GRACIE: I’m
excited to have you here at The G-Spot, Skye! Please tell us a little about
yourself (or a lot J) and how and when you got into writing?
SKYE: After losing my job three years ago and
seeing what was happening in the e-book industry, I decided to give it a
try. I sent my first manuscript to Siren
Publishing because I had enjoyed many of their authors. They accepted the book, and I have been with
them ever since. I have always been a
big romance reader starting with Silhouette way-back-when, and really wanted to
give it a try. Everyone thinks they can
be a writer. What makes the difference
is actually doing it. You have to put
yourself out there and possibly court failure – or hopefully success.
GRACIE: Is there
any one thing or person in your life that inspired your writing? Any one thing
or person that influenced the genre you write in?
SKYE: When my daughter bought me a Kindle for
my birthday and I downloaded a few of the erotic romances, I found I really
enjoyed them. They had much more of an
edge than the traditional “sweet” romances.
I had always wanted to give
romance writing a try but was too busy with work, etc. to buckle down and
actually do it. Now I write love stories
that don’t end at the bedroom (or dungeon/LOL) door. Sex is an important part of life and one of
the great gifts, and we should celebrate it.
GRACIE: When did you
get The Call and what was your first published book?
SKYE: I started writing in the summer of 2011,
and my first two books were published in January and February of 2012 by Siren
Publishing, the first publisher I sent them to.
The first was Calleigh’s Collar, Book 1 of the Le Club Series.
GRACIE: What do
you know now about writing and the publishing industry that you wish you’d
known before you started?
SKYE: Well, the editors at my publisher are all over
head hopping and point of view, about which I knew absolutely nothing when I
started. I didn’t even know what they
were talking about when they requested changes in the manuscripts. Now that I understand what it is and how to
write to avoid it, edits go a lot more smoothly. My questions is: If I can’t head hop, why can Nora
Roberts??? Oh well, when I have that
many books out there maybe I can make my own rules too! Just kidding.
Nora is one of my favorite authors and she is amazing.
GRACIE: Please,
give us a little story behind the story and what inspired your spicy BDSM
series – The LeClub Series and The Golden Dolphin Series.
SKYE: I WISH I KNEW! The story for the first Le Club book,
Calleigh’s Collar, was just in my head.
I have a small farm and vacation home in Ocala, Florida, and the
downtown historic district is one of my favorite places. The story of Calleigh and Jason was fun and
easy to write. It’s the shortest of my
books and introduces most of the cast of characters in the other five books of
the series – a group of friends that belong to a secret BDSM club located in
the historic district in a renovated Victorian mansion behind a ten foot wall
(Calleigh was the project architect but didn’t know it was a BDSM club!).
The Golden Dolphin series is a spinoff – Jamie Devereau from
Anne’s Courage (Book 3) a bad boy billionaire bought the 300 foot mega yacht,
the Golden Dolphin, for BDSM cruises!
If you would like to see the
actual ship that is the basis for these books just Google Attessa IV. I have made a few changes to fit the stories,
but basically that’s my boat, baby.
Also, I just couldn’t bear to say goodbye to my Le Club characters. While each book focuses on a different new
couple, occasionally some of our old friends take a cruise on the Golden
Dolphin so we can see them again. My
next book coming out (Pandora’s Box, the Alaska cruise) has three of the
original couples on board, as well as continuing stories for some of the sexy
crew members.
GRACIE: What about BDSM intrigued you enough to build two series
around this theme?
SKYE: It’s interesting, sexy and a little edgy.
I was writing in this genre before I
ever heard about 50 Shade of Gray. My heroines (while submissives) are not
downtrodden spineless women. They are accomplished women who have minds and
hearts of their own and choose to give the gift of submission-or not (witness
Paula Greenley in Paula’s Commitment who is always topping from the
bottom). They are not all perfect
Victoria’s Secret women. Anne in Anne’s
Courage had body image issues due to scars from her breast cancer surgery and
Jamie had to break through some serious barriers. My heroes are not all perfect either. They are all successful, but they have their
own issues to overcome.
GRACIE: As an ambitious attorney and a Domme, Harper Cameron, by
necessity, has a strong and dynamic personality. What do you think is the
powerful attorney’s Achilles’ heel and how do you go about stomping it in
Harper’s Submission?
SKYE: My hero, Morgan Court (pharmaceutical
entrepreneur) has a hard row to hoe with Harper who was abused as a child and
has trust issues. She tried various
therapies over the years and it was suggested that she try being a Domme in
order to gain control of her life.
Morgan thinks that if he can get her to submit and trust him he can
break down her walls. I have a friend
who faced this problem, and I know some of this was hard for her to read.
GRACIE: In
Ivorie’s Surprise, what is it you believe makes ultra-successful businessman
Drew Blessingame a perfect match for his second assistant Ivorie James and vice
versa?
SKYE: I LOVE these two characters. Drew has to learn to become human, and Ivorie
is just the girl to kick his butt.
She’s taken the second assistant’s job because even though she has her
degree good jobs are hard to come by, and she wants to get her foot in the door
of Blessingame’s conglomerate. However,
he is far from a pleasant guy to work for.
He’s had his challenges too.
Having to basically take over running the family business at 25 years
old after 911, the stress has been enormous and has soured his easy-going
personality. As the guy at the top, he
takes his obligation to make sure his employees can earn a living very
seriously. It takes her a while but
Ivorie eventually gets under his skin, and he realized he has to make some
changes in the way he deals with people.
GRACIE: With its
equestrian theme of polo and international level dressage riding, what sort of
research went into The Appearance of Impropriety and did you find realistically
portraying this intriguing world for your readers challenging and/or fun?
SKYE: This was my first book started 20 years
ago. After my parents both got sick and
died, I put it aside half finished. When
I was between other books, I took it out and finished it, so it is my first
love and was lots of fun to write. I am
a horsewoman and have played around with musical freestyle dressage myself. (Played around being the operative words
here.) If you would like to see some
musical freestyle, you can view the YouTube video entitled “Ravel & Steffen
Peters – FEI CDI Grand Prix Freestyle – An Evening of Musical Freestyle. It
feels like riding the drums in the band when your horse is right on the beat
and not just going to elevator music. My
daughter rides dressage as well. I also
love going to the polo games in Palm Beach (especially the practice matches at
the private polo fields in Wellington), so I really already knew quite a bit
about both of those worlds. Nonetheless,
there was some research to do to make sure I got it right. Actually, the technological side of the
story involving the computer program stolen by email etc. was more challenging
to write. Thank goodness my daughter,
the Goddess of Technology as we like to call her, was able to help with that. She sat me down and clued me in on the
changes that had taken place in 20 years-Yikes!
I love to be able to take readers to places they might not have been
able to go in their lives and make them feel like they have attended a tailgate
party at the polo club or watched international dressage. After all, this is romance and escape from
our daily lives.
GRACIE: Of all
the stories you’ve written, which is your favorite and why?
SKYE: That is so hard to answer because I love them
all like children. They are all
different, but equally loved. I would
have to say The Appearance of Impropriety is my absolute favorite because I
never thought I would finish it. It was
a huge undertaking to just sit down and start writing that first book. I love
Tori and Zack, and I adore Rocky (Rachmaninoff), the dressage horse who has a
running competition with Zack for Tori’s attention. That the backstory is set in the legal field
is also part of the attraction since I spent my entire adult working life in
that arena. I am also particularly
proud of Book 5 and 6 of the Le Club Series, Madison’s Choice and Belinda’s
Crown, which are set against the Kentucky Derby and the Triple Crown. As the song says, “My horse naturally
won.” I love the horse character in these
books, Rockstar, the one-eyed race horse.
GRACIE: I know
this is like asking a mother which is her favorite child, but which of your characters
is your favorite and why?
SKYE: I
love Jamie Devereau (Anne’s Courage, Book 3, Le Club) because he gets it. He gets Anne, and he loves her no matter what
and no matter that she fights him tooth and nail the whole way. He definitely has a sexy edge, and it would
not be wise to cross him twice. I also
really like Drew Blessingame (Ivorie’s Surprise, Book 1, Golden Dolphin)
because he came so far in his personal development. Of the girls I love Anne because I too had
breast cancer and some issues. I also
love Paula (Paula’s Commitment, Book 4 Le Club) because she is always getting
into trouble. If God lined up all my men
in a row and then said, “They are real, and you can have only one” I don’t know
what I would do. But it would be a
wonderful dilemma! Thirteen of the
handsomest men on the planet-how would one choose?
GRACIE: What
about your characters makes them unique?
SKYE: I try to make each of them different and
set them in a different location or profession.
None are stock characters, and all have obstacles to overcome. I have them in my head all the time and will
frequently wake up with snippets of dialog in my mind that I write down
immediately before it slips away.
GRACIE: What is
your favorite aspect of the writing process? Your least favorite?
SKYE: When a story is flowing, there is nothing like
it. Your fingers can’t go fast enough on
the keys. Then about in the middle, I
may have to slow down and figure out where the story is going. Since I don’t make an outline first, that can
be a problem. In Violette’s Vibrato
(Book 3, Golden Dolphin), my heroine, first violinist with the New York
Philharmonic, has a problem with a jealous competitor and the Russian Mob. Well, how do you get rid of the Russian Mob?
– not very darn easily that’s for sure.
I had to figure that out and then go back and write in some changes to
facilitate my solution. I love
everything about writing. It is so much
FUN! And these people live in my
head. I’m really never alone – don’t
tell the guys with the white jackets who are knocking on the door.
GRACIE: LOL, you
already answered my next questions, but I’ll ask it anyway: Are you a pantser
or do you outline?
SKYE: I never outline. I just sit down, write a prologue and Chapter
One and GO. I will have the main
characters in my head and a few sentences of what the story is about. Sometimes that can be a problem if I haven’t
thought the plot out far enough in advance.
I will often discuss a plot line with my friend/editor or my daughter,
and they always have good ideas.
GRACIE: If you
weren’t a writer, what other profession would you have chosen to pursue?
SKYE: I was a commercial real estate paralegal for
many years. I loved it. The big deals are exciting to work on, and I
got to meet some really interesting people.
If I had known what I wanted to do when I younger, I probably would have
become an attorney, but I couldn’t face going back to school and all that would
have entailed.
GRACIE: Who are
some of your favorite authors and why? Name some of your favorite books and why
they’re your favorites.
SKYE: Of course, I love Nora Roberts (even if
she does get to head hop occasionally), particularly The Bride Quartet, and I
recently read all eight of the Rock Chick series by Kristen Ashley and loved it. Sometimes I have to get out of my own head
and give it a rest. You can see a theme
here. I love the groups of friends and
how they interact.
GRACIE: What are you
working on now and what should readers be looking forward to from you in the
future?
SKYE: In February, 2014, Pandora’s Box, Book 5 of
the Golden Dolphin series will be released.
That is the cruise to Alaska.
It’s fun to see some of the original characters again and to follow the
continuing stories of some of the crew members (Captain Con Cortelis and Purser
Casey Campbell as well as First Mate Alex Dragados and jewel thief Baylee
Baxter). The main characters are Pandora
Wescott, wildlife photographer, and Dr. John (Gray) Grayson, neurosurgeon. Researching a whole Alaskan cruise was
daunting not to mention gold mines and other assorted things. Thank goodness my friend had just gotten back
from one and brought me tons of literature.
I have an idea for a third series, but I am still mulling that over in
my mind.
I’m currently working on Book 6, Hannalore’s Treasure, which
continues after the Alaskan cruise. The
Golden Dolphin goes down the West Coast, through the Panama Canal to Miami and
has an archaeological back story that takes place in Guatemala. I’ve currently got 38,000 words – a little
more than half – finished.
GRACIE: Do you
have a website and/or how can readers contact you?
SKYE: I have a Facebook fanpage, Skye Michaels
Books, and can be reached by email at skyemichaelsbooks@yahoo.com
GRACIE: Where and
how can readers purchase and/or read samples of your work?
SKYE: My fan page has the covers of all the
books and first chapters. The books are
available on Bookstrand.com for the first six weeks after release and then are
available on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and various other sites.
GRACIE: What
advice do you have for beginning writers?
SKYE: Just sit down and start. If you have an idea that keeps buzzing around
in your head, go for it. Get something
on paper even if it’s very rough or just notes and ideas. That’s what editing is for. I constantly go back to the beginning and
re-read my work as I go, so there is not so much editing –at least until my
first editor get her hands on the first draft before it goes to the
publisher. We don’t call her Ms. Red Pen
for nothing. But everyone works
differently. The thing is to just get
started. You will feel so proud of
yourself if you do. Don’t be the one to
say “I wish I had…” For me the story is
the main thing. If you don’t have a good
story, you don’t have a book. You can
have all the kinky sex in the world, but if the story isn’t good it will be
boring.
GRACIE: Anything
else about yourself or your writing you’d like to share with your readers?
SKYE: I just want to thank everyone for their
support and friendship. I know I can’t
please everyone every time, but I do try.
I love to hear from readers and know what they think. I recently had two surprises. Two of my readers told me that they stayed up
all night to finish Cassandra’s Revenge and were sad that it was over. Another person told me that her HUSBAND was
my biggest fan, had read all the books and loved them. I was really surprised since they are erotic
romance geared to women. Some readers have said they wanted longer
books, but then complained when the prices went up. They probably don’t realize that the price of
many of the books is controlled by the length and that the publisher and/or
Amazon etc. set the price, not the authors.
GRACIE: Like you said, you can’t please everyone,
but your output and quality should bring you pretty close, Skye! Thanks so much
for taking time from your busy schedule to share yourself and your work with us
at The G-Spot and giving us a little insight into your writing and the writing
process! We’ll let you get back to writing those wonderful books you write! All
the best!
