Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been writing since I can remember! I always loved to read and write and wrote my first “book” when I was 12..of course it was about horses. Horses are my other passion and outside of writing I am the Vice President of our family business where we manufacture sports medicine products for horses. If you read my books you’ll find a few have an equestrian theme or background to them.
I grew up in the foothills of San Diego county where we always had horses and I started riding as a little girl. I was also a competitive gymnast for seven years as a kid and give credit to the sport in providing me with the skill of tenacity and determination. I think it’s one of the reasons why I can write under the gun!
I went to college at The University of Southern California and studied journalism. But, I always wanted to write fiction. Soon after I graduated I had my first son and wrote my first novel! That was 1991 and I have been writing books ever since. I love it!!
I’m a mom to three amazing, grown children. I love to cook! I’ve written 36 books….7 of them were co-authored projects. I just recently moved from my hometown of San Diego to San Francisco where I am brewing a new mystery series or two in my head!
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is DEADLY AFFAIRS and it’s the fourth book in my Holly Jennings Thriller series. DADDY’S HOME is the first book in this series! Holly is a San Diego Homicide Detective who has been through quite a bit, which you know if you’ve read the series and if you haven’t.. I won’t spoil it. This particular book was inspired by The Ashley Madison scandal that broke a few years ago where cheaters were basically called out due to hackers. So, there’s a lot of that in the book. I started writing it right after the third book (THE PREFERENCE) but life got messy and I went through a divorce, which threw a curve ball in my writing process. When life settled down again I knew I had to get back in the saddle so to speak and start writing again. It’s out now and I’m doing the work to get the series back in front of my readers and the word out to new readers.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
None that I can think of.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
James Patterson, Stephen King, PD James, Dean Koontz, Sandra Brown are all authors who have influenced me in some way or another. I love the scary stuff, anything mystery, thriller…a little romance is always good, too.
What are you working on now?
I am actually working on a second book in my Dead Celeb series. The title is The Dark Portal. These books are paranormal mystery with elements of romance, fantasy, humor, etceteras. They’re super fun to write! I write them under my name (Michele Scott) because they are a different tone than my AK Alexander books.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The industry is always changing so I honestly don’t have a good answer here. I think the best thing a writer can do is just stay on top of it as much as possible. Take workshops, read books, reach out to influencers, and constantly be educating on the business side as well as improving their writing. Right now I run social media platforms and my website (www.michelescott.com).
Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice for new authors is first and foremost…WRITE. Writing is the only thing you can truly control in this thing. You never know what is going to sell so if an author is in this with the mindset it’s a get rich quick thing then this isn’t the game for them. You can control the writing and if it’s your purpose you know it and you just sit in the chair and write. Secondly, is what I mentioned before and that is educate yourself constantly. This is such an ever evolving business and it’s important to stay on top of it or have someone who does that for you if you can while you write. Unfortunately, most writers don’t have that kind of support so they have to balance their time with the writing versus the business side of things and this goes for both traditionally published and indie authors. I’ve had books be published both ways and there’s not much difference I fund as far as the time consumption and efforts that have to go into birthing a book and giving it the best opportunity to find a readership that will support it and help the sales grow.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I ever heard was…Bumglue. Bryce Courtenay who was one of Australia’s best selling commercial authors and a major mentor of mine told me. He said…glue your bum to the chair and write. BUMGLUE!
What are you reading now?
I read a few books at a time. My current non-fiction that I’m reading is THINK LIKE A MONK by Jay Shetty. I’m also reading SHERLOCK HOLMES’ DAUGHTER and LOCK EVERY DOOR.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Next up for me is to finish THE DARK PORTAL and then I have a few ideas brewing. I will write book 5 in The Holly Jennings series and likely start an entirely new series. My Wine Lover’s Mysteries have been optioned for TV so there are some fun things happening there, too!
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?
Hmmm…as a kid Black Beauty and then all of the Nancy Drew books! As an adult that is tough but The Mists of Avalon stands out for me.
Author Websites and Profiles
Michele Scott Website
Michele Scott Amazon Profile
Michele Scott’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account