Romantic Suspense by Sharon Michalove
Please welcome Sharon Michalove. She writes romantic suspense. Today she shares her writing life and a great tip for writers.
Why did you become a writer?
I’ve been an avid reader all my life and the idea of writing was always there. My goal was to write mysteries like Agatha Christie, which is much harder than readers might imagine. I wrote poetry, short stories, academic articles, and a dissertation before I ever figured out how to write a novel. What I love most, besides getting to live in the worlds of my imagination, is that some people want to read what I write.
What do you do when you are not writing?
When I’m not writing, reading is definitely at the top of my list. But I also love to go to concerts and theater, try new restaurants, and go to hockey games. I also knit occasionally, cuddle with my cats, cook a little, and occasionally watch television. For a while, my obsession was with the television adaptation of Deborah Harkness’ All Souls Trilogy. I just finished watching Magpie Murders, and high on my list are A Pale Blue Eye, Enola Holmes 2, and The Glass Onion.
What are some of your favorite things? Foods. Flowers. Books. Whatever.
I am a real foodie, something that my readers discover early on since I can’t seem to write a book that doesn’t have love and food. One thing about living in Chicago is the variety of things available. When I eat out, I love to get oysters, sushi, lamb, lobster, and duck. And don’t hate me, but I love foie gras. At home I tend to order out dim sum, porchetta, and hot and sour soup. I’m always looking for good poutine although I have been known to make it myself. There is a great Belgian chocolate shop not too far away that has the best dark chocolate covered orange peel. Now if I could just find a local source for Scottish butter tablet. Guess I need to go back to Scotland one of these days.
Right now, I have a bunch of projects going. I am writing At the Ready, book 3 in the Global Security Unlimited series, which should be out in August or September. I am also working on my first cozy mystery, Murder at the Great Jane Austen Cook Off, which has an enemies to lovers trope in it. I hope to start querying agents this summer on that one. I’ve finished two short stories for anthologies—one is a second-chance romance and the other is Regency. One should come out in late spring or early summer. The other is scheduled for August. I also have ideas for book four of the GSU series to come out next year, a second book in the Death in the North Country series, also planned for 2024, and a Christmas-themed novella I hope to have out in November 2023.
Do you have a writing tip or advice for other authors?
As a writer, you need to know why you want to write. Is your goal to make a lot of money? Become famous? Be able to see a line of books on your shelves? Because you can not write?
Even though many people think that writers just sit in front of the computer and the words pour out in perfect paragraphs, in just the right order, that is hardly ever the case. Even when you’ve successfully written a book, that doesn’t make the next one easier. Every story comes with its own set of challenges.
I’m a plotter and I spend time getting to know my characters and setting and trying to figure out at least a road map for the story, still leaving enough unknown to make the writing interesting. When I wrote my first book, I didn’t plan and I have the discarded versions to prove it. Hacking out plot points that didn’t work, finding new subplots, hoping the cobbled together scenes made sense meant that my first book took three and half years. My next two took less than a year.
Plotter, pantser, or plantser, the more you learn about the craft, about your book, and about why you want to write, the better you become. Just remember that you can’t have written unless you write first. And when you know why you want to write, the more you write, the more you will write.
I can’t promise riches, or that the perfect agent will be right there when you need them, or that publishers will be vying to buy your book. But if you love to tell stories, thrill when someone tells you they love your work, and you dance for joy when you sell a few copies, get thee into a chair, put your fingers on the keys, or pick up that pen, and go forth.
Know your motivation, then realize your goal.
At the Crossroads
Sharon Michalove
Former MI6 operative, Max Grant, has created a new life in Chicago, heading up the cybersecurity arm of a global security company. He is also building a relationship with author Cress Taylor, the woman he has dreamed about for twenty years. But Max’s past is about to catch up with them both.
Ten years ago, Max was caught in ambush in an Istanbul alley, where most of his team died. Max’s testimony helped put the terrorist mastermind in prison. Now he’s escaped and word in the intelligence community is that he is targeting Max.
A planned trip to Europe turns deadly as Max is drawn inexorably toward an inevitable confrontation. He has to stop Faez, before he eliminates them—permanently.
Available from
AMAZON AUDIOBOOK
Learn more about Sharon Michalove
Sharon Michalove writes romantic suspense and traditional mystery as well as being a published historian. After growing up in suburban Chicago, she spent most of her life in a medium-sized university town, working as an academic professional as well as teaching history. She was married to a composer and frequently uses her knowledge of music, history, and food to enrich her novels.
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