Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am 42 years old from Philadelphia. I have written 3 books so far. I’m writing a day time tv soap opera and self publishing them in an ongoing book series which I plan on having 15 or more books in the series when it is all done.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My book series is called Cape Heights and so far I have the first 3 volumes published.When I was a kid I loved watching soap operas and this carried into my adulthood. I started writing my soap Cape Heights on the internet back in 2003 with a group of other writers. It came about when I found this online soap opera called Crystal Beach that I signed up to write for and from there I created another one with the help of some of the writers from Crystal Beach. We wrote Cape Heights online for about 3 years before it fizzled out. I had not done any writing since then. Then about a year ago I started thinking a lot about my soap opera from all those years ago. I started remembering all of the characters and the stories we had going on and then new ideas came to me for the characters. I decided to start writing it again but start the characters from five years after where we left them off before.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My book series is different in not only that it is like a soap opera but the writing style is very different. I write it in the format of part screen play and part narration which is how we wrote it all of those years ago. The characters name is first and then below it are their dialog and their thoughts, feels, gestures and body language in italics. Then the character they are interacting with…..their name first then their thoughts, feelings, speech, etc. Instead of chapters my book is broken up into episodes just like it would be on tv and each episode has several different scenes taking place at different locations throughout the town. The scene number plus location is at the beginning followed by the characters in the scene. Some people find this format hard to read at first, but most people quickly get used to it and then find that it does make it much easier to follow plus picture it in your mind as you would see it if it were on tv. Because my soap has close to 60 characters (including a handful of small children) writing it this way makes it easier to follow. When there are a lot of characters in one scene it would be harder to follow who is saying what writing it in traditional prose format.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have been an avid reader for as long as I can remember! I started off as a teen and early twenties reading mostly horror and supernatural novels. My first favorite author was Stephen King. then Anne Rice became a favorite of mine for many years, she still probably is my favorite. As I got into my 30’s and beyond I started venturing in to many other genres. Romance, historical fiction, biographies, memoirs, non fiction. There is almost no genre at this point that I won’t read.
What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on Cape Heights Volume 4 which I hope to have published if not by the end of December then early January.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have a facebook page for my books. I also have a twitter author page. I use a book promoter as well. I also post on several book promotion pages on facebook and I also promote my books on soapoperanetwork.com in their blogs forum. Trying to get people to try my books is hard because soap operas are not as popular as they once were and on top of that, I am kind of pioneering my own genre. You typically don’t see people writing soap operas in a book format.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
if you love to write, write! Publish it yourself if you can’t find a publisher willing to take you on. But be realistic-there are MANY indie authors out there and it is really difficult to get yourself noticed. It is going to take A LONG TIME to get a following. You may never get much of a following and you may not make any money at it for a long time. But if you love it, keep at it! Do it for yourself at least even if you never make it big time.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If you really want something in life, don’t quit at it. Keep trying or keep improving at it. Failure is ok.
What are you reading now?
I’m trying to help out other indie authors by purchasing and reading their books on Kindle. I try to read 3 books at one time. I’m currently reading Bronze Bloodline of the Phoenix by Dallas Elkheart, The Fifth Survivor, Episode 2 by Angel Ramon, and The Guardians of Hytheria by Darnall Eggleston
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m going to keep writing Cape Heights until I can reach the conclusion that I have in my mind, which is probably going to take another 15 books to get to, lol. Once I’m finished Volume 4 it’s on to Volume 5!!!!
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Lord of the Flies
To Kill A Mocking Bird
The Witching Hour by Anne Rice
and for a nice romance to lighten the mood, The Notebook. Even though I actually have never read the book, I have seen the movie about 100 times, it is one of my fave movies so I’m sure I would love the book just as much. I’ve read about 5 other Nick Sparks books and I enjoy him.
Oh and also The Green Mile. One of my favorite if not THE favorite Stephen King book of mine
Author Websites and Profiles
Michele Ceron Website
Michele Ceron Amazon Profile
Michele Ceron’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account