Interview With The FAB Michele Bardsley and A Contest!

Michele Bardsley is one very busy lady. When I asked her to be my FAB pick this summer, we had no idea things would go crazy like a daisy on her at the same time I kicked off the week. And in fact, we started the FAB week during the middle of an oil spill/flood in my town, and the same oil spill threatened Michele's drinking supply as well. So, as you can imagine, things got off kilter but fast. Well, Michele is so awesome that when she sent me the interview, she felt bad about the delays that she wants to make it up to you! So, we have yet another min-FAB contest for you today! What's up for grabs, you ask? Well, dig this, Michele is offering one more lucky reader the chance to win two signed books! That's right, you could win a signed copy of I'M THE VAMPIRE THAT'S WHY and a signed copy of DON'T TALK BACK TO YOUR VAMPIRE. To enter, simply leave a comment on this post. It can say "hey, enter me," or it can say, "Charity, you are gorgeous." Seriously, as long as you're not slammin' me any ole comment will do. Also, I have yet to hear from my winners of the signed copies of CRAZY IN LOVE by Lani Diane Rich, so please click here to see if it was you and if so, send me your address so that I can get those out to you this week. New winners will be picked on Friday if I don't hear from you. And now on with the interview.



About the Broken Heart's Books:

Chari-Dee: Can you describe the premise behind the books in five sentences or less?

Michele: Vampires take over a small Oklahoma town. In order to save eleven single parents ravaged by a mysterious beast, they Turn them all into vampires. That's right. PTA vampire moms.

CD: Where did the idea for the Broken Heart Vampires come from?

MB: I read an article by Charlaine Harris. In it, she discussed the process she used for coming up with her Southern Vampires series. She asked, "What do I know about?" Then combined the answer with the elements she wanted for her books. I did the same thing. My answer was "small towns and motherhood." So I mixed those up with vampires and werewolves.

CD: In so many series, it seems that lead characters often mimic each other greatly. However, Jessica and Eva, while the same in respects to the love for their children, were completely different people and I absolutely loved those differences, especially seeing how they interacted as friends. Was this difficult to do?

MB: Yes. I channeled Jessica, who acts the way I wish I could. I can be a smart ass, but I'm not nearly as tough. Eva was the writer part of me ... the woman who loved words. But Eva was harder to write, at least at first, because she wasn't Jessica.

CD: Eva and Tamara love words and the word of the day game they had is great. Is this something you and your children do as well? Is a love for rarely used words something you have in common with Eva?

MB: No, that game was Eva and Tamara's. I love words. A friend gave me a thesaurus that had the greatest words I'd never heard of. LOL.

CD: Eva often remembers her mom in this, things she would say, and I bookmarked several of them because I absolutely adored the way her mother thought. Were these words of wisdom some people have told you?

MB: Eva's mother was loosely based on my grandmother, who steered me so often through my life. She didn't offer the exact advice, but the spirit of her words was the same. I remember her telling me "child, you have too many irons in the fire" or "if you pray for potatoes, honey, then you better grab a hoe." She passed away while I was writing the book and for that reason, DON'T TALK BACK TO YOUR VAMPIRE remains very special to me.

CD: Can you tell us whose next and a little about her story?

MB: Patsy Donahue. Readers may remember her from I'M THE VAMPIRE, THAT'S WHY. She's the owner of "Hair Today, Curl Tomorrow." She's very down-to-earth, has a problematic sixteen-year-old son named Wilson, and destiny that not even she believes in.


CD: Will Ruadan get his own story?

MB: I hope so. I have to be careful with the Ancients since they have a lot more baggage and issues than typical vampires. LOL.

CD: There are lycans in these books, as well as the newly introduced Romas. Will any of these characters get a book?

MB: Gabriel Marchand is Patsy's match in every way. He's a very special lycanthrope who comes to Broken Heart seeking sanctuary. He thinks he's an integral part of a prophecy that involves Patsy.



On Her Writing And Other Work:

CD: What's your writing process? By that I mean are you an outliner or do you fly by the seat of your pants? I'm always fascinated about the route my favorite authors take to get to THE END.

MB: Seat of my pants. Good thing I enjoy re-writing.

CD: You write in many different genres, do you have a favorite? What are some of the challenges (if any) that you face when/if you are writing two books at once in a different genre?

MB: Paranormal. I love it. When I wrote FANTASYLAND, my November release, I wrote everything in a contemporary setting. No demons or vampires or witches. It was weird. LOL.

CD: Any advice for those that may want to write one day?

MB: Sit down and do it and quit waiting for "one day." Submit, submit, submit, and never give up.

CD: And finally, would you please share (just for fun) Three fun facts that may not be widely known about you?

MB: I watch "Trick My Truck" on CMT. I once met Dana Plato. I have five cats, two dogs, and two guinea pigs.

I want to give a HUGE thanks to Michele for taking the time to sit down and answer all of my nosey questions! The contest will run until Friday morning when I will announce the winner. Ready set enter!



Take Care