Interview with Author Michelle Garren Flye and Giveaway

Today I would like to welcome to RFTC author Michelle Garren Flye. Michelle is currently on tour promoting her book Where The Heart Lies and has stopped by to answer a few questions. Please give Michelle a warm welcome.

Michelle Garren Flye is a mother, writer and editor based in coastal North Carolina. She obtained her degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1992. Not liking the hours required of a journalist, she went on to obtain a Master’s in Library and Information Science from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1997. When her first child was born in 2000, she packed her diplomas away and began a new life as a stay-at-home mom, which fortunately afforded her the opportunity to pursue her writing on a semi-regular basis.

Michelle has served in various capacities for several online and print literary endeavors, including Dark Recesses, edifice WRECKED, Horror Library, Butcher Shop Quartet, and Tattered Souls.

Michelle is the author of three romance novels, Where the Heart Lies (Carina Press 2012), Winter Solstice (Lyrical Press 2011) and Secrets of the Lotus (Lyrical Press 2010). Michelle also self-published a fiction book titled Weeds and Flowers for the Kindle in December 2011.

Places to find Michelle:

| Site | Facebook | Twitter |

First off, can you tell us a bit about you?
Well, I’m a writer, a mom, and a wife. I’ve been trained to be a librarian and a journalist, but I’m not currently plying either of those trades. I have been an editor, but it’s a tough job, which makes me a little more sympathetic with the editors who work on my stuff. I love cats and tolerate dogs. And I live in North Carolina, which is a huge part of my identity since I’ve lived all but two years of my life here, and spent those two years counting the days until I could move back.

Did you always want to be a writer?
Yes! Absolutely. I wrote my first story when I was six. It was about “Princess Linda” and the conflict was that she didn’t want to make her bed. I was always on the school literary magazines and newspapers when I was a kid.

What kind of writer are you? Pantser or Plotter?
I think I fall somewhere between these two. I always have an idea of where my story is going, but I don’t always foresee the twists and turns it’s going to take to get there. I’ve always said that my characters tell me that, and the better I get to know them, the easier the writing is for me.

Where do your ideas come from?
Everywhere. Literally. I modeled Alicia in Where the Heart Lies from my daughter’s Little Mermaid doll. Tall, beautiful, long red hair. I do pull some general conflict from my own life, like the problem with small town gossips, but I keep this very generic, and never ever model my characters on anyone I know in real life. On the other hand, I will also add that I did pull a lot of Alicia’s favorable characteristics from some brave women I know whose husbands have served in the military. I’ve seen these women carry on their everyday lives with their children, accomplishing some amazing things, just as if they can expect their husbands home at six o’clock for dinner like everyone else. And I’m sure it’s the same for men whose wives serve in the military.

A la Twitter style, can you describe your book (or series) in 140 characters or less.
Even a broken heart keeps beating. Can war widow Alicia learn to love again? Is Liam the man to help her? Or are they betraying the memory of the man they both cared about?

What are some of your favorite kinds of stories to read?
I love to read about families. The family dynamic is an interesting one. You know, you can choose your friends and even your enemies to some extent, but you can’t choose your family! The interplay between mothers and daughters, brothers and sisters, husband and wife—it’s always good for creating drama.

Do you have a favorite book and if so what is it?
I have a lot of favorite books. Too many to list, really. But I think the books I go back to re-read over and over are the ones that have influenced me the most. Like Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and Black Beauty by Anna Sewell. Oh, and Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card and Persuasion by Jane Austen… Well, you get the idea.

What are the scenes that are the hardest for you to write?
I have been fussed at by multiple editors for glossing over conflict. I don’t want to write about people I don’t like, so I tend to make these scenes much too brief, and even create characters that are too easy to like. But life is not rose-colored, and you have to have conflict to move a story along and keep it interesting.

If you could have dinner with any three authors, who would you choose and why?
Intriguing question. I think I know the answer, but it’ll never happen because they’re all dead. Jane Austen, Samuel Clemens and William Shakespeare would be lively and fun, and since I’m pretty shy, I could just sit back and listen to them. I’m pretty sure they’d all either love or hate each other. Either way, it would be entertaining.

Last question, are you working on anything right now?
I’m always writing. I just finished a shorter romance that’s still untitled and in the first stages of editing. And I have a couple of others I’m shopping around at the moment, so who knows when the next one will be out? Hopefully soon.

All widowed Alicia Galloway has left of her war-hero husband are the flag that draped his coffin and his final wishes: to move to his hometown, take over the family bookstore and enjoy a simple, quiet life with their two small children. When she arrives, her husband’s best friend makes that new life anything but simple. How can she be so drawn to Liam Addison?

Liam only intended to help Alicia get settled. But one unexpected kiss awakens his long-held forbidden feelings. Soon, the town busybodies swoop in to warn Alicia away from him. Because no matter the man he’s become, he’ll never live down his reputation as town troublemaker and wolfish womanizer.

No one wants the war hero’s sweet widow and the supposedly former bad boy together. But the more everyone tries to keep them apart, the closer he and Alicia get. And the more determined Liam is to prove he’s a changed man. Will it be enough to convince Alicia to let a new love in her life?

Purchase: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

Alicia raised her eyebrows. “You mean to say you never made out in the backseat of a car that was too small?”

Liam snorted, looking past her to the back window of the Camaro. An image of what it would be like to hold her in that backseat left him breathless. Damn it to hell. It can’t really be wrong, can it? He took her hand, his fingers lightly twining with hers. He reached up with his free hand and touched her face. “I missed you. I never thought I could miss a woman after just over a week, but I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” She said it as if it didn’t matter, but she reached for his other hand. She looked up at him, lacing her fingers through his. Waiting for him to make the next move.

And he couldn’t do it.

After several moments, she released his hands and started to turn away, but he stopped her, one hand on her shoulder, the other on the side of her face. He bent his head and kissed her, tasting her lips with little repeated nips. He drew away and looked at her, still hesitating, and she put both arms around his neck and pulled him to her. This time he turned his head to the side and slid into the kiss, the hand on her shoulder shifting to her hip while the other hand moved behind her neck, tangling in her hair and pulling her closer. He never wanted to let her go.

God help me. I’m so sorry, Ty.

Check out what's up for grabs.

Up for grabs:

• 1 commenter will win post cards from Carina Press along with a coupon for 10% off. 
• 1 lucky winner from the ENTIRE tour will win a $10 Amazon Gift Card along with a copy of Bartlett's Poems for Occasions
  

To Enter:

• Please leave a meaningful comment or question for Michelle
• Please leave your email address along with your comment to be entered. 
• Giveaway ends November 26th

Good Luck =)