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The
Romance Reader’s Connection is delighted to introduce Michelle
Monkou as our June Author of the Month. Thanks to Michelle for taking time out of her busy schedule to
answer a few questions.
Lora
McDonald
Lora: Please share with our readers something about yourself and how
you became a writer.
Michelle: I still have a certificate for Reading from my elementary
school that I attended in Guyana. From an early age, I read voraciously. I
started out with stories written by West Indian writers and graduated
to Enid Blyton, a British writer. I never considered being a writer, although creative writing
was always my favorite course in school and university. In 1992, a co-worker introduced me to Washington Romance
Writers in the DC area and I had my first experience being around
equally avid readers, and by the way, who happened to write.
Lora: Why did you decide to write a romance novel?
Michelle: I grew up on romance novels since high school. Around fourteen years old, I began reading Mills and Boons
romances, and absolutely loved Barbara Cartland’s novels (I thought
those were so sexy). I
remember coming to the dinner table with a book and my mother having a
fit. Those were the days.
Lora: Which other romance writers do you enjoy reading?
Michelle: I’ve expanded my reading list significantly, mostly due to my
friendships with great authors from my writing chapter. We’ve got a great caliber of writers who are superb teachers
of this art form: Cathy Maxwell, Rebecca York, Pat McLinn, Candice
Poarch, Celeste Norfleet, Pat Gaffney, Donna Kauffman, Mary Kay
McComas, Karen Lee Smith, Mary Jo Putney and one of my favorites, Nora
Roberts.
Lora: What do you consider to be the best romance book that you have
read and why?
Michelle: Eek! I have read a
lot of keepers. I tend to develop author loyalty, rather than loyalty
to a particular book. Sorry,
folks. I even shop for clothing, shoes, and food this way. I’m a diehard fan of Edith Layton, Kristin Hannah, and Nora
Roberts. This means that
I don’t loan those books and they will never end up in a used
bookstore or on e-bay. I’m
a fan of relationship/drama/real issues/traditional themes books. How’s that for narrowing things down. Once I’ve connected with an author’s tone or voice and it
continues to resonate even after the story is finished, then I know
that I want to be a part of their world as a satisfied reader.
Lora: It isn’t easy to get published. How did you go about getting
your books published by BET/Arabesque?
Michelle: The statistics to getting published are pretty daunting, which
is probably why it took me so long to write the book. Okay, I’m lying. I
just couldn’t get my butt in the chair long enough to complete a
thought. It took several
years to stop treating writing as a hobby, an occasional diversion and
great topic of conversation at parties. But once I decided that I could do this because I couldn’t
stop thinking about my characters and story lines, everything that I
had learned from conferences and my supportive pals clicked. I
tested the waters with a tentative toe rather than by taking a plunge. I only sent the book out to two houses before it was bought by
BET.
Lora: In your first book, OPEN YOUR HEART, you commented that while
people enjoyed the book, that you had decided not to write a sequel. Is there any particular reason why?
Michelle: After the birth of my first child I said that was nice, but
told her “you’re an only child.” Then four months later, my second child came a-knocking. Open Your Heart had the same honor as my first “baby”
novel. It was nice, but it contained all the do’s and several
don’ts in writing a romance novel, earning a very exhausting, but
special place in my heart. Thankfully,
many readers got hooked by the story and dug right in. I am proud of my accomplishment, but I exhaled on that one and
I’m ready to take control of my unique style (don’t ask me what
that is) to tell more stories. I
found FINDERS KEEPERS much easier to write, mainly because my
confidence was a tad bit stronger.
Lora: In your latest book, FINDERS KEEPERS, your heroine Nicole has
suffered a major tragedy and decided to start a new business and leave
her old lifestyle. You
never allow her to share the truth with anyone that she’s close to.
I was wondering why she kept what she had gone through to herself? And
also how could her close girlfriends never realize that she had such a
huge problem because they appear to be very close in the book?
Michelle: Let me just say for the record, Nicole is not me. Now having said that, I can identify with her need to keep
secrets. In group
dynamics, we all take on roles, sometimes shifting between them or
staying rigidly as a certain type. It’s also possible that as members of the group, we develop a
perception of the other person based not on what we see, but also
based on our values or prejudices. Nicole’s successes earned her friends’ respect and loyalty,
and probably their expectation that accolades, gifts, and other
niceties would come easily to her. When tragedy hits, Nicole’s fragile sense of self is cracked
and she wrestles with coming clean. If she does, there is that vulnerability that her exposure will
never place her back on that pedestal. I didn’t want her to be neatly wrapped up and perfect at the
end of the story. She is
flawed like we all are. But
this is why the potential of sequels with each girlfriend will provide
opportunities to work through some of the angst.
Lora: The setting for your book is Glen Knolls, Maryland. How do you decide on the location of your books?
Michelle: My “Glen Knolls” is not real. I pick real cities and then create my mini-towns or suburbs in
the vicinity. I want the
freedom to create my own neighborhoods, streets, and shops. I want to plunk down the farm, or in this case, the bed and
breakfast, wherever I please. In
Maryland, there are so many towns with the word “Glen” that I knew
I couldn’t go wrong.
Lora: If there was one thing you could change about your career, what
would that be and why?
Michelle: I used to think that I wanted this to happen at an earlier age. I’m thirty-five and I’m afraid that by the time I’m
financially successful, I may be eligible for certain age-related
discounts. But I’m
working on my neurosis, and at each milestone, I buy myself a perk. My last perk were four pairs of summer shoes on the discount
rack at DSW. My advice is
to have a long-term vision, but not a tunnel vision.
Lora: What can our readers expect to see from you in the future? Michelle: I want readers to expect and receive a good story that
continues to resonate with them even after the story ends. Not like a smelly sock that pollutes the senses. But like their favorite, yummy dessert that they hold dear and
would gladly stab an offending hand that tries to steal it.
(Click
here for a review of FINDERS KEEPERS)
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