M.J. Schiller

I was born in Kansas City, Kansas, but moved to St. Louis, Missouri before I was two. My favorite childhood memory is holding my dad’s hand. My parents were divorced when I was in the second grade and my mom had custody of me and my little sister, my dad of my older sister and brother. We lived out of state, so I didn’t see my father much. I particularly remember him holding my hand as we walked over a bridge that spanned the highway to the Checker Dome, where St. Louis Blues hockey was played. I remember being terrified of the cars whizzing below me, but reassured by my dad’s presence. I also remember him telling me great stories as a child. Do you remember the first book you ever read?

No. But I loved Curious George, Where The Wild Things Are, and when I got older, Nancy Drew. Who is the most supportive person in your life when it comes to your writing?

I’m blessed with many people who support me. My husband doesn’t complain about the time I spend writing and helps me make marketing decisions. I have two people who I’ve never met in person who are huge fans and support me in everything I do. But one of my biggest fans is my neighbor’s mom. She was also a lunch lady before she retired, so we have that bond. She always asks about my writing when I see her and shares my book with others. It’s so sweet! Which is the most valuable lesson you've learned at the University of Missouri-Columbia?

That the money you take out of an ATM isn’t free money, it does come from somewhere, and that somewhere’s your bank account! How was your experience of co-writing your first book with Mary Ellen Murphey?

Well, we were very proud of our story, (written on blue hotel stationary, hole-punched, and bound with thick yarn), so it must have been a good experience. The buckeye business that we went into later, however, was a dud. Turns out not many people want to purchase buckeyes! How much your writing has changed since second grade?

It is always changing, improving, I hope. I fell into the normal traps when I first started out—lots of dialogue tags, adverbs out the wazoo, and a lot of filler words that I have since gotten rid of. As a result, I have fewer words that work harder which makes the writing tighter. How did you begin writing the LOVE AND CHAOS SERIES?

I’ve written a lot of rock romance, but no series up until now. It all started with Zane’s story, which arose from a car trip where I was listening to music and had a lot of time to think. Once I’d defined the four characters in Book One, it was easy to plug them into situations that would test them and make them better. Who is your favorite character from the Rocking Romance series?

Ooh. That’s tough! That’s like asking me to choose between my kids. I’m going to have to go with Chad from TRAPPED UNDER ICE as he was my first! What does it take to write a romantic suspense book?

I think romance and suspense go hand in hand in many ways. When tension is high, responses to that are strong. People can be brought together very quickly when the heat is on and you have to choose to trust someone. Then the danger that the characters get in leads them to bring their best to help the other characters. What do you enjoy reading the most?

Boy! I wish I had more time to read. It has to be romance with a happy ending. (I don’t like stuff that’s too dark.) One of my favorite authors is Kara O’Neal. She writes westerns and always seems to make interesting matches and put them in interesting scenarios. If a famous person came up to you and said in an authoritative tone "Do you know who I am?" What would you say back?

Dude, I don’t even know who I am most days! What is one of the biggest mistakes you made as a new author and how did you fix it?

I was in a boxset once with other authors and I was in charge of putting the manuscript up for sale. There was much discussion through emails after an author said they didn’t know if they’d be able to finish on time or not. I thought we’d agreed to put it up, believing she’d get the manuscript finished, but when I put it up for pre-order an author went ballistic saying it hadn’t been agreed on. I remember at the time I was at a Blues hockey game. As it turned out, the writer who was behind with their manuscript ended up pulling out of the project all together. What I learned from this is get a definite okay from everybody when proceeding with something in a boxed set and make sure you document it. What movies can you watch all the time and never get tired of watching?

The Holy Grail, What About Bob, and any Christmas movie! Which is the next book you are working on? Is it a series or a stand-alone book?

I’m currently working on SATAN’S SPAWN, Book Eight in my DEVILISH DIVAS SERIES. I will follow that up with the fourth and final book in my LOVE AND CHAOS SERIES, ROCK OF SALVATION. How has been your experience working with AllAuthor?

I love working with AllAuthor. Not only because they do a good job of promoting my books, but they are very pleasant to work with and seem to genuinely care about their customers. Thank you for interviewing me!