A Perfect 10 with Michele Jones

This week, I have the pleasure of featuring Author Michele Jones for this edition of A Perfect 10.

Please enjoy this week’s installment of A Perfect 10

If you want to check out past interviews, you can find them in the following links:

A.C. Flory, Steve Boseley, Kayla Matt, Mae Clair, Jill Sammut, Deanna Kahler, Dawn Reno Langley, John Howell, Elaine Cougler, Jan Sikes, Nancy Bell, Nick Davis, Kathleen Lopez, Susan Thatcher, Charles Yallowitz, Armand Rosamilia, Tracey Pagana, Anna Dobritt, Karen Oberlaender, Deby Fredericks, Teri Polen, Darlene Foster, Robert Rayner, C.C. Naughton, Sherry Rentshler, Linda Bradley, Luna St. Clair, Joan Hall, Staci Troilo, Allan Hudson, Robert Eggleton, Paul Scott Bates, P.C. Zick, Joy Lennick, Patrick Roland, Mary Carlomagno, Kathleen Jowitt

Also, if you are an author and you want to be part of this feature, I still have a few slots open for 2017. You can email me at don@donmassenzio.com

Does writing energize or exhaust you?

At times, both. Days that I write about a character dying or getting seriously hurt are tough, whereas days that I work on a happy scene give me great pleasure and energy.

Do you ever write under a pseudonym? If not have you considered it? Why or why not?

I write under my own name. I would consider writing under a pseudonym if I wrote erotica, I wouldn’t want that to be associated with my preferred genre or identity as a fiction author.

Does a big ego help or hurt writers? Why or why not?

I believe it can do both. You are your best promoter, but if you go over the top, you can turn people off.

What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?

Scrivener. The many features it provides keep all my project pieces in one place.

What does writing success look like to you? Have you achieved it?

If someone tells you they enjoy your writing and hope you write more, that is success. If they say it touched them, or they could relate to my characters, that is success. Yes, I have achieved that.

What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book? What sources do you use?

My research depends on what I am writing. Once I have decided on the plot and have done a brief outline, I start my research. The complexity of topic will determine the amount of research. I spend hours researching and compiling notes. I write fiction, but it needs to be believable to the reader and the content needs to be accurate. I use several sources, but Google is my main resource. If I know someone that has experience in the topic, I contact them as well.

How do you select the names of your characters? Have you ever regretted choosing a particular name? Why?

I choose my names based on the ethnicity of my characters, the time period that I am writing about, how I wish to portray my character, and setting I place my characters in. I look on line, sometimes I hear a name that I like, and I have used Google to find what I need. I never regretted any names that I have chosen. I believe the reason why is that I spend time choosing the name based on the characteristics I have for my characters.

What is the hardest type of scene to write?

The most difficult scene for me to write is a sex scene.

If you could have dinner with four people, living or dead, who would they be and what would you want to ask them?

This question is difficult. My family is extremely important to me, and I would love to have a huge family dinner with all of them, living, deceased and future generations. I love listening to their stories, especially since my grandfather came over on the boat from Italy, and I’d like to know that my future generations will be happy.

Having dinner with God would be interesting. I’d like to know his plan for us, how our fate is determined, and why things happen the way they do.

Dinner with the Devil. I’d like to know why. Why influence people to unconscionable things. What makes him do the things he does? Does he get pleasure from it or is it a game to him?

The online author friends that I have met. We are fortunate to live in an age where technology affords us the opportunity to connect online with many individuals. I have virtually met several online authors who have been helpful and supportive to me in many ways. I would enjoy having dinner and meeting them all in person to thank them for all the help and support they have given me and to get to know them better.

What platform has brought you the most success in marketing your books?

I don’t know that one platform has been more effective than any other. I use the same platforms as many other authors. Word of mouth, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, the list goes on. I think luck plays as big a part in success as marketing.

About Michele’s Book:

About Romance Under Wraps:

Given life every century, the adviser is tasked with teaching the evil pharaoh how to pass the judgments necessary to gain entry to the afterlife. His only chance to move on lies with an evil self-centered mummy that refused to heed his advice. To complicate matters, the gods have given them an out. Find the reincarnated queen and gain her favor. All this and only months to do it. When he finally realizes that he has found the queen, will he have enough time to convince her to love him and break the curse.

The Carnegie Museum of Natural History gets an Egyptian installation, and it seems to come with the ubiquitous mummy’s curse. Death and destruction abound. But the real curse is on the mummy’s adviser—he must teach the mummy how to pass forty-three judgments or find the reincarnated queen and win her love—or they are doomed to continue reawakening every century to try all over again.

Excerpt from Romance Under Wraps:

Tayla couldn’t explain it, but she felt a connection to Dene, like she’d known him all her life. He excited her and made her feel—special? But yet so much more than special. She didn’t want their walk to end. She could feel her face getting hotter, could feel her heart beating faster and knew her ears were burning.

The wind picked up and a light rain started to fall. She shivered and rubbed her arms for warmth.

“Where are my manners?” He took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders.

“Thank you.” His cologne enveloped her—earthy, anise, and something else she couldn’t quite place. She closed her eyes and breathed in his scent. So familiar, but nothing commercial. She inhaled again, awash in the smell of him, yet feeling it wasn’t close enough.

She blinked and shook herself aware. “We’re almost there. I’m ahead in the garage on the right. Thank you. I really appreciate it, and I owe you.”

“You do not owe me. I enjoyed the company.”

She pointed to her car. “That’s me. Thank you again for walking me to the car. Can I give you a lift somewhere?” Tayla used her fob to unlock the car. They both reached for the handle at the same time, and his hand brushed hers. Her hand shook, partly from the awkwardness of the moment and partly from the sudden rush of desire she was feeling. She dropped her keys.

They reached for them at the same time, and their hands touched again. She sucked in a breath and exhaled slowly, the keys all but forgotten. Her cheeks grew even hotter as she felt warmth suffusing her belly, curling lower, suggesting lascivious possibilities.

She glanced into his turquoise eyes, flicked a look over his entire body. She noticed the muscles in his arms jumped, and with his cologne tickling her senses, she realized how much she wanted him—all of him—caressing her, kissing her, exploring her secrets.

Her body shook with both a little fear of uncertainty and desire as she moved closer to him. She leaned into him against the car and slid her hands up to his collar. Before she changed her mind, she softly ran her tongue over his lips, gently exploring until her restraint faltered, then crushed her mouth to his. Nothing prepared her for the passionate feelings that overtook her. She pulled back. Her body ached and her heart pounded with need. She gasped for air.

He reached for her again, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her back into the shelter of his arms. She leaned against him when he brushed his lips against her neck. Tayla tilted her head back as Dene began tracing her neck with delicate kisses. The anticipation burned her alive from the inside—she trembled in his arms. She wanted him. Now.

He mimicked her original kiss, following the outline of her lips with his tongue. Unable to deny gratification any longer, she covered his mouth with hers in a passionate kiss—deeper and more searching than the first kiss. A kiss like this was a promise of much more to come.

Tayla broke the kiss. “Oh, oh, I shouldn’t have done that. Forgive me—that was unprofessional and inappropriate. And I’m in a relationship.” She handed him his jacket, got in her car, and drove off.

About Michele:

Michele Jones lives in Western Pennsylvania with her husband and two spoiled dogs. Along with her writing, family, cooking, and sports are her passions. She is a die-hard Penguin, Steeler, and Pirate fan… really, a die-hard anything-Pittsburgh fan.

Michele writes memoirs, short stories, romance, and poetry, but her passion lies in writing paranormal, suspense, and thrillers. All of her work features strong, capable heroines; dashing, honorable heroes; and dark, dangerous villains embroiled in mysterious, perilous situations to keep readers fascinated from her first word to her last. You can follow her online at www.michele-jones.com.