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Waldenbooks bestselling author Michelle Rowen is a self-confessed bibliophile, reality TV junkie, and is well known for making a mean pot of Kraft Dinner. Her novels for Grand Central Publishing (formerly Warner Books) include the Immortality Bites series: BITTEN & SMITTEN (2007 Holt Medallion winner for Best First Book), FANGED & FABULOUS, and LADY & THE VAMP, as well as the standalone paranormal romance, ANGEL WITH ATTITUDE.

Under the pseudonym Michelle Maddox she has written COUNTDOWN (August ’08) for Dorchester Publishing's new and exciting SHOMI line of "speculative" romance novels.

Michelle lives in Southern Ontario, and is currently hard at work on her next fantastical novel.

 

W R I T I N G

I knew I wanted to be a writer from the moment I saw Romancing the Stone. The scene where she finishes her book and celebrates with her cat and an airplane bottle of booze? I was so on board with that.

By the time I was twenty, I had about a dozen "starts" to novels. But I never got past that thirty page hump before another idea distracted me. My characters would inevitably end up in a diner somewhere deciding what to order, while I decided what to do with them (I didn't plot back then).

I bought lots of books on writing. I took courses and workshops. I wondered why it all seemed so difficult. Why even bother? I thought. I didn't have any experience, no credentials, no contacts...nothing. I hadn't even finished a book yet. All I did was talk about wanting to be a writer. What made me think I could get published?

The thing is, I really loved a lot of the ideas I had for books. If only the process was easier!

When I turned thirty I decided to focus. I chose to write something that I loved reading. When I was a teen I read voraciously. From Enid Blyton to Jackie Collins, but mostly what would be considered "Young Adult." I sat down and quickly wrote and finished a young adult trilogy (if you call four years quick, that is. Ha.). I sent it out to a couple of agents, a few publishers. I received complimentary rejections, but still, they were rejections.

I consulted my "idea file" for something else that would hold my interest long enough to finish it. One of the ideas was titled "Diary of the Dearly Departed" and I'd jotted down a question: "What if Bridget Jones was a vampire?" Hmm, I thought. That's kinda fun.

So I wrote it. The Writer's Digest Novel Writing Course helped get me started, but after the first fifty pages I was on my own. I finished it up in about a year from beginning to end. I was very happy with how it turned out, so I researched the market like a woman possessed until I had my list of agents to query. I polished my query letter till it shone. I poked at my synopsis until it was virtually non-crappy.

The second agent I queried offered representation! The week after he sent the manuscript out we had a 2-book deal with Warner Books. I am the living proof that it is possible to get a book deal without any previous publishing experience. It's possible to get an agent by sending out a slushpile query. You just need to write a book you want to write. Make it shine. And start sending it out. If it can happen to me, it can happen to you!

Now on to the next book! Happy reading (and/or writing) everyone!

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I had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalog: "No good in a bed, but fine against a wall." – Eleanor Roosevelt

Stop thinking and start making. – Tim Gunn on "Project Runway"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand." – 'The Velveteen Rabbit' by Margery Williams

Time is a created thing. To say you don't have time is to say 'I don't want to.' – Lao Tzu

Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits. - Henry Ford

Too much ha-ha, pretty soon boo-hoo. - "Scrubs"

If you don't go looking for mistakes, you won't find any. - "Scrubs"

Before you criticize someone you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them you'll be a mile away and you'll have their shoes. - Jack Handey

I don't want to achieve immortality through my work...I want to achieve it through not dying. - Woody Allen

Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music. - Angela Monet

A writer is a person for whom writing is more difficult that it is for other people. - Thomas Merton

Whenever I get bored a man enters the room carrying a gun. - Raymond Chandler

The greater the artist the greater the doubt. Perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize. - Robert Hughes

It is never too late to be who you might have been. - George Eliot

Whenever I'm caught between two evils, I take the one I've never tried. - Mae West

I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by. - Douglas Adams

Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines. - John Benfield

If you do what you've always done, you get what you've always gotten. - A hairstylist on TLC's "A Makeover Story"

Do or do not. There is no try. - Yoda

The best that we can do is to be kindly and helpful toward our friends and fellow passengers who are clinging to the same speck of dirt while we are drifting side by side to our common doom. - Clarence Darrow

Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten. - G. K. Chesterton.

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind. - Dr. Seuss

Yes, I am a dreamer. For a dreamer is one who can find his way by moonlight, and see the dawn before the rest of the world. - Oscar Wilde

Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love. - Rainer Maria Rilke

Never knock on Death's door: ring the bell and run away! Death really hates that! - Matt Frewer

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What was the first book you ever read?
The first memory I have of reading a book and really getting "into" it, was the Adventure series by Enid Blyton.

When did you start writing and why?
This strangely enough ties in with the above question. I remember deciding to write another book in the "Adventure" series (not realizing that this simply wasn't done). I wanted the widowed mother and the adult male "friend" to get married. I guess it was my first stab at fan fiction, really, at the age of 10 or so. I guess it showed that I started writing to make things happen that I wanted to happen in fiction instead of settling for someone else's vision.

What was it like getting 'THE' phone call?
It wasn't really a phone call at all. My agent (the wonderful Jim McCarthy of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management) called and left a message saying for me to check my email. He offered me representation through email which I wholeheartedly accepted, again through email. We didn't even talk on the phone for a month!

The Call to say I had an offer of publication came when I was at the day job. It happened so fast (a day after the manuscripts had been sent out) that I didn't have much of a chance to accept it as something to celebrate. In fact, truth be told, it made me feel sick to my stomach! My dream was becoming a reality, and since I had convinced myself of continual rejection, this was incredibly scary to me!

Is it true that you wrote your novel for National Novel Writing Month? How did you end up getting it published?
Well, yes and no. I am a two time winner of Nanowrimo (2003 & 2004). I wrote the first draft of my fallen angel book (Angel with Attitude) during Nano 2004. At the end of the November, reading it over, I realized I didn't have anything I could use. I wrote the entire thing from scratch only keeping a couple names and the fact that my main character is a fallen angel. I find that I can write quickly when I'm nearly the end of a manuscript, but not at the beginning. Well, I can get the words done, but I don't end up with anything usable if I force the writing. That goes double for the book I wrote in 2003 (this book is now available as a free ebook download here on my website).

I again successfully completed Nano 2006, ending up with a Young Adult fantasy novel. When I find the time to polish it up, I will be submitting it.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
I'd love to go to Australia. Something about that country just fascinates me. The accents, the koala bears, the outback...Hugh Jackman, Julian McMahon, Heath Ledger... need I go on?

Have you ever met any real vampires?
Not that I'm aware of. But I've met many soul suckers.

Do vampires make better romance heroes?
As long as they're at least room temperature and keep their fangs to themselves.

Why vampires? Are werewolves too hairy to make good lovers?
Werewolves are only hairy during their "time of the month." But they tend to need attention and "treats" to get them to behave.

Would you marry a vampire to get story ideas?
Depends what size of diamond the engagement ring has.

How do you make time to write novels while working full time?
That's a good question. Admittedly, most of the time I procrastinate. I'm not an every day writer. When I'm in first draft mode, I try to do four pages a day, but if I don't have time, I don't sweat it. I'm able to write a lot on the weekends and average about 1300 words an hour when I'm focused -- so far it's worked out!

What is your success story? How did you get your agent and get your first contract?
I wrote the first 50 pages of Bitten & Smitten (then titled Dearly Departed) in a novel-writing course with Writer's Digest. I received many good comments from my instructor, enough to make me believe that maybe it had a chance out in the cold cruel world. I hired an independent editor to help me shine it up, and made my list of potential agents. The second agent I sent it to acccepted me right out of the slushpile. He suggested a few more ways to tighten up the manuscript, then requested 10 copies which he sent out to publishers. One day later (!!!) we had an offer but we decided to give the other houses a chance to counter-offer. One week later I accepted a two-book contract with Warner Books. I realize that this is not the way it usually happens. It was a matter of right place, right time. And a little deal I made with the devil.

Where do you get your ideas?
From my password-protected "Ideas File" on my hard drive. Actually, I might see an image in a magazine. A fleeting scene in a movie. A word, a phrase, a dream. Questioning what's already being done. Like, 'why couldn't the vampires be the good guys, and the vampire slayers be the bad guys,' was the spark that started Bitten & Smitten. Whatever the idea is, though, I'll add it to my ideas file, because ideas are fleeting if not captured and caged immediately - the good and the bad.

Is there any advice you can offer people that are trying to get published that they might not NORMALLY know?
Realize that if you want to get published by a major publisher, your story has to be something people want to read. It sounds simplistic, but if your idea has no commercial value but being a 'book of your heart' then your odds are less than if it has mass market appeal. Fiction is a business. Study the market. But still write something you love. There is a middle ground. You just have to find it.

Are there stories in your head that sound good in concept but when applied to paper, suck? Do you think those will ever make it to reality?
Many. I have the start of at least ten novels on my hard drive. All fizzled out because I didn't know where to go with them after about page thirty. I don't think they'll ever see the light of day, but I have no problem cannibalizing them and using elements, a character here, a setting there, a joke or two, in future work.

What keeps you writing when the self-doubt demons show up?
I call them doubt weasels, myself. Wish I had the perfect answer to that one. They hound me. Can weasels hound? But I work through them because I don't have much of a choice because I want to be a writer. I guess, when I'm feeling down about myself, my own talents, when the weasels are whispering in my ear that I'm a no-talent loser who's just damn lucky that paranormal chick-lit is "in" right now, I try to focus instead on the story. My characters. If I can't believe in myself, I should at least be able to believe in the story I'm trying to tell. And then I think about the good things. The compliments, the contract, the days when the writing goes well and I'm happy with what I have. And Anne Lamott has an entire chapter in "Bird by Bird" (excellent writing book -- highly recommended!) all about "Shitty First Drafts." So I allow myself a little leeway when it comes to writing crap the first go-around.

And when all else fails, I take the day (or week) off and eat a lot of ice cream.

What workshops/websites did you find helpful as you perfected your craft?
I took a few courses through Writer's Digest. Namely the Novel Writing Correspondence Course, which is now a online workshop. You're mentored through your first 50 pages with a published author. I also took a short story workshop through WD and a "Creating Dynamic Characters" course. I own approx. thirty books about the writing process and for a time, endlessly researched the internet for tips and tricks. Nothing in particular was the "key" to writing, but all the information settled over me like a big fiction-writing blanket.

What are your favorite and least favorite things about writing?
I love pre-writing. Figuring out who my characters are, what they look like, what they want. What I'm going to make them do. I love outlining. I don't do it to death. As long as I know where they're starting, where I want them to be at mid-way, what my climax should be, and how I want things to turn out, that's enough for me. The first draft can be scary, especially at the beginning, but still exhilerating. Least favorite thing? Frankly, I like it all, but if I had to pick one thing, it would be revising.

Do you think someone should try for an agent or a publisher first?
No question about it, get an agent. Only because the big New York publishers won't look at unagented manuscripts.

You talk about a YA series in addition to your vampire books. What is your dream genre and how many do you plan to write for at this point?
Hmmm. Dream genre. I know that my future plans for books all include fantasy and romantic elements. I love Young Adult. But I guess my dream genre would be a mainstream fantasy series, a la Laurell K. Hamilton.

Do you do any research for your novels?
As little as possible, that's why I like to write fantasy! LOL. I can just make most of the stuff up out of my head. However, there are a few things I need to research. Real locations, history, that sort of thing where it pertains to the plot. I make full use of the internet for that. I'm a Google search queen!

What do you suggest for an aspiring writer to improve their craft?
Take courses where you get one-on-one time with your instructor. Read books about the craft - every big book store has a "writing" section. Visit other established writer's websites and read about their creative process. Love your story and characters like they're real, not just fiction. Get great beta-readers you can trust to give you an 'honest' opinion, and don't baulk at the idea of hiring a professional editor to help you shine your work up! Oh yeah, read other novels for the fun of it, and also for analysis of what the author did to make their story publishable.

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