Six Questions with Michelle Rowen...

Today I welcome my special guest, Michelle Rowen. I met Michelle a couple of years ago after I read her fantastic debut paranormal romance novel, Bitten & Smitten, featuring fledgling vampire Sarah Dearly. Sarah was turned into a vamp after the blind date from hell, literally, and her adventures - and frequently, flights for her life - with the love of her life, Master Vampire Thierry de Bennicoeur, have continued into the 4th book of the Immortality Bites series, which will be released March 31st. The fifth and final book, Tall, Dark & Fangsome, will be out in September. *wails*

Not only is Michelle an entertaining writer of paranormal romances, YAs, and hot paranormal contemporaries, as well as edgy futuristic romantic suspense novels as Michelle Maddox, she's also a terrific person. I've asked her numerous writing questions over the past couple years, and she's always been helpful and encouraging. She's also pretty damn funny, too. ;)

Here's the blurb for Stakes & Stilettos, which Michelle is generously giving away a copy of to one lucky commenter!

Staked, cursed, and still single…

Newly-vamped Sarah Dearly wants her normal life back, but fate is fighting against her. She tries to get a nice, regular job and gets staked at the interview, only to be rescued by a masked vampire who calls himself the Red Devil. Then a wallflower-turned-witch curses her, making her a bloodthirsty, sun-allergic nightwalker — the worst vampire there is. As if all that weren’t bad enough, she can’t get married because her 600-year-old boyfriend, Thierry, is in a centuries-long marriage of convenience he can’t escape.

…it’s enough to make a girl start biting.

As Sarah’s nightwalker tendencies make her more dangerous, even to those she loves, she’ll have to counteract that curse, unmask the increasingly intriguing Red Devil, and — oh yeah – get a commitment from her man. But if that’s what it takes to secure her happiness, Sarah is ready…even if it means embracing her inner vamp to do it.

I've read Stakes & Stilettos, and it's a great book! Any book featuring Thierry makes the top of my list...I have a wee bit of a crush on him. *blushes*

Now without further delay... Michelle

1) Have you always wanted to be a writer?

Almost always. Since I was about ten and I started rewriting the ending of books I read to suit my own tastes. I originally wanted to be a movie star (movie star, not actress, mind you), but that evolved to writing. Less paparazzi.

2) Are you writing in your "dream" genre or sub-genre, or is there another you'd love to try?

You know, I actually am. I’m very lucky. Paranormal/fantasy, especially with the mix of humor and drama is my favorite genre to read and it’s a thrill that I’m able to write the kind of books I used to look for on the shelves. I also really, really love darker, grittier urban fantasy, and I got to try that voice out a bit with my Michelle Maddox title Countdown. I’d love to do more stuff like that in the future. As far as a genre I haven’t written in that I’d like to try...I might say contemporary, or books that have less focus on the romance, but I think my stuff will always have some element of supernatural + romance in them, even if it’s only a small piece.

3) If you'd never gotten published or if the contracts dried up tomorrow (God forbid) would you continue to write anyway?

Maybe a little. Like, short stories, etc. I always had an eye on being published from the very beginning – I wanted to share my stories and characters with others, so if that wasn’t even a possibility, I’d probably gravitate to another area of the arts that I’d get viewer/reader connection – acting, illustration, etc. Writing is such a solitary profession that I can’t imagine doing it long-term without any outside interest or feedback. I’m a sucker for validation. It makes me feel like I actually exist. LOL

4) In the Immortality Bites series, why is Thierry the right man for Sarah? Other than being sexy, sophisticated, and protective, that is. That you've said you always imagined he resembled Hugh Jackman doesn't hurt either, but that may just be me. ;)

Thierry is the right man for Sarah because he is her exact opposite – serious and haunted from the past compared to her light and optimistic hope for the future. They complete each other. I think finding each other was like finding that piece of themselves that was missing, especially in Thierry’s case. He’d lived 600 years without that bit of light in his life and when he found Sarah he didn’t really know what to do with her, only that he couldn’t live without her. It’s been a slow character arc for him coming to this profound realization over the four books they're in together of the five book series. She is the prozac for his depression and he is the weight that keeps her balloon from flying off into the clouds. If that makes any sense. ;-)

5) What writing irons do you have in the fire right now? And what can we look for next from you?

I’m lucky enough to have several irons in that roaring fire. The last two books in my Immortality Bites series are out this year from Grand Central Publishing -- Stakes & Stilettos in April and Tall, Dark & Fangsome in September. I have the first book of my young adult Demon Princess series launching in October from Walker Books for Young Readers. My first Harlequin Blaze, a super sexy paranormal romp called Hot Spell is out in November. And in 2010 I’m launching a new humorous paranormal romance series with Berkley Books about demonic possession starting with Living in Eden. And then I might slip into a small coma.

6) Now the fun stuff...If you had to pick, would you rather date a vampire (and which one) or be a vampire yourself? (For the purposes of this question, Twilight's Edward Cullen is a viable choice, even if his portrayer is a wee bit young. ;))

Well, this is one of those “that depends” questions. It depends on what kind of vampire we’re talking about. I’d love to be the kind of vamp I write about – that are a lot like humans except for immortality, a bit of (hygienic) blood drinking, and some extra sensory stuff. I wouldn’t want to be a murderous monster who can’t go out into the sunlight which is actually what Sarah, my main character in Stakes & Stilettos, gets cursed with – poor dear). So, yes, I’d like to live forever if I could do it on my terms. But if I could only have a vamp boyfriend, I’d have to go with Spike from Buffy. He was the perfect mix of bad boy and guardian angel. And just for the record, the divine Robert Pattinson is 22 and anything over 20 is completely viable. ;-)

Now it's your turn. Comment on this post by midnight Eastern time on Wednesday, March 25th and you're in the running for a copy of Michelle's latest novel, Stakes & Stilettos. As someone who is lucky enough to have already read S&S, I can tell you you're in for a treat!

Thanks for stopping by, Michelle! To commemorate her visit, here's a pic of one of her favorite vampires, Edward Cullen from Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. He's pretty, even if he is young. ;)


Want to find out more about either of Michelle's alter egos? Visit http://www.michellerowen.com/ or www.michellemaddox.com