Michelle Jean Marie Interview Published on: 20, Feb 2019

My hometown is Norridge, IL. We grew up on a short block with 42 houses and over 100 children. We spent our summers outside from dawn until way after dark. Very few houses had air conditioning at that time. So if we wanted someone to come out and play, we just yelled across the driveway to the house next door.

Adventure is definitely NOT my middle name. I did spend a semester in London while in college, though. It was a ‘controlled’ adventure, I guess you could say. Except maybe for the train ride my roommate and I took to Madrid and Paris over Thanksgiving weekend. We didn’t realize there were such cars as sleeping berths. So we spent the first night of the trip sleeping sitting up – with complete strangers sharing the seat, and using our shoulders for pillows. It was quite awkward! Somehow we made it there and back safely.

Not being very adventurous, I spend my spare time reading. It’s safer reading about others’ adventures.

I learned I enjoy order and perfection. Even though I was only checking patients’ charts for accuracy, it was still critical if the charts were ever needed in a lawsuit. Most people would be bored by the work, but I loved it. To this day, I can’t go into a store without tidying the shelves.

I liked the atmosphere of the hospital, but didn’t like hands-on patient care. It was a safe place to be – like my adventures!

Keeping them busy while trying not to impose my need for perfection on them. I wanted them to have fun, but didn’t want to stifle their creativity.

I attended a workshop at a local library about writing romances. I’d been writing short stories for years, and had all these ideas in my head. So when the speaker mentioned there was a local writer’s group exclusively for romance writers, I immediately signed up to attend the next meeting. I wanted to learn all there was to learn about the craft and industry. I didn’t realize how much I didn’t know until I attended those Chicago-North RWA meetings and learned from some of the best.

It was the thrill of a lifetime. It is a very competitive contest. So to make the finals, the manuscript has to be polished and professional. I had some good critique feedback from fellow Chicago-North members which helped me make the finals. And it was a special celebration at the conference in July because my daughters were there with me in Orlando.

The industry was beginning to change back then. Larger publishers were buying up smaller publishers. There were fewer titles being published, and editors/agents were being more selective. While they used to be willing to work with a promising manuscript, they began looking for books that would take little effort to get from manuscript to the bookshelf. Even with an agent, as I had, it was still difficult to break in unless you had something truly unique.

I was already emotionally removed from my first marriage before it ended. So it wasn’t as difficult for me as it might have been. Surprisingly, my biggest challenge was getting support from my family. Once I realized that my friends were my main support, I began to concentrate on my daughters. They were both in high school at the time. I put aside my needs for them.

Well, if you’ve ever seen Legally Blonde, imagine the scene where the hairdresser flirts with the delivery driver. I met my husband while working at a pharmacy. He was the delivery man behind the packages. One smile was all it took.

It really started with a story idea that, after extensive research, used the Great Exhibition of 1851 in one of the scenes. It just fit the story. The rest grew around that. Once I started further researching the Victorian era for my first book, I found more and more information that was fodder for stories, and began to fall in love with the era.

I liked the alliteration. The word ‘liaisons’ also has an underlying double entendre. We often think of liaisons as something illicit. And because I was writing romances, it fit the purpose.

It is all about helping others find a sense of order and clarity in their lives and homes. I help clients get rid of their clutter and create orderly spaces for them. Can you recognize a theme here? It is similar to my first job in the Health Information Management field which called on that logical side of my brain. It’s all about putting things in proper order.

Writing requires a need for time management as well as file management. This is even more true with historicals because of the amount of research involved. I help authors organize their offices, their writing, and their time.

Oh, here’s that ‘orderly” theme again. I had an idea that came to me in a dream, of all things. Then I fleshed out the idea into an outline. After that, I planned out every scene in every chapter before starting to write. I’m a plotter, not a pantser.

No one person really. I pictured the hero first, and wanted someone who would be his complete opposite.

You will never hear me complain about humid summers, except where my hair is concerned. Give me heat any day. It’s the winters I dislike. I’m not a cold-weather person, nor do I enjoy cold-weather activities. At least, not as an adult. When I was a kid, I remember building forts in snow drifts that reached to the garage roof. We’d stay outside for hours, then my mother would make us steaming cups of hot chocolate. I still like the hot chocolate, but I stay inside during the winter whenever I can.

Anywhere outside Illinois. Probably Missouri, Oklahoma or Arkansas. We want to buy some land so we can have a garden, chickens and bees. We would also like to use the space to foster/rescue dogs, especially seniors.

Heavens no! At least not me! My life isn’t that adventurous. The only real life person that it can be connected to is my brother, whose name is Mark. That’s where all the similarities end.

It will come when least expected. Believe me, I wasn’t looking. It just happened. He literally walked into my life.

I love the research process! I read travel books, books on flora and fauna, geography books, architecture, fashion, you name it. There is so much out there, which is why I wanted to share it with others in my Literary Liaisons business. And I’ve been to England a few times, which helps! The key is to know what was invented or built when, so I’m not putting buildings or gadgets into a story before it existed.

I start with character interviews/outlines. Who are they? How did they grow up? What in their past affects how they will act in the future? What are their ultimate goals? And of course, their goals and personalities are in direct contrast to make for an interesting story! Once I have the characters and their goals done, I start plotting the book from start to finish, looking for theme, motivation, conflict, etc. in each of the scenes and chapters. And of course, character growth. What will be the lesson they learn by the end of the book?

It all depends on the book Sometimes I start with the ending and grow it from there. Sometimes I start with an historical event, and as I’m doing my research, the story grows from whatever tidbits I uncover. That’s what happened with TEMPTING FATE. While I was researching the Great Exhibition, I discovered the horrific practice of selling children to factories as apprentices. It’s hard to fathom that a civilized country could allow such treatment of their own children. That’s what sparked the idea of Lady Alanna starting her mission to better their lives. As a sequel, TEMPTING PASSION grew from TEMPTING FATE, so I was bound by dates and historical events. So the story grew more from the characters, and I researched events that would be in line with the story I wanted to tell.

Yes! I’m working on TEMPTING HONOR, the final book in the series. It jumps forward two decades and continues the story of Timothy, the orphan Alanna rescued in TEMPTING FATE.

No date yet. It’s still in the writing phase. So it will be a while before it hits the ‘shelves’.

I joined AllAuthor back in 2017 when TEMPTING FATE was released.

Yes, it has! It’s been a fun way to generate interest in my book and gives me content for my Facebook page and Twitter account.

I really like the promo images you create. It saves me the time and effort!