Author Interview - Michelle Madow

Following my review of 'Remembrance' yesterday, I have a treat for you all.

I have an interview with Author Michelle Madow! *squeals excitedly*

1) What did you want to be when you were younger?

When I was in middle school and high school I wanted to be a psychiatrist, because I enjoy helping my friends through problems they’re going through. However, I discovered in college that there’s a big difference between liking to help out your friends and studying psychology, so I majored in English instead.

2) Who was your favourite author as a child? Who is it now?

I had so many favorite authors as a kid—reading has always been my favorite thing to do! My top four would be the Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis, the Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine, the Animorphs series by K.A. Applegate, and the Sweet Valley series by Francine Pascal. Currently I have so many favorites! The top of those would have to be the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan, the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead, and the Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa.

So many good books there, Narnia was always one of my favourites too. I remember the Animorphs, haven't heard about them in years!

3) Where do you do most of your writing? Do you have a special spot? Routine to get writing?

Since I started writing in college and am now in grad school I’ve lived in a different place every year, so I’ve never had a long-term writing spot. I just moved to start another year of school, and right now I’m working at my dinette set in my living room. Today I bought a desk and it’s arriving tomorrow, so I’m excited to be able to start working there. Before I write I give myself “procrastinating time,” where I’ll play around on the Internet or read before starting writing. It gives me time to get into the writing mode

Ooh hope your new desk makes you feel at home, I love the idea of procrastinating time, I seem to do a lot of that! lol

4) Can you tell us a bit more about Remembrance and how it came about?

Remembrance is about a high school junior named Lizzie who has been reincarnated from Regency Era, England, but she doesn’t realize it until her soulmate transfers into her school and triggers her past life to gradually return to her. The idea came to me after I saw Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” music video. In the video, Taylor sees a guy while walking through campus, and the moment their eyes connect, the scene flashes to the two of them dancing at a beautiful ball dressed in clothes that appear to be from around the year 1815. After watching the video, the characters and story in Remembrance pieced together in my mind. I started to write it down, and ended up with a finished novel!

I adore Taylor Swift! her Love Story video is beautiful, and you did a fantastic job with it.

5) If you could choose between living in the present day or going back to live in the Regency era, which would you choose and why?

While living in the Regency Era at first seems like it would be romantic, I would choose to live in the present day. There are lots of reasons for this. The first is modern conveniences! (I don’t want to go into detail here, but we definitely have different standards of “feeling clean” than they did back then.) Another is—I LOVE the Internet! Having a world of information at my fingertips whenever I want it is something I would never want to give up. Also, traveling would be such a hassle back then, having to get around by horse and buggy instead of hopping into a car or plane. And lastly, while the dresses back then were pretty, I don’t imagine they would be comfortable, and I would miss my favorite article of clothing—jeans!

I can see you thought about that and you make a good argument, I think I would stay here too, but I would love to have a dress like that. Maybe I should organize a grand ball just so I can dress up!

6) Do you truly believe in true love - soul mates? Have you found yours?

While I don’t believe in true love in a “destiny and soul mates” sort of way, I do believe there are people in the world who each person would be best paired with. I haven’t met my perfect match yet, but I hope I will someday

I wish you the best of luck in your search. I'm sure you'll find someone wonderful.

7) Do you know what you were in a previous life? Or is this your first?

Past lives aren’t something I personally believe in, although it is fun to write about in fiction. If past lives did exist, and if I had one, I imagine I would be from the Golden Age of Rome because I love the art and architecture from that time period. 

Cool, Rome was beautiful back then, still is actually. I think I was a servant in Camelot under the rule of King Arthur, I have a weird fascination with this time period and seem to know a lot about it without ever having studied it.

8) Are any of the characters based on people you know? Which one are you most like?

My characters are all from my imagination. And while I’m not like any of them, I think I could best be described as a combination of Keelie, Lizzie, and Chelsea. The things I have in common with them are Keelie’s confidence, Lizzie’s wistfulness and hoping that true love and fairy tales exist, and Chelsea’s enjoyment of life and having fun with her friends.   

9) If your book was made into a film, who would play the main roles.

I LOVE casting celebrities as characters in my book! In fact, I have a whole blog entry devoted to this subject. You can check it out by clicking here.

I LOVE your choices, I can totally see them in it, especially Drew & Jeremy.

10) Have you ever met or communicated with Taylor Swift? Is so, does she know about your book and what did she say? If not, what would you say to her if she did talk to you?

The closest I’ve come to communicating with Taylor is giving her a hug while she walked down the aisle at one of her concerts. She doesn’t know about my book, but I daydream all the time about telling her! In my recent scenario in my imagination, I get floor seat tickets to her concert. Before I go, I pack a book, sign it to her, and insert this letter into the book so she knows about how she inspires it. Then I tell one of the people working at the concert about my book and how much I want to meet Taylor. They say that they might be able to work something out, and then bring me backstage to hang out with her before the show! (If you can’t tell, I’ve given this a decent amount of thought ;)

I know I would start crying when I first met her, because Taylor has been such an inspiration to me. Not only through her songs, but as a person as well. One thing Taylor says is that it’s okay to be different, and to make your differences work for you. While I was in college it was definitely different to dedicate so much time to writing a novel, but I made it work for me to make my dream come true.

That would be so awesome, that could so totally happen!

I have seen her live twice. I've always dreamed of meeting her too. I hope she reads your book and gets in touch. :D

11) What was your favourite scene to write in the book?

I loved writing the scene where Lizzie is with Drew in the car after the soccer game. It was an intense scene to write, and one of the first times they were alone together. Another of my favorites was the music box scene, because it was so sweet and romantic. I recently wrote a blog post featuring a picture of the music box and a clip of the song, which you can check out by clicking here.

Good scenes, I saw the music box and thought it was beautiful.

12) When you write, do you plan the storyline or just go with the flow and see where it takes you?

I outline the story before I begin writing. This way I know where the story is heading, so I have direction when I write. I’m not such a stickler to my outline that I refuse to tangent from it if I come up with a better idea, but for the most part the book is already planned out before I start to write it.

I wish I had that preparation, I tend to just leap in and see where it takes me.

13) If you could hang out with any of your characters, who would you choose and why?

Drew! Because he’s hot, and … need I say more? ;)

14) How many books will there be in the series?

Remembrance is the first part of the Transcend Time Saga, which will be told in three parts. The second part is a short story called Vengeance, and it will be released on December 8, 2011. You can check it out here on Goodreads. The third part is a novel that will conclude the Saga, currently untitled at set to be released in the end of 2012.

I can't wait for book 2, I know it's going to be good, but so long to wait for the third one. It will be worth it though. 

15) Can you give us any hints about book 2?

Yes, I can! Here are four fun facts about Vengeance:

·      It is told from Chelsea's point of view.

·      The story starts at the last place the reader sees Chelsea in Remembrance—when Lizzie leaves her room after they talk about Drew.

·      Shannon plays a bigger part in the story—it turns out she has secrets of her own.

·      Chelsea will open her mind and start believing in things she would have never before thought possible.

Thank you for interviewing me on your blog!

Remembrance is available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and The Book Depository.

 

Thank you for answering my questions, It was great to have you on my blog.