Author Interview ~ Michelle Stimpson

In addition to her work in the field of education, Michelle ministers through writing and public speaking. Her other works include Boaz Brown, Divas of Damascus Road (National Bestseller), Breaking Bondage to Biscuits, the upcoming young adult release, Trouble In My Way, and several short stories. Michelle serves in the Creative Tyme Ministry at her home church, Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship. She lives near Dallas with her husband and their two teenage children. Visit Michelle online at www.michellestimpson.com.

Welcome to Novel Journey, how long did it take you to get published?

For the novel, thankfully, it didn't take very long. I sent if off to two publishers. The first one said "no," the second one said that the book had potential, but it also had a lot of problems. She was kind enough to tell me what those problems were. I worked on the manuscript for about 5 months and resubmitted it. The second time around, she signed it. I do have my fair share of rejection letters for short stories.

Do you think an author is born or made?

I'm not so sure about that one. The writing snob in me wants to say that TRUE writers are born. But I've run into so many great writers who kind of stumbled onto a good story and penned it, and fell in love with writing later that I'm re-thinking this whole born-to-write thing.What is the first book you remember reading? I don't remember the title, but I know it was the Ramona Beasley book where either Ramona or her little brother squeezes out all the toothpaste. That cracked me up!

What common qualities do you find in the personalities of published authors?

I tour every year with six other faith-based authors, and we've become pretty close over time. I find that we're all pretty easy to get along with and we're always finding "stories" in everything. The quirkiest thing, however, is that because I know them, I have a hard time reading their books because I hear their voices in my head. It's weird!

How do you know if you have a seemingly “stupid” book premise that is doomed to fail versus one that will fly high?

When I'm writing something that I believe will be a success, I feel that I have a close relationship with the characters. I know them, I love (or hate) them, I feel like I'm in a relationship with them as I write. When I feel that strongly about characters and what's happening to them, it's all good. Let me add, though, that there is a mysterious feeling I get with every book when I'm about 2/3 of the way through writing. I hate it! I can't stand it! I think it's stupid and I just know that no one on earth is going to want to read it! I'm learning, however, that that's part of the process. I simply must force myself to see all the good in the book and stick it out; finish it. Now that I'm thinking about it, this is pretty much how relationships go - every relationship loses its innocence at some point. Sometimes you just have to focus on the good, stick it out, and you'll fall back in love with it again.

What is the theme of your latest book?

Well, I've got two that are coming out at almost the same time with two different publishers (big no-no, I hear). The first one is The Good Stuff - it centers around marriage, forgiveness, and surrender.The second is Trouble In My Way. It's a mother-daughter kind of book starring a 16-year-old main character. With this book, I really wanted to focus on the character's identity. She's the daughter of a minister and struggles with who she is spiritually and socially.

At what point did you stop juggling suggestions and critiques and trust yourself (as a writer)?

This may sound weird, but I avoid critique groups when I'm in the process of writing. When I emerge from the office with a complete manuscript, I'm ready for critique. But when I'm in the process, I can't take it. I find that if I start seeking other people's thoughts, I start stalling - I spend more time driving to the writer's group than actually doing any writing. I do bounce ideas off of other writers as I'm planning for a novel, and I'm totally open to people tearing my work apart because I'm pretty sure I can rebuild it. But the middle part is sacred.

Are takeaway messages (in your book) important to you?

Definitely. When people finish my book, I want them to feel like they're a little better off for having read my book. Maybe they understand themselves better, maybe they understand their daughter or their mother better. Ultimately, I want their faith to be strengthened.

When do you know you've got the finished product and it's your best effort?

I have to steal from James Frey - author of "How to Write a Damn Good Novel." He says that you will know when your work is finished because you will want to throw up when you look at it. At that point, re-writing doesn't make things any better - you're just moving things around; changing "sleepy" to "drowsy" and "happy" to "elated" which, is probably an overstatement.Any anecdotes about the research or writing of your books? As I was writing my first novel (Boaz Brown - interracial romance) I had to really check myself about some deep-seated views I inherited from my father (whom I lovingly refer to as the black Archie Bunker). I did a series of little "experiments" to explore discrimination from the black side of the fence. I had an African-American neighbor who had just moved across the street from me, and she had walked past several other houses and come to me to for the African-American perspective on our neighborhood. I proceeded to tell her about our neighbors in very non-ethnic ways: "Oh, the people at that house have two teens," and "Those people have a dog that always gets out, but it's harmless." After every description, she asked, "Okay, now what color are they?" I think she actually got annoyed with me at one point because I wasn't giving her the specifics. Writing Boaz Brown, having such conversations, and being more conscious of how I do simple things like describing a neighbor has really caused me (and my kids) to be less focused on a person's outside and more concerned with their inside qualities.

How would you pitch this book to your intended audience?

For "The Good Stuff" I'd let them know that this book is not about a marriage that simply lacks communication - these couples are past "date night" and putting each other on calendars. They can't stand each other, wish to God they'd never met each other, and have decided that if God can't fix it, they're out.

For "Trouble In My Way" I think that young adult readers enjoy reading something that expresses their point of view, so I'd read a diary entry - one where Karis laments about falling in love with a guy she only saw from the 9th row of bleachers at a basketball game.