I Wrote it My Way - Michelle Betham

A big welcome to prolific author, Michelle Betham, whose chosen genre is: ‘books for the beach - pure escapism, total fantasy; mainly sexy, but sometimes humorous, contemporary romance.’ On this grim, grey, wet day here in the UK, where Spring is really struggling to show its face, the idea of a holiday read somewhere warm and sunny sounds particularly tempting! 

 

So, Michelle tells us about what inspired her; Jackie Collins, football – and 50 Shades? Well, two out of three, anyway. 

Writing Striker for me was almost like an epiphany. It’s actually my seventh novel, yet it’s taken me until now to finally find my niche – to know, once and for all, the kind of books I want to write. I want to write romance, yes, that hasn’t changed, but I want to write the edgier, more racy side of romance. I guess I always have done, to be honest. Being a huge fan of Jackie Collins, and loving the kind of sexy escapism she writes, I think I always knew in the back of my mind that that was what I wanted to create myself, but I was always just a little bit nervous of putting books like that out there. After all, there really is only one Jackie Collins, isn’t there? And a lot of people turn their noses up at that kind of literature, in fact, some probably wouldn’t even call it literature at all. But there’s also a market for those kind of books. And that’s the market I want to target.

Now, we’re not talking Fifty Shades of Grey or anything, because I didn’t even enjoy that book, so that didn’t influence me in the slightest. But I do want to create sexy stories with a strong plot and interesting characters – and I hope that’s what I’ve done with Striker, a book very much influenced by my secret love of football, my fascination with the behind-closed-doors world of the professional footballer and the people who surround them, and, of course, my admiration of the woman who is Jackie Collins.

 

Thanks so much Michelle and good luck with Striker. Number 7 sounds saucy and sexy!

 

Michelle's books on Amazon

More about Michelle and her books here on her blog

I Wrote It My Way- Suzy Turner

This week something very different indeed! 'I Wrote it My Way' always comes up with some surprises but today we look inside the box and what do we find? Vampires!!

 

Author Suzy Turner is a 'Yorkshire lass at heart' but moved to live in Portugal when she was ten. She tells us how she came to write fantasy fiction for young adults - and probably a few older ones as well. Just look on Amazon or Suzy's blog to see all her stunning book covers:

 

'In my teens and early twenties, there was nothing I loved to do more than curl up with a chick lit novel. It was my absolute favourite genre. The pathos and humour often blew me away but a few years later I was introduced to an altogether different kind of book: YA urban fantasy.

I loved the way the authors combined fantasy elements into a world which we know and love today. Harry Potter, for example, a boy who lived in an ordinary house with ordinary relatives (okay, perhaps the Dursleys aren't quite your every day aunt and uncle, but you know what I mean!) was also an imperative part of a very different world, one with magic, witches, wizards and talking giant spiders and the like. I completely fell in love with JK Rowling's books, which led me to start reading books by other authors in the same genre. In fact, I could say I devoured them!

Later came Twilight, bringing vampires and werewolves to life. I was immediately hooked. This came around the time of my very first holiday to Canada in 2009 (with husband and friends). We spent three weeks travelling from Banff (Alberta) to Vancouver (British Columbia). It was the most beautiful, awe inspiring place I'd ever had the pleasure of visiting. But it wasn't until we found ourselves in a small place called Powell River that my overactive imagination began to run wild with ideas of vampires and creatures roaming among the trees and mountains there. Thus, The Raven Saga was born.

I continue to love YA books and have now written a total of five in the genre: Raven, December Moon, The Lost Soul, The Ghost of Josiah Grimshaw and Daisy Madigan's Paradise (a novella). I have plans for countless more!

 

 

The only thing that's better than reading these kinds of books is writing them!'

Thanks so much, Suzy, for telling us about how you came to write your books in the first place and what inspired you. What an imagination you have!

Suzy's web site

Suzy's blog

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