Interview with Michelle Sutton

Today, please join me in welcoming the talented Michelle Sutton to Believing is Seeing.

SS: Tell me a little about yourself. How long have you been writing?

MS: I’m a mother of two teenage sons and a husband of 19 years. We live in Arizona and have since 1991. I started writing in August 2003 – exactly six years ago this month. I never liked writing before I met this author who I admired, Cynthia Rutledge, and she told me she started writing when her kids left home for college. I thought if she could write without having done it before, then why not try writing myself?

SS: What genre do you like to write best in and why?

MS: I love writing romance. Anything that gets the pulse racing and really pulls the reader into the moment and the immediacy of the characters’ love relationship.

SS: Did any one person influence your writing style?

MS: Probably Cynthia Rutledge. She wrote inspirationals with fabulous romantic tension and sizzle. She now writes for Harlequin Silhouette line.

SS: Do you have a special writing spot? Where do you do your best work?

MS: Not really. I just write on the living room couch. I have a laptop on the coffee table.

SS: How do you find ideas for your books?

MS: From real life. I have either lived through the situation or know someone who went through it. I take a bunch of angst filled dramatic situations I’m familiar with in real life either through friends, work, or personal experience, and I blend them together to come up with a fictional story. That’s how you bring real emotion into any story. You have to feel it first. That’s not to say that any of my books are autobiographies or memoirs. They aren’t those things, but the emotions in the story are from real life experiences.

SS: How difficult is it for you to get into “writer’s mode”?

MS: Not hard at all. I go with the flow. I never make myself write because that will kill the fun for me.

SS: I know you also have a full time job. How do you balance the two?

MS: Ugh. Yes, I work for the government. I write novels when I am not working. I never watch television and that helps tremendously.

SS: Tell me a little about your new book.

MS: My new book with Desert Breeze Publishing is called Danger at the Door. I call it my Pizza Guy story. I meant to write a straight category romance and it ended up coming out romantic suspense.

SS: How did the inspiration for this work come about?

MS: I was sitting in KFC one day watching a guy take people’s orders and thought it might be fun to create a character who seems to be an ordinary restaurant employee earning around minimum wage, but the guy is actually wealthy and owns numerous restaurants. That’s what started the idea.

SS: Do you identify with the characters you write about?

MS: Usually. Depends on the character. I have a little of myself in everyone, but most of my characters are nothing like the real me.

SS: You have several books in print/e-print. Is there a favorite among them?

MS: My favorite story is probably First Love, but that is not finished yet. It’s the second in a series of three cowboy romances I’m writing for Desert Breeze Publishing. First Love is a powerful story. It releases in 2010.

SS: You’ve sold a lot of books. Please share the secret.

MS: When you have a good agent and a lot of written work circulating it’s just a matter of time before the floodgates open. That’s what happened to me. I sold like 8 titles in three months!

SS: Congratulations on your success as an author. How many books do you have in print/e-print now? Which is your favorite?

MS: Right now I have three in print. My favorite…..hmmmm…they are all so different. I can’t pick a favorite.

SS: What do you love about your editor (or publisher)?

MS: My publisher/editor at Desert Breeze is Gail. She genuinely loves my writing. I can write anything if I know my editor is going to enjoy reading it.

SS: What piece of advice do you have for aspiring writers that you wished someone told you when you started?

MS: The hardest part is marketing. Writing the story and getting an agent is a piece of cake in comparison.

SS: What’s the most quirky name you’ve given a character and why?

MS: Deena Fern. Because it’s a nickname and her real first name is a flower. She doesn’t want anyone to know what she was named because her loopy drug addicted mom named her.

SS: Who was the most entertaining character you’ve written?

MS: The most entertaining character is Tony. I just love messing up his life. He’s in my Second Glances series with Sheaf House. My favorite character in Danger at the Door with Desert Breeze is probably Bojan. He’s hot and he’s funny.

SS: It’s been a pleasure talking with you Michelle. What else would you like to share?

MS: I’m all talked out. Thanks for the opportunity!

Blurb for Danger at the Door: Upon her fiancé’s death, Laney became a recluse who only left her home for emergencies. She managed to survive – barely – on food delivery service and her work-at-home job. When she tries to move on from her grief, the commemorative meal she orders is ruined. However, it leads to an unlikely friendship with an attractive man, Bojan, who speaks little English.

As he befriends Laney he continually says the wrong things, but he doesn’t give up trying to win her trust. Meanwhile, she has this strange feeling of being watched and wonders if she’s losing her mind.

Complicating things further, every time she leaves her house something bad happens, confirming that she is safer at home. Can Bojan convince Laney she’ll be safe with him, or will his presence put her in further danger? Will he be able to protect the woman he loves before it’s too late?

To purchase this book, please go to: Desert Breeze Publishing

To find out more about Michelle and her books, please visit the following links:

Michelle’s website
Edgy Inspirational Author blogspot
Christian Fiction Online Magazine