Michelle Garren Flye has come to visit! Her book, Close Up Magic is a contemporary romance
and will be released June 1.
Please tell my readers a little bit about your book.
Thanks for having me here, Nancy. Close Up Magic is the first book of my
contemporary romance series Sleight of
Hand. Each book in the Sleight of
Hand series will feature a magician as either the hero or heroine. The hero
for Close Up Magic, for instance, is
Andre Hawke, who is a mishmash of every magician I’ve ever seen perform a card
trick in my life. I have always admired magicians. Everybody from David
Copperfield and Lance Burton to Ricky Jay to the magician I hired to perform at
my kid’s birthday party. The whole idea of magic just makes me happy, so I
guess it’s a natural progression to want to write about it.
I use ancient magic, especially the use of herbs and potions, in some of my books. Describe the genre of this particular title, and is it
the only genre you write in?
Close Up Magic is a
contemporary romance, and yes, it’s pretty much the only genre I currently
write in, although sometimes I cross the thin line into women’s fiction. I
tried to write scifi, fantasy, horror and even (gasp!) literary fiction for a
long time, but finally had to admit I had more fun writing romance than
anything else.
When
did you start writing toward publication?
I
guess I really started writing toward publishing fiction after my son was born
thirteen years ago. I had always written short stories and some other crap that
wasn’t worth being published, but after he was born, I got serious about it. I
joined an online writing group (zoetrope.com) and got some amazing feedback
that really improved my writing, and probably kept me from succumbing to mommy
blues during those first years of being a mother. In fact, one of my novels, Weeds and Flowers, was written during
that time, and I totally credit some of my online writing buddies with how well
it turned out.
Children can be a great catalyst. I started really writing the month my son returned from a tour in Iraq. Why have you become a published author?
I love this question because it hits at the very
heart of what I feel marks the difference between a career writer and a
hobbyist. Validation. I’m not afraid to ask for it. At first I thought I needed
a publisher or an agent to give it to me, but I’ve since realized that there’s
only one group of people I need to hear from: readers. I publish because I want
readers to read what I write. That, in my opinion, is the validation that all career
writers seek. Of course, I realize you can be an excellent writer and never
publish. But if you want to make a career out of it, you have to have that
hunger for validation from your readers.
I agree! Do you have any rejection stories to share?
Rejection is too painful, really, to share. You
can’t take it to heart, but you have to or you’re not going to get anywhere. Close Up Magic, for instance, was
rejected. When I got the rejection, I decided to go the self-publishing route
because I believe in the story, and I think the market is ready for it now, not
six months to a year from now, which is what would happen if I submitted to
another publisher. Of course, since it’s the beginning of a series, that means
I’m deciding to go the self-publishing route for the whole shebang, so I may
not get any more rejections for a while. Talk about a silver lining!
I have tried it both ways. It is good to have publishing choices. What is your writing routine like?
Wish I had one! Especially right now. I’m itching to
get back to writing, even though I’m having lots of fun with promoting Close Up Magic. But between three kids,
two dogs, volunteering and a husband, I usually am only able to squeeze in a
half hour or so of writing. I’m hoping it’ll get better next year when my
youngest goes to kindergarten and I am able to schedule my volunteer work
around my writing time.
Speaking of time sucks, what sort of promo do you do? Do you have help?
I use Twitter extensively,
and I’ve started a Facebook page for Close Up Magic where I’m posting tidbits
about magic that I’ve learned in my research (https://www.facebook.com/CloseUpMagicFlye).
Rachel Simeone of ZetaBlue Marketing has been a huge help in learning my way
around social media websites. I also have a blog (http://michellegflye.com), and I’m
currently running a contest over there for a Kindle Paperwhite. And next month
I kick off a virtual book tour for Close Up Magic with the help of Goddess Fish
Promotions. Of course, I have wonderful friends and fellow writers like you who
help me out from time to time, too!
Gee, thanks! What’s next for you?
Right now, I’m working on Island Magic, Book 2 of the Sleight
of Hand series, but I think my next release will be Saturday Love, the sequel to my contemporary romance/women’s fiction
novel Ducks in a Row. It’s already
written and in the process of being edited.
BOOK BLURB
Reporter
Stacey Matthewson has made a living writing sensational stories that knock
celebrities off their pedestals. Now she's got a hot lead on an even hotter magician
who's mystifying Las Vegas with his new show--the problem is, she's had a crush
on him for years. How can she write a story that might ruin him, especially
when he proves himself to be so much more than she'd ever dreamed?
Magician Andre Hawke has a knack for
making things disappear, but when it comes to his brother's drinking and
gambling, he's got a problem. Hiring the sexy reporter who threatens to blow
away his carefully wrought illusion might be the answer to his problems...or
she might bring on a whole new set of them.
Stacey’s never believed in magic, and
Andre doesn’t know who to trust anymore. Can passion overcome their
inhibitions, or will betrayal stem the tide of love?
Excerpt
Andre
caught up to her, wheeled around and started walking backward in front of her.
He was amazingly nimble on his feet, able to avoid oncoming traffic without
even glancing over his shoulder. Stacey shook her head. “Don’t you think you
need to watch where you’re going?”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “I can never see it until it’s past anyway. Most people can’t.”
She
rolled her eyes. “I had no idea kissing made you philosophical.”
He
tsked. “Kissing makes me horny. Life
makes me philosophical.”
He was
starting to get on her nerves. “Get over it, Andre. So we made out. We got
carried away, that’s all.”
“I
think it was more than that…for at least one of us.” His words teased her, but
she wouldn’t ask him which one of them he was talking about. He kept walking
backward, and this time, he was heading directly toward another man--a very
large one--walking toward them. Stacey opened her mouth to say something but
before she could, he’d walked directly into the other man, almost as if he’d
intended to do it. He laughed out loud, catching himself by putting his arms
around her. He glanced over at the large man, breaking off his embrace of
Stacey to turn and shake his hand.
“Thank you! That was perfect. Sorry about
that, I’m trying to make a point, though, and you just did it very effectively.”
He
turned back to Stacey. “You say you never saw it coming. I say we never see things coming. I mean, look at
this particular incident. I was walking backward, couldn’t possibly have seen
him, right? But what’s his excuse?”
MORE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michelle Garren Flye is the award-winning
romance author of five novels. Reviewers have described her work as: “an
engaging novel with charming and likable characters”, a story that “will make
you believe in love and second chances”, and a “well-written and
thought-provoking novel.”
Michelle placed third in the Hyperink Romance
Writing Contest for her short story “Life After”. Her short stories have been
published by the romance anthology Foreign Affairs, Opium.com,
SmokelongQuarterly.com and Flashquake.com. She has served on the editorial
staffs of Horror Library Volume 1, Horror Library Volume 3, Butcher Shop
Quartet, Butcher Shop Quartet II and Tattered Souls.
Michelle has a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism
and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and
a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of
North Carolina at Greensboro. She is the mother of three and lives in North
Carolina with her husband and their rapidly growing collection of pets.
How can my readers buy your book?
Close
Up Magic will go on sale June 1, 2013 on Amazon.com. In the
meantime, you can check out the PREVIEW
Keep up with the latest news on the
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can find more information about Michelle Garren Flye and her book, Close Up Magic by visiting:
