Featured Interview With Lydia Michaels
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m the award winning and bestselling author of over thirty romance novel. A great deal of my work is inspired by the people in my life and the placed I’ve been. I’m a true romantic who believes fairytales come true. I suppose Frank Sinatra would call me young at heart–and I’d take that as a compliment, since I’m a true believer in doing what you love and procrastinating about everything else. Luckily, writing is something I love very much.
I was raised in Bucks County, Pennsylvania where I still live today. Growing up, my family lived in a three-hundred year old farm house that was once owned by Landreth Seed Company, the fifth oldest corporation in America. George Washington and other founding fathers purchased herbs and produce right off the land I grew up playing on. I absolutely loved my childhood home. To me, it’s as special and picturesque as the Tara Plantation from Gone with the Wind (before the war, of course).
I’ve always had pets and that hasn’t changed over the years. We have four, at the moment: A deaf and almost blind rescue dog who is the loyalist animal I’ve ever met, even in his old age, an evil sweetheart cat named Queen Calisi who only likes family–everyone else must die. A fat tabby cat named Pooper and a shi-chi puppy that I swear is a cross between a giraffe and deer. There is hair everywhere, but we love each and every animal we own.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Throughout my childhood I dreaded reading. I’m dyslexic, so even now reading is very difficult for me. Oddly, writing is not. But it wasn’t always that way. When I was twenty-seven I picked up a vampire novel and was amazed how fast I read it. In a few weeks I finished the series. It was the first time I read romance. Simply put, I was in love. Next came Twilight and that tool my new love into obsession territory. I read three-hundred books the year I discovered romance novels. I was addicted. The following year I tried my hand at writing one. It was not good. The spelling was abysmal, the style was clumsy, and the formatting was all over the place. But the plot was solid. I got a lot of rejections, but most came with a little advice. I switched from romance to non-fiction and read everything I could get my hands on that had to do with the craft of writing and publishing. It took me four years to teach my dyslexic mind how to spell, my pokey fingers how to type, and my family how to accept that I wasn’t quitting–ever–and in 2011 I was given my first book contract. A year later I was signed by Penguin Random House. And since then I’ve written over thirty romance novels, become a bestseller, been nominated for multiple awards, won the Best of Bucks Best Author Award, and had my work featured in USA Today. It’s been an amazing journey and it’s just begun! I truly love what I do and never expected a career in writing. It’s a part of me. It’s my calling and I can’t imagine my life without it. So I’m eternally grateful to all the readers that made my dreams a reality and chose to read my books.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite author is Lisa Kleypass. Her voice is silk and her Travis Series is one I’ve read over and over again. Other favorites include JR Ward, Pam Godwin, Michele Zurlo, and Virginia Henley. My favorite genre is and will probably always be romance and I consider every author I’ve ever read an inspiration. Since I went to college for education, my career training came from books. Every romance novel has taught me something, be it what to do or what not to do.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest series is SURRENDER GAMES, a spin off from The Surrender Trilogy published in 2013. The Surrender Trilogy was about an arrogant, alpha billionaire who had his life turned upside down by a homeless, illiterate wise-ass woman named Scout. It was an Apple iBooks bestseller and is still very popular today. After years of reader requests, I revisited the characters of The Surrender Trilogy and came up with SURRENDER GAMES, an entire series that spins off the trilogy and gives all the side characters a chance to find their own HEA. The first SURRENDER GAMES book is Sacrifice of the Pawn and it releases September 26, 2017 followed by Queen of the Knight, which releases October 24, 2017.
From the back cover…
Surrender Games follows the emotionally charged and highly erotic contemporary romance saga, The Surrender Trilogy.
Isadora Patras has sacrificed years raising her younger siblings, Lucian and Antoinette. As her brother and sister grow more independent, she feels her purpose is lost. Aching to do something selfish and hungry for a taste of the forbidden, she takes a lover—her father’s protégé and trusted family friend, Sawyer Bishop.
In a secret affair trust is tested, respect is bartered, and reputations are on the line. Sawyer has always been Isadora’s mentor, but now it’s her move. She’s through being a pawn and ready to demand the respect of a Queen.
The Surrender Games Series should be read after The Surrender Trilogy.
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