Michele Sims interview
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
When did your love of books begin?
I’ve enjoyed reading most of my life. Since I began reading at an early age, I can’t recall when I didn’t love books.
When did you start to have the wish to become an author?
It was more like an urge, both overwhelming and unrelenting, that found me more than a wish to become an author. In 2015, I was a Director of the Adult Division in a bustling mental health clinic. I always read books for pleasure and to escape the demands of my position, but over a period of weeks during the Spring of that year, I kept having dreams about one of my characters, Vincent Moore. He always came to me about three o’clock in the morning. Since I had to be up by 6 am to start my demanding day, it was becoming a problem. As a compromise, I agreed to write his story if he would let me rest. I attended the RWA National convention in San Diego in 2016 and enrolled in one of the creative writing courses. We were given the challenge of creating a bigger than life character as the lead in a romance story. I went back to my hotel room, eager to participate in the project. I had written most of the first manuscript in the Moore family saga in 2015, a contemporary romance where Vincent Moore, was the hero. He came to me and urged me to write a story about his nephew, Miles Moore. As I delved into Miles’s character, the story the Fire God Tour, a paranormal romantic suspense was created.
How have you found the process for becoming an author?
I thoroughly enjoy the creative expression that comes with being an author, but the business side of writing has been a convoluted, often dizzying process for me. There’s always someone trying to sell you something, often something an author may not need or something the seller can’t provide.
What would you say to those wanting to become an author?
Read as much as you can about the craft of writing while educating yourself about the business of publishing. Join writers and readers’ groups. Listen to valid sources with a proven track record and success in publishing.
Tell us about your book/books:
The Moore Family SagaThe saga is a contemporary, genre bending, romantic suspense series with paranormal and magical realism elements. It begins with Book one, Seed on Fire about New York couple, Kaiden and Alicia Moore, transplants from North Carolina who are busy balancing careers, marriage, and the arrival of a new baby to boot. Nothing about their lives together has ever been typical and their relationship will forever be changed by nightmarish events that threatened the life of their unborn son, Miles. The series spans almost thirty years from the first book to my recent release, book five, Face the Fire where Miles is married, the father of twins and the CEO of a growing music empire.Seed on Fire: Book onePlaying with Fire: Book twoThe Fire God Tour: Book threeA Moore Affair: Book fourFace the Fire: Book fiveFamily History:The genealogy of the diverse Moore family includes the Wagners, a fictional “blue blood” clan of German and Irish descent whose ancestors are noted among the founding citizens of the historic city of Charleston, South Carolina. Known for their heroism on the battlefield, members of the family have fought in every war. The daughter of a Naval Admiral, Mariah Wagner returns home from New York on a short break from her studies. Pursuing a career in the creative arts, she aspires to be a lead ballet dancer. While visiting her parents, she is introduced to a dashing, charismatic, young African American Naval officer, Aaron Moore, whose skillset and top secret clearance, makes him the perfect agent in the Cold War’s spy game of the late 1950s. With love at first sight, they marry after a brief engagement just as the southern city heats up with protests and demands for civil rights. Her parents encourage the young couple to relocate to New York where they have more freedom and distance from those who would prefer to see Aaron dead than married to a Charleston princess and the father of their only child, Charles Aiden Moore.Aaron, also an agent with the undercover international organization known at the Network, is killed in eastern Europe while on a clandestine mission behind the Communist iron curtain. Heartbroken and grieving the lost of her husband, Mariah gives up her career in dance. She relocates to Charlotte, North Carolina with her young son.The Moore Family saga revolves around the three offspring of Charles Aiden, who as an adult, becomes a respected Charlotte entrepreneur and successful real estate speculator married to Lauren Rogers Moore.Vincent Adam Moore, the oldest and an accomplished architect, is the family’s hero, tradition bearer, and historian of the family. He has a conflictual relationship, beginning in adolescence, with his father following his discovery of Charles’s infidelity. He marries Dana Bradford from Charleston, SC and they have four children, Alex the oldest, Vivian, and twins, Marie Ariadne (NeNe), and Mitchell Austin (Mitch). Vincent discovers that classified information surrounding his grandfather’s death revealed the fact that he and his twin brother Andre, both agents of the Network, had an inherited condition in which they could produce fireballs, withstand high heat without burns to the skin, and tolerate thick smoke inhalation. Vincent and his brother share a mild form of the condition in which they can tolerate higher than usual amounts of smoke in the environment without lung damage.Doris Moore, the middle child is the diva, an opera star who causes a lot of family drama. She has a penchant for disappearing when situations get too hot. Although she found the man of her dreams, a musician, she remains single because her diva tendencies keep getting in the way of a lasting, satisfying relationship. She doesn’t inherit the genetic condition.Kaiden (Cade) Moore is the youngest of the three siblings. A celebrated jazz saxophonist, he and his wife Lecia Tavares Moore are the parents of the international hip-hop mogul, Miles “Ari” Moore. The story spanning almost thirty years from Miles's birth to adulthood includes the Romance Slam Jam award-winning book three, The Fire God Tour.Miles has inherited the full manifestation of the medical condition from his paternal great-grandfather. Most of his life he sees it as an affliction until he meets his wife Bella Wahlberg. The five books in the Fire Series explores Miles’s empire building years as the CEO of his recording empire, AriMusic, the challenges of marriage to Bella who becomes co-owner and Chief Marketing Officer for the company, balancing the demands of fatherhood, and maintaining a commitment to his large extended family members. Miles’s ambivalence about being a father and passing on his genetic condition becomes a reality when both of his children, Ashe and Aria begin showing some signs of their abilities as toddlers. With the help of his Uncle Vincent and his parents, Miles cultivates a relationship with other family members who’ve inherited the condition, helping him to bear the burden of his peculiar blessing.
What do you love about the writing/reading community?
I like that the writing/reading community is much like another community I love, the gardening community. There is a natural sharing of lessons learned among the members. I also like the joy that exists in both communities.
If you could say anything to your readers what would it be?
Find the authors you like and interact with them. Most of us are online and enjoy getting constructive feedback from our readers. When readers connect, it also gives us the chance to say thank you for the support. I’m currently in a tough season in my life with the recent loss of my son. The readers have helped me to continue to find joy in writing and reading during these dark, challenging days.
Where can people connect with you?
FB Author Page: https://bit.ly/MSimsFBNewsletter: https://bit.ly/MSnewletInstagram: https://bit.ly/MSInstaNuTwitter: https://bit.ly/MsimstwitterBookBub: https://bit.ly/BookbubUAmazon: https://bit.ly/AmzMSimsUGoodreads: https://bit.ly/MSGoodrdsWebsite: https://bit.ly/MSwebsiteUemail-michelesims2122@gmail.comLinktree: linktr.ee/MicheleSims
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