Interview: Countdown to Coastal Magic Convention With Tere Michaels

Lynn: Hi, Tere, thanks so much for being here with us today to help in the Countdown to Coastal Magic Convention. Let’s start with an easy question: What got you interested in writing?

Tere: I started reading very early (thank you Sesame Street!) and so my mother got me a subscription to a Disney magazine. At some point, I realized that people wrote these stories and it was like a light bulb went on over my head. I knew that was what I wanted to do.

Lynn: Who are some of your go-to authors?

Tere: I sadly don’t have as much time as I used to for recreational reading so I’m rather limited. My yearly pre-order purchase – without fail – is J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Love it, love it, love it. I also really enjoyed the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness.

Growing up, my literary inspiration was Dean Koontz. I read Lightning and it literally was for me! Here was someone writing across genres, including romance, having a very distinctive voice – I felt like it was permission to write the books I wanted, without following a set of rules.

Lynn: Where do you get your inspiration for your stories?

Tere: It varies. For the new Vigilante series, it was a series of pictures strewn across my desktop that sort clicked in my head. For the Faith, Love & Devotion series, it grew out of a dream I had while I was pregnant. Basically I come up with a character and then think, “what is their lesson to learn? And how can I both hinder and help that?”.

Lynn: Tell us something about yourself that some people may find surprising.

Tere: Hmmm. I’m a sports junkie! I might actually watch more sports programming than my husband or son. I love everything – hockey, football, basketball, baseball, MMA, the Olympics. If there are no sports on, chances are I am watching ESPN or MLB network.

Lynn: You’re going on a long road trip, you have to pick two of your characters to go along with you. Who are you taking and why?

Tere: Oh my goodness! That’s a hard one.

I’m going to pick Matt (from the Faith, Love & Devotion series) because he’s easy-going, and he’d drive the whole way. Then I’d bring Nate from Holiday Roommates (being rereleased as part of an anthology this Christmas!) because he is hilarious! His commentary would be worth the long ride.

Lynn: What is the one book/series out there that you wish you would’ve/could’ve written?

Tere: I’m going to go with Lightning the book I mentioned earlier. The characters are so strong and how do you go wrong with time travel, Nazi Germany, a kid who explains what’s going on via his extensive knowledge of Star Trek and a love story that starts when a man reads a woman’s books and falls for her courage and strength?

I also wouldn’t mind being J.R. Ward.

Lynn: You’re Faith, Love and Devotion series is being made into a movie and you get to pick the actors, who do you see playing your characters?

Tere: I have been asked this before and it’s nearly impossible for me to answer! I don’t know! There were initial “models” in my head but that has sort of evolved over time, as it always does with my characters.

I like when my readers answer that question, because it’s fascinating to see who they come up with.

Lynn: What are your expectations and hopes when you come to the Coastal Magic Convention in February?

Tere: I’m really looking forward to meeting new people! Authors and fans and bloggers – just going out and chatting with folks, getting to know them, sharing myself and my books. I really enjoy conferences, particularly the smaller ones where I can have long talks with new friends.

Author Bio: Tere Michaels unofficially began her writing career at the age of four when she learned that people got paid to write stories. It seemed the most perfect and logical job in the world and after that, her path was never in question. (The romance writer part was written in the stars—she was born on Valentine’s Day.)

It took thirty-six years of “research” and “life experience” and well… life… before her first book was published but there are no regrets (she doesn’t believe in them). Along the way, she had some interesting jobs in television, animation, arts education, PR and a national magazine—but she never stopped believing she would eventually earn her living writing stories about love.

She is a member of RWA, Rainbow Romance Writers, and Liberty States Fiction Writers. Her home base is a small town in New Jersey, very near NYC, a city she dearly loves. She shares her life with her husband, her teenaged son—who will just not stop growing—and three exceedingly spoiled cats. Her spare time is spent watching way too much sports programming, going to the movies and for long walks/runs in the park, reading her book club’s current selection, and volunteering.

Nothing makes her happier than knowing she made a reader laugh or smile or cry. It’s the purpose of sharing her work with people. She loves hearing from fans and fellow writers, and is always available for speaking engagements, visits and workshops. Send here a message through her contact page or connect with her on Twitter (@TereMichaels) and Facebook.