Author: Michelle M. Pillow

Welcome to author Michelle M. Pillow who has taken a break from writing award-winning romance books and her new cozy mystery series to answer a few questions. Coffee anyone?

Describe your favorite writing spot or space.

I don’t really have a favorite spot, though I to tend to roam to different locations around my house. I can pretty much work anywhere. Not because I’ve wanted to over the years, but because I had to learn to—waiting rooms, parking lots, airports, hotels. I even finished a book in the passenger seat of a car while driving halfway across the country. It wasn’t a fun 10 hours for the driver. Luckily for me, he still married me.

How do you select the names of your characters?

I start with their history, personality quirks, and family. Once I know that, I know what kind of adult they are and how they might react to the situations I put them in. From this I get a name. Physical attributes are always the last thing I think about.

Can you hear your characters talking?

Something magical happens for me when writing, if I know my world and characters. I slip into the scene and feel the emotion of it. If I’ve done my job and know the characters, their history, their quirks, then whatever situation I throw at them will cause them to react accordingly. Those reactions are true to them, not me. In that way, yes I hear them speaking.

Do you ever Google yourself?

Only when checking search engine rankings for my website.

When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer?

I have always loved to tell stories, but I started with my camera. I liked to capture moments in time. I thought photography is what I’d be doing for the rest of my life. But, life often has other plans, and when my writing career took off, I put the camera aside for the keyboard. I still love to take pictures, but it’s become more of a pastime.

I still have the secret dream of publishing a photography book someday. I’ve learned to stay open to new opportunities and have come across some exciting jobs that way.

Available at Amazon
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I’m a NY Times & USA TODAY Bestselling Author of Romance, Cozy Mystery, and Paranormal Women’s Fiction (PWF). I write books. I take pictures. I heart my readers. I sometimes dance in my kitchen.

Though I write intricate plots, I can never seem to remember where I left my coffee cup (if you find it please return).

I’m a romantic who loves books with a happy ending, characters who aren’t perfect but can grow, and a good mystery you can’t solve right away. My body runs on coffee, and I’m an admitted pasta addict. I’m wife to a wonderful man who makes me laugh (and cooks), mom to a talented woman I couldn’t be prouder of, and pet to three dogs and a cat. I love to travel and try new things. Life is a grand adventure.