Michelle Pickett has written PODs.
1. What is your name and where do you call home?
My name is Michelle Pickett. I was born and raised in
Flint, Michigan, but I now reside in a small community outside Houston, Texas
with my incredibly supportive husband, three school-aged children, a 125 pound
“lap” dog and a very snooty cat.
2. Do you have a pen name?
No, I use my given name on all my writing. Although, some books list me as Michelle K.
Pickett while others leave out my middle initial.
3. What is the name of your most recent book and if you had
to sum it up in 20 or less words, what would you say?
My most recent book is a
post-apocalyptic/dystopian/romance titled PODs and will release June 4th.
A virus
kills the population. Some people are chosen to live in the PODs to save
mankind—there are zombies.
4. Do you have plans for a new book? Is this book part of a
series?
PODs is my debut young adult novel. It’s a
post-apocalyptic/dystopian/romance. It was written as a stand-alone, but I
recently signed a contract for the sequel titled, The Infected. PODs releases
June 4th, 2013 and The Infected releases November 2014.
5. What or who inspired you to start writing? And how long
have you been writing?
My grandmother inspired me to read, which led to writing.
I’ve always written, even if it was just in my journal. However, I didn’t start
writing seriously until college. Then my writing was just for myself. I dreamed
of having something published one day, but never could finish a book. It was
quite sometime after college that I wrote my first full-length novel.
6. How did you come
up with the cover? Who designed the cover of your book?
The cover for PODs was designed by my editor and myself.
We collaborated on it until we were both happy with the result. After reading the book the reader will
understand how perfect the cover is for the book. It couldn’t have been any
better!
As for my next young adult novel, a paranormal romance
titled Milayna, my editor and I also collaborated on it and she did an
excellent job of capturing my vision. They are both fantastic covers and fit
the books perfectly.
7. Is there anything
you would change about your book covers?
No, I love them all. I’ve been very fortunate to have
cover designers that take my feedback and work hard to make the cover as close
to what I want as they can.
8. Do you have a playlist in mind for any of your books?
Yes, each of my books have playlists. They are located on
my website (www.michelle-pickett.com).
I also have some Youtube links that allow you to listen to some of the songs
directly from my website, especially PODs and the sequel “The Infected.”
9. Did you listen to any particular songs whilst writing
your books?
I do if the song relates to the scene. When I wrote the
scene of Eva leaving her parents in PODs I listened to Avril Lavigne’s “I Miss
You.”
10. How did you come up with the title for your book?
In PODs people are chosen to live in an underground
habitat until the virus kills the population above and eventually dies itself.
I just imagined them as being circular and the name PODs just jumped out at me.
I had a really, really hard time trying to figure out what each letter would
mean because I wanted the word POD to be an acronym. The sequel’s title, The Infected, just fit the
book so it also just fell into place without much effort from me.
My young adult paranormal romance the character came
before the story and I knew her name was going to be Milayna so that became the
titled of the first book in the trilogy. The second book’s title is tentatively
Milayna’s Angel. The third book doesn’t
have a firm titled yet, however.
11. Do you have a book trailer? And what are your thoughts on
book trailers?
My editor/publisher and I are currently working on an
awesome book trailer. It is a live book trailer. In other words, it’s not just
photos scrolling across the screen. An actor and voice over actor will be hired
to do the scene and I think it is going to turn out awesome!
I happen to like book trailers and watch them when available
for books I’m interested in. I know some people don’t care for them, but I love
them. It’s just like watching a movie trailer in my opinion.
12. Do you have a “Dreamcast” in mind for any of your books?
No, but I do go to places like Istockphoto.com and find
photos of people I think look like the character and use those as inspiration
while I write.
13. What is your opinion of ARCs?
PODs is my first traditionally published book so it is
the first book I’ve had ARCs for. My ARCs haven’t been sent out yet, but will
be soon. It’s hard to give my opinion on them based on my books, but I do like
reading them for other’s books.
14. Do you prefer e-books, paperbacks, hardcovers or
audiobooks?
I don’t much care for audiobooks, but the other types I
don’t have a preference. Although I love my Kindle Fire and do most of my
reading on it, I do buy paperback books, especially those I’ve read and really
enjoyed and know I’ll read again.
15. Have you ever read a book more than once? And if so what
was it?
I’ve read many books more than once including (but not
limited to) Olivia and Jai by Rebecca Ryman, Where the Red Fern Grows, and Easy
by Tammara Webber.
16. What is your favourite film based on a book?
Jaws, definitely. Of course, I think PODs would make an
excellent movie, too.
17. What is your favourite book genre at the moment?
Hmm, that’s a really hard question because I read and
write across genres. But right now I’m really into young adult contemporary
romance.
18. What books have made it onto your wishlist recently? And
why?
Meradeth Houston’s The Chemistry of Fate, because I’ve
read her writing before and loved it.
Jennifer
E. Smith’s This is What Happy Looks Like, just because it sounded sweet.
Just
about anything from Spencer Hill Press because they put out awesome books by
very talented authors.
Rebecca
Donovan’s Out Of Breath, because I’ve read the first two books in the trilogy
and loved them. I want to see how it ends.
19. What book are you reading at the moment? And in what
format?
Revenge
of the Girl With the Great Personality by Elizabeth Eulber
It’s a
review ARC from Netgalley so it is an e-book.
20. Do you have any advice for other writers? And what’s the
best advice that you have been given when it comes to writing?
My advice for writers is simple: Write. Don’t stop. That
is also the best advice I was given: Write every day and read, read, read.
Don’t give up.
21. Where can your readers follow you?
Website: www.Michelle-Pickett.com
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/michellepickettauthor
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/michelle_kp
Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/michelle-pickett
Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/in/michellepickett
Amazon US: http://amazon.com/author/michellepickett
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/michelleauthor/
Thankyou so much for taking the time to do this interview and allowing us a glimpse into your writing world!
Thank you
so much for hosting me on your blog. Bloggers play such an influential role in
the success of an author and their books. I am so grateful that you were
willing to take the time to interview me today!
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