Author Interview - Michelle Abbott

Please welcome Author Michelle Abbott for this weeks interview!



1. Have you always had a passion for writing?

Yes always. Back when I was a teenager I loved to write poems and I kept a diary. I won a short story writing competition organized by my school.

2. Does what you read influence what you write and what are some of your favourite authors/books?

Only in so far as the genre, I love to read romance and so I write what I love. I make a point never to read any romance while I’m writing a book so I don’t inadvertently copy another author. I love the Dark Duet series by CJ Roberts, the Thoughtless series by S.C. Stephens and the Undeniable series by Madeline Sheehan.

3. What are your biggest inspirations?

I come up with a basic idea for the characters and plot but once I begin writing, my characters are my biggest inspiration. The scenes play out like a movie in my head and I write down what I see and hear.

4. Do you have a technique in how you choose characters and/or locational settings?

I choose locations that I have some knowledge of, my current work in progress is set in a village that I went to for a vacation. My In Chains series of books were set in Kent, where I live. My male characters are always underdogs who fall hard for my heroine.

5. Do you listen to music while you are creating your masterpieces?

No, I have to work in silence or I get distracted. I listen to music prior to writing a scene. I create playlists for my books and these can be found on my website http://www.michelleabbott.com

6. What do you do to stay motivated and avoid writer’s block?

I don’t get writer’s block, there are days I don’t feel like writing but I just force on through because I know that once I begin typing the ideas will flow and I’ll enjoy it. It’s just a case of getting the first couple of sentences down.

7. How has becoming a published author (independent or traditional) changed your perspective on life and is it everything you expected it to be? (If you are not published yet – what changes do you foresee?)

I didn’t realise it would be so hard to get noticed or that marketing would take up so much of my time. That said, I’ve found I enjoy marketing and that skill can be put to use in other areas of my life.

8. What are your biggest challenges as an author?

Getting noticed. Once people read my books, the majority like them, the problem is getting readers to discover them in the first place. If anyone would like to check me out I’m on Goodreads, facebook, twitter and G+

http://www.goodreads.com/michelleabbott

https://www.facebook.com/MichelleAbbottRomanceAuthor

https://twitter.com/MichelleAbbott4

http://gplus.to/michelleabbott


9. Do you have any pets?

No, I had a cat many years ago.

10. What hobbies do you have outside of reading and writing?

I spend hours reading and writing, which doesn’t leave much time for other hobbies. I do enjoy travelling and seeing new places.

11. Where is the most exciting/memorable place you have been in the world?

There are two, the U.S and Greece. I’ve travelled across a large part of the U.S through Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Georgia and Florida. I love the space, people and the food. I also adored Greece, the little white washed cottages, dining out under the stars and the laid back way of life.

12. Tell us about your latest work in progress or most recent published work…

My work in progress is titled Just Stay and I hope to have it ready to publish in February or March 2014. It’s a romance set in a village in Cornwall. My two main characters are aged eighteen and nineteen, so I guess it could fall into the new adult genre. I’m loving Trey and Pia. Trey comes across as a player who loves himself but really he’s troubled and in need of love. Here’s the blurb:


The last place Pia wants to be is on a family vacation in a sleepy Cornish village. She's anticipating two weeks of mind-numbing boredom. Then she meets Trey, a local boy. He's absolutely gorgeous. The trouble is — he knows it. He's arrogant and egotistical, and Pia intends to avoid him at all costs.

But Trey is not the kind of guy who gives up easily. When he sets his sights on Pia, her resistance is futile.

It's just a holiday romance, some light-hearted fun, right? But one of them is about to discover that still waters do, indeed, run deep. When what lurks beneath the surface finally erupts, the consequences may prove to be catastrophic.