Author Q&A with Michelle Scott

Author Bio

Michelle Scott is a writer of urban fantasy, fantasy, science fiction and horror. Her work has appeared in such places as Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show, Afterburn SF, and Electric Velocipede. Her novel, The Dragons of Hazlett, was nominated for a 2009 Eppie Award.

Michelle has been a fiction junkie all of her life, but she didn’t start writing until junior high. Over the next decade, she wrote many (really awful) poems, short stories, and limericks.

A native Michigander, she attended Calvin College in Grand Rapids, earning her BA in psychology and meeting the guy of her dreams. After marrying said guy and spending two years doing nothing of great importance, she went on to earn an MFA at Wayne State University in Detroit. Fortunately, her writing improved considerably, and since that time she has published nearly a dozen short stories in a variety of magazines. The Dragons of Hazlett is her first novel.
Currently, she teaches English at a community college in southeastern Michigan and lives with her husband and three terrific children, all of whom are addicted to fiction as much as she. You can contact her at mscott (at) mscottfiction (dot) com.

Interview:

1.What made you want to write Straight to Hell?

I had always wanted to write a book series about heaven and hell because I’m fascinated by the afterlife. I was also drawn to Lilith Straight, the heroine, because she goes from being a shallow, snobbish woman who has no interest in spiritual matters to someone who comes face-to-face with the ultimate powers of good and evil. As she struggles, she learns what is most important to her and what she’ll do to protect it.

2. Did you always want to be a writer? Or, was it something that you just discovered you had a talent for?

I’ve wanted to be a writer since I found out what books were, lol. Both my parents were natural story tellers. My mother would make up her own bedtime stories, and my dad was very good at spinning yarns about his family. I was lucky to be surrounded by books! After a while, I decided to start writing them myself.

3. What was the hardest part of writing Straight to Hell?

Letting Lilith make her own mistakes! Every time she would make a bad choice, I’d want to reach into the pages of the book and shake her! But at the same time, I knew it had to happen. Besides, I’ve never liked characters who are 100% good. In my opinion, the best characters are those who are both sinners and saints (but with the saint side eventually trumping the bad one). Character development is everything.

4. What is your favourite part of Straight to Hell?

I have always loved the part in which Lilith gets to meet with her dead mother, Carrie. Up until that point, Lilith had a lot of conflicted feelings towards her mom (I mean…who wouldn’t?) but when she and Carrie are finally able to speak freely, Lilith begins to understand what a great person her mother was. Crazy, to be sure, but great. I think the conversation gave Lilith a little closure.5. What can readers expect from the second book in the Lilith Straight series?

Guardian angels, a group of citizen soldiers known as the Great Lakes Militia, and a lot of temptation from the hottest incubus in Hell. Unfortunately in this book, Lilith also has to live with the consequences of the bad choices she made in book one.

6. If you had to pick your top 3 favourite book genre's and your top 2 books from each of those genres what would they be?

Hmmm. That’s hard! Okay, my favorite genres are: horror, urban fantasy, and science fiction. My top two books would be: Horror: The Stand by Stephen King and The Shining (also by Stephen King!). My urban fantasy picks would be: Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice and American Gods by Neil Gaiman. And for everything else, I’d go with The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and 1984 by George Orwell.
7. What is the most rewarding thing about being a writer?

Finishing a book! As I’m writing, I never really know how a book is going to end until I write the very last page. Then, I know I have it right when I get that blissful ‘Yes!’ feeling. I always do a happy dance the moment I type ‘the end’ at the bottom of the last page. Even if a story or novel doesn’t make it to readers, I still have the satisfaction of having written a story from start to finish.

8. Who are your biggest supporters?

My family, most definitely. My husband and I have been married for twenty-five years, and I feel *so* lucky to have a guy who understands my need to lock myself away in the attic for hours at a time so that I can write. He built me an office where I can write, and he’s always the first one to read my books. My kids are terrific, too! They do have a tendency to bug me when I sit down to work, but they are so sweet and supportive. I sincerely hope that every writer has as strong of a support system as I do!

9. If you had could interview any author, who would it be and why?

I would *love* to talk to Stephen King because I’ve been reading his books since I was a teenager. I jokingly tell people that he taught me how to write. I’ve always wanted to ask him about his characters and his connection to them. It’s like his characters are his family (something I completely understand!)

10. Do you have any advice for people wanting to be authors?

Read every day. Write every day. Get out and play a little every day. J You can’t learn how to write without reading a lot, and you can’t be a writer if you don’t get your butt in the chair and put some words down. But at the same time, you shouldn’t let writing be the center of your world. Life is too short!

Thanks for letting me interview you Michelle, and for taking time out of your busy schedule!

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