An Interview with T. Michelle Nelson

I'm very excited to have T. Michelle Nelson visiting my blog today. She is an up and coming new author whose story The Life and Death of Lily Drake is sure to be a hit with fans of the MaryJanice Davidson vampire series.

Hello and welcome to my blog.  I’m so excited to have you here today. I know that the readers are looking forward to learning more about you.  Please tell us a little about yourself.


I grew up in Western Kentucky.  When I was sixteen, I met this crazy boy in Florida while I was on vacation with my parents.  He was on vacation as well and was from Ohio.  We spent the week together and occassionally kept in touch.  Eleven years later, he explained to me that he owned a dog and had managed to keep it alive for a couple years, so he knew he was ready to settle down and have his own family.  Yes, that was exactly how he proposed.  Three months later we were married and I’ve been in Ohio since.  We live in a nice, little town with my teenage son and our three dogs.   
 

Now onto some fun questions!
If you could change one thing about our world, what would it be
and why?  

We really don’t have enough time for me to properly answer that question!  I’ll just say, my grandmother tells me stories of when she grew up, and even  just a handful of decades ago, people were so much more willing to help others and be neighborly.  You don’t see that as much these days.  I think most of us could stand to be a little more generous with our time and pleasantries at the very least.  Take some time, stop rushing around and get to know the people around us, use more common courtesy and be more community-minded.


If you knew the exact date of your death down to the minute, what would you change about your life starting tomorrow?  
Have you seen the movie “Groundhog Day?”  I’d go crazy like Bill Murray.  If I knew with absolute certainty I wouldn’t die until a certain date, I’d do the craziest most life-threatening things possible without worry!  Why? Are you psychic? 

Nope...If I did, I would win that Powerball jackpot! When was the last time you felt alive? I mean really alive!
I like to think I feel alive every day.  I try to enjoy life as much as
possible, and I love to try new things.  Last year I skated with a roller derby team and had a small role as a zombie in a movie.  If something sounds fun, I try not to pass it up!  The older I get, the more I realize I want to do before it’s too late!


What television sitcom is most like your family? Why?
Third Rock from the Sun. We’re all a bit odd, but in the best and funniest ways I think!


What’s your favorite thing to do to relax?
I love to go canoeing, but I doubt many other people would find
it relaxing.  My husband and I are both pretty competitive, so the second we hit the river, we are in a mad rush to beat our last time. 



Let’s find out a little bit about you as an author. Did you always want to be an author?
I think I actually did. And a photographer, an artist, a doctor, a football player, a rockstar…and about a hundred other things too!


What authors had an impact on you growing up and as an adult? 
I read Poe as a child and it stuck with me.  I’ve loved horror since.  Then in a literature class in college I read Edith Wharton’s Age of Innocence, and I was never the same.  I suppose it makes sense, I’ve combined horror and romance.


Do you have any “must haves” with you while you’re writing? Mass amounts of coffee, and usually there’s at least one dog
around.


What have you learned the most from being in the writing business?
That it doesn’t end when you finish writing the  manuscript!  There is some hard work involved in the post-writing phase.



Tell us about your latest release:
The Life and Death of Lily Drake will be available October 7th this year.  Lily Drake is your everyday hard-working single mom…until a gorgeous vampire shows up on her front door who she mistakenly assumes is her blind date for the evening. As one crazy scenario after another unfolds, Lily finds herself falling in love with two vampires, slaying the evil ones, and being prophesied as the savior of the entire undead
race.  

The Life and Death of Lily Drake is not your typical vampire love story. It’s a tale about the humorous mistakes a woman makes simply trying to survive not only life, but the dating scene.  How will Lily manage working full-time, taking care of her young son and fighting the undead at every turn?


How did you decide on your story plot?
I had a completed novel in my head as I started writing.  What I ended up with was about twenty pages of that story and then the rest was completely different.  From day to day I had absolutely no idea where I was headed with the book, sometimes I wasn’t even sure until I sat down to write.


How did you choose your characters names and location for your story?  
I researched all the vampires names to make sure they were authentic to the times when they would have actually lived and picked out the ones that I thought sounded nifty, and lilies are my favorite type of flowers. 
 
As for location, it is set in the actual town I currently reside. 
Mount Vernon, Ohio is a lovely place. It’s incredibly historic and just begs to be written about!


Do you have a character that you identify with? Who and why?  
Absolutely, Lily herself. In every situation I threw the girl in, she reacted as I would have or how I hope I would.  She isn’t your typical heroine, she’s a little crazy and maybe even a little dorky at times.


Let our readers know how they can get a hold of
you…
Come visit me at www.tmichellenelson.com, as well as facebook and twitter @tmichellenelson.  You can also enter to win a copy of my book on Goodreads from this link: http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/28557-the-life-and-death-of-lily-drake


Is there anything else that you want to share… feel
free!!
I’d like to thank you for having me on your blog, and I’d also like to thank all the readers who have been so supportive and enthusiastic about my book.  I hope everyone who reads this will stop by www.tmichellenelson.com and say hello!

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Thank you so very much T. Michelle for stopping by today.  As a former Ohio resident, I love reading books that take place in Ohio. If readers aren't aware they can preorder the book in print or ebook through your publisher, Inkspell Publishing.  Here's the link to their store: http://www.inkspellpublishing.com/store.html. I hope everyone who stops by to read your post will check out your site and order a copy of this amazing book.