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Tere Michaels – Profile

Interviews 43

Hi Tere and welcome. I believe this is the first time you’ll be profiled so I’ll go easy on you.:)

Why don’t you start by telling us something about Tere Michaels the author and the person?Theresa

I am a Jersey girl, born and raised. I’m married, have a wonderful son, three cats, a hamster and about a hundred fish – it’s a slightly crowded extremely happy household to say the least. My family is very supportive of my writing; my husband even gave up the spare bedroom (his “CD” room) to make me an office. A very pink office, to be precise. I have a “day job” so most of my writing is done on the laptop while I’m in bed, late at night. It’s my quiet time.

I’ve been writing pretty much my entire life; whether I got paid or even recognized for it was never an issue to be honest. If I never made a cent off of it, I would write. In the past I’ve been a features writer for a major magazine and also freelanced for awhile. It was nice – to be paid, to see my name in print – but my real passion has always been fiction. When people say “how do you get ideas?” I always say – getting them is not the problem. Writing them all down is the problem!

Faith&Fidelity_coverlgYour first book, Faith & Fidelity, was quite a success. Can you give us some of the background to this book and how it all started? Was this the first time you attempted to write a novel?

About ten years ago I had been on a bit of a hiatus from writing due to a bad novel workshop I’d experienced. (I was told my stuff was too commercial…and that was bad. LOL). So I took a break. Abandoned the novel I was writing, unfortunately. Then, while home at the end of my pregnancy – and following the birth of my son – I got pulled back into it. Not thinking about writing for publication, just writing for myself and other friends on the Internet. F&F came out of a dream I had about me dying and leaving my husband and baby alone. It got me thinking, percolating and then the story was born.

Overall it took me about eight years to finish!  But the initial idea, the start of the project is what jumpstarted me writing again. It was my spark. But then again it started me off again, writing and sharing and pushing myself as a writer more and more. I completed many, many pieces between the start and finish, worked professionally at a magazine and finally came back to this story and finished it.

I have to shout out to my friend Linda on that one; she never stopped asking me when I was going to finish F&F so you can all thank her!

Now that you are a seasoned pro of two books, what is it like? Is it as fun as you thought it would be? Love & Loyalty has just been released. what do you most wish for this book?

It is fun. It’s literally a dream come true for me. And Googling yourself is awesome. LOL OK, it’s awesome when people are saying nice things about you. I have been so very fortunate with the warm welcome I’ve received in publishing. Loose Id is a tremendous place to work and the reviews, blog entries, emails, notes, and posts are really what carried Faith & Fidelity to its success.

What I honestly hope for Love & Loyalty is that it provides the same level of entertainment to people. That it makes them happy. Because at the end of the day,Love&Loyalty_coverlg that’s what matters. That the readers are pleased and smiling when the last page is read.

What can you tell us about your next book which I believe is the sequel to Faith & Fidelity? Your fans are anxiously waiting for its release. When do you think that will be?

Yes, it’s a direct sequel to F&F, continuing the journey of Matt and Evan as a couple, as a family. Things, in my opinion, get really interesting after the “happily ever after”. Falling in love is sometimes the easy part…then you have to live with each other. LOL There will be some old faces (from the first novel) and newer folks (from the second) and a new character I’m bonkers about. Which clearly means the potential for a fourth novel is rattling around in my brain!

The book is almost halfway done so I’m looking to hand it in by the end of the year.

Thank you Tere.

 Thank you for this opportunity and the wonderful reviews!

Anyone who comments on this post will be eligible for a free copy of Love & Loyalty which Tere is giving away today!

 Tere Michaels Contact Information

 Email: teremichaelsblog@gmail.com

Web page: www.teremichaels.com (blog)
www.livejournal.com/users/teremichaels

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43 comments

  • Thanks for this interview, Wave. I bought L&L on Tuesday (the day it came out) and read it in one day. Great stuff! I’m looking forward to your next book, Tere.

    L

  • Leslie
    Tere had to go to work today (like many people)*g* so she promised to answer all comments in the evening. Maybe she’ll be able to check in and read the comments during the day.

  • Thanks for the interview, Tere and Wave!

    I have just re-read F&F to over the weekend and have just started L&L today… that opening, is quite emotional already!

    I just love Tere’s writing… I am a notorious page-jumper, I can count with one hand how many writers I would read their stories word by word. And Tere is one of them (I guess, Wave knows one of the other.. lol)

    And I love the conflicts Tere creats in F&F, I think that’s what makes reader care about the story and characters. And of course, there are so much to look forward to in the sequel!! omg… what would Josie say? And “logistic” problem if they want to move in together (how do couple have a sex life with 4 kids in the house, I wonder? *g*) And I also want more Vic and Helena… oh and we need to hear from Liz!

    • Wow, you have quite a wish list! 😉 I’m going to take that as a compliment. LOL And – without giving anything away – I think you’ll enjoy the next book when it comes to “returnees”.

      Thanks for your kind words about the books. I love hearing people had a good time with my characters.

  • Eve
    That’s a pretty tall order in terms of the number of characters you want in the new book.:) Well, since she’s still writing it maybe she’ll have time to give a few of them walk-on parts,*g*

  • That’s great to find out more about a “new” author. I’m looking forward to reading both books. Thanks for the little taste.

  • I got F&F after reading your review but couldn’t get myself to read it yet (too emotional). But after reading all the postive comments about it I will start reading it right now.
    It’s good to know that a great story can come out of a bad dream. Thanks for the interview.

  • Elyane
    It took me several months before I could bring myself to read F & F because of the first chapter which was so sad and moving and, quite frankly, so depressing. However, once I got over that I enjoyed the story tremendously. I hope you like it because it’s quite different.

  • Tam
    I thought that “a little taste” was warranted given all the discussions about Tere’s books on this site, and she agreed on very short notice to do this profile. I hope you like her books!

  • Thanks for that interview. I only recently read F & F, read it as ebook and immediately afterwards ordered it as “proper” book because I loved it so much. Like Eve (I see you moved to the States *g*) I can’t wait for the sequel, can’t wait in particular to see how Josie reacts. I imagine her like some kind of wicked stepmother-in-law, searching the Yellow Pages for Suppliers of Poison Apples :).

    Don’t put me in the hat for L & L, BTW, as I have already read and greatly enjoyed it, despite a serious shortage of Matt moments.

    • Julia.. I don’t know why I am in the States – so is Wave, come to think of it!

      Wave – no need to give me a copy of L&L either, already bought it 🙂

      btw, now that I know Tere is a Jersey Girl, that makes what Matt said in F&F even more interesting:
      “If you break up with me, I am going to do something drastic, like moving Jersey.” !!!

  • I loved F&F – told myself I would re-read it before I bought L&L but haven’t had the chance yet. It’s on my to-do list for this weekend. 🙂 Count me in!

  • What a fun interview! I really enjoyed F&F and I’m thrilled that there is going to be a direct sequel with those same characters! I hadn’t known that until coming here to read this.

    What Tere said here is so true:

    “Things, in my opinion, get really interesting after the “happily ever after”. Falling in love is sometimes the easy part…then you have to live with each other.”

    That’s one of the reasons I found F&F so outstanding — she didn’t shy away from conflict at all, and good conflict and good characters are something we readers just can’t get enough of!

    • Hi Val! Thanks for your kind words. I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed the book. 🙂

      As far as conflict goes, I used to watch soaps back in the 80’s and 90’s so, you know, give me a statue that controls the fate of the world, amnesia or an evil twin and I am HAPPY. LOL But as a writer I gravitate to stuff that makes sense. Much as I enjoy outlandish plots, there’s something very annoying about a hundred pages of ridiculous misunderstandings and lost notes and missed messages.

      My main goal as a writer may be that no one ever throws my books across the room in frustration. 😛

  • Hi Tere, I’ve been hearing such great things about Faith and Fidelity. It really sounds like a series that I need to get to reading. Congrats on your newest release.

  • *btw, now that I know Tere is a Jersey Girl, that makes what Matt said in F&F even more interesting: “If you break up with me, I am going to do something drastic, like moving Jersey.” !!!*

    Who knows where Matt is now: apparently he and Evan are “renovating a house” 🙂

    • Evan you might get to move to Jersey; Matt, like many other native New Yorkers, believes that the midwest begins when you drive over the bridge out of Manhattan. And he’s so NOT a midwestern guy. 😉

  • Thank you for the interview. I liked Faith and Fidelity very much and now am happy that there’s a sequel. I agree with you that the part after the HEA is the really the hard part. Falling in love is easy. To become a family, that’s the thing! Please count me in for the free book.

    • Thank you so much Feliz. 🙂 That’s really awesome to hear.

      You know, I think that’s why I like series so much; you get to follow the characters further into their circumstances and relationships, seeing how they grow BECAUSE of their relationships.

      Also if I’m writing series I never have to say good bye to my characters!

  • When did being commercially popular become a bad thing? I can’t believe someone told you that, what a goober! I’m glad you came back to doing what you do best–writing.

    • I remember sitting in the classroom, looking at the person who said it and thinking, “Wait, what?!”. LOL

      I can look back and laugh now but at the time, it was really crushing. And maybe I needed the time in between to grow a spine and resolve to push ahead with things. 😉

      Thank you for your kind words. 🙂

  • Thanks for this great interview, Wave and Tere. I’m part-way through Faith and Fidelity and I’m enjoying the story. I’d love to be included in the draw for Love and Loyalty. 🙂

  • Hi Tere
    Glad you made it. Your fans have been waiting around for you.:) I hope you had fun!

     
    I’m going to ask you to do the draw from both the post for the free book and this post. If you email me in the morning before you go to work that will give me enough time to announce the winner.

  • ohhhh! i want more of an interview. i want more! f&f was absolutely spectacular (will there be actual *ahem!* in the sequel?) squeee! so excited for the follow up! can i have l&l now?
    :0)
    -kkm

  • I re-read F&F in the week or so before L&L came out, and my original reading doesn’t seem that long ago…it was such an awesome book! And L&L is just as wonderful–I’m finishing it up tonight. 🙂 Rock on, Tere!

    (Don’t put me in the drawing/contest, since I already have L&L.)

  • Hi Tere,

    Just dropping you a little note to say how much I just enjoyed Love and Loyalty. I read it until my eyes just swam and put it down reluctantly only to pick it up first thing in the a.m.

    Thanks for a great read,
    ZAM

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