MP: There will be 5 total, one for each sister, so there should be three more after Along for the Ride. The next, book 3, is contracted — Recipe for Disaster and will release Spring 2008. It’s already on preorder at Amazon.com. The other two aren’t contracted yet, but I do plan on writing them soon.

LD: What’s on tap for you in 2008?

MP: I keep on a pretty busy writing schedule, though I did take somewhat of a break from this year as to the amount of books I put out. Even so, it’s a pretty fast pace. I plan on stepping it up next year and completely a few series I have out there—Space Lords for NCP, the Matthews Sisters for Virgin Books, and hopefully the last of the Call of the Lycan series will come out from EC. We just contracted it there.

I’ve got a few submissions floating around I hope to hear back about soon, but I tend to go where the muse tells me to.

LD: What’s your writing schedule like?

MP: Ever changing. It has to be with my lifestyle. I’ve always got three things going at once. Normally, I try to write every day, sometimes all day with a few interruptions. I tend to do best late at night, but my schedule doesn’t always allow me to stay up until four in the morning.

LD: When you’ve had a crappy day, do you reach for salty snacks or chocolate?

MP: Coffee. And if I can trick my husband into cooking, it’s a bonus. He makes the best pasta.

LD: I know you write across several genre lines – do you have a favorite?

MP: My first love was historical romances. It’s what I originally started out writing. Now I love them all—paranormal, futuristic, fantasy, ect… But historicals have a special place in my heart. Maiden and the Monster was one of the books I wrote pre-publication and it ended up winning the RT award. That is one of those first-love futuristics. I have several more just like it waiting for the right home.

LD: What are five comfort reads?

MP: I tend to comfort movie watch, lol, but normally only because my eyes are so tired from working. Some of my favorites of all time are Pride and Prejudice, Amanda Quick’s historicals—Rendezvous, et all, Mandy Roth’s books (plus I can call and bug her for what happens next in a series if the next book isn’t out yet), nonfiction books… I love nonfiction. Sometimes I read them for fun.

LD: What are you reading right now?

MP: Funny you should ask, Lauren. I’ve got your new EC one here, lol. (and I’m so not lying and playing kiss-up) I’m also reading NJ Walters Tapestry Dreams and Kelly St John’s Ghost and Roses— I tend to go on binges and read several at once. Oh, and I hope to get to Kootz’s Velocity soon. It has the best opening paragraph ever—guy gets killed by garden gnome. That alone won me over on the book. (Lauren here – see what great taste she has 😉 )

LD: Are you superstitious or do you have writing rituals?

MP: Does requiring offerings of coffee, cabana boys massages and the whole “Michelle is a Goddess” chanting/fire dance count? Then, no, no rituals. LOL

LD: How do you balance your family life with your professional life?

MP: Family has to come first. Period. But, they know I work at home and know to leave me alone so I have time to work. I really don’t have it all that hard.

Anything else you’d like to add?

MP: Thanks for having me, Lauren!

If readers want to learn more about me or get in touch, here is me on the web:
LINKS
Blog – www.michellepillow.com/authorblog/
Website- www.michellepillow.com
Press Kit – www.michellepillow.com/press_kit.htm
Newsletter – http://groups.yahoo.com/group/michellempillow/join
Myspace – www.myspace.com/michellepillow
Email – michelle_pillow@yahoo.com
The Hussiesâ„¢ Website – http://www.thehussies.us/
THE RAVEN
Free Ongoing, Online Paranormal Story http://www.ravenhappyhour.com/raven.htm
Paranormal Blog- http://ravenvampireclub.blogspot.com/
Podcasts – http://www.ravenhappyhour.com/raven_podcasts.htm
Raven Reader Yahoo Group (chatting)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/The_Raven_Vampire_Nightclub/join

😉 😉