Author Interview: Michelle Birbeck

WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO BECOME A WRITER?
I’ve been writing since I was in school, daft things about the wonderful things my friends and I could get up to in some other world. Then I got married, and life became about working and cooking and cleaning, and all the other things people have to do when they grow up. Four years ago, however, I had to leave work when my husband was diagnosed with a blood disorder. Suddenly I had a lot of time on my hands and not a lot to do with it. It was then that I took up writing again, met some wonderful friends, and started creating my own little worlds to have some fun with.

DO YOU GET YOUR INSPIRATION FROM A PARTICULAR SOURCE?
Just about everything inspires me, but especially walking and music. Walking, not because of the things I see and hear, but the time it gives me on my own to just think and let my mind wander. Music, because of the emotions it brings to certain scenes and pieces I’m writing.

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR FIRST POCKET NOVEL.
As much as I love every character I’ve ever created, I also love to torment and torture them. Celia is no exception. After the best night of her life, she’s looking forward to a nice, ordinary day. Her first day as an engaged woman. Life, however, has other plans. She soon finds herself entangled in a deadly game, where the consequences for her every action could mean the end of her life.



WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO PUBLISH WITH POCKET NOVELS?
I blame everything on my wonderful friend Bec. She’s a fellow writer, and somehow persuaded me to join the madness that is NaNoWriMo. Next thing I know, I’m preparing for my second year of the challenge, and I stumble upon Pocket Novels. What was one more challenge? I’d already committed to writing 50,000 words in the month, and though adding an extra 5,000 or so before I started was a good way to pass the days before NaNo officially started. So I sat down, wrote Consequences, and sent it off. Now I’m getting all excited and showing Consequences’ cover to anyone and everyone who is willing to look. Even if I don’t know them.

WHAT'S THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF THE WRITING PROCESS?
The end and the beginning. Whether it’s a short story or a full length novel, there is something about coming to the end of it that makes me want to keep going. It always makes me just a little bit sad to see a project finished.

At the same time, I find the start of whatever I’m working on just as hard. If I don’t like the opening, then I will go back over it again and again to get it write. I just can’t continue on if the opening doesn’t feel right to me.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE WRITING PROCESS?
Reading back through what I’ve written. Though there are many bits of writing that I like, this is one of my favourite. I love sitting down with the printed pages, reading them through, and laughing my behind off at what I’ve written. Those little lines that say one thing when I know the exact opposite is coming, and the little bits of foreshadowing I know are there. It makes me smile to see them in the writing and know that something completely different is coming.

DO YOU THINK THAT WRITING SHORT STORIES (POCKET NOVELS) IS HARDER OR EASIER THAN WRITING NOVELS?
Harder. For me, sticking to a word limit is the hardest part of writing short stories. Whether it’s a minimum or maximum limit, I’m not good with them. I’d rather be able to write for as long as needed to tell the story. That’s not to say I’m not enjoying writing short stories, I am, immensely. It is a wonderful challenge for me to complete a story, tie up all the loose ends, and not miss anything out within the limits.



DO YOU THINK THERE ARE ANY SPECIAL CHALLENGES FOR A UK AUTHOR TRYING TO CONNECT WITH AN AMERICAN AUDIENCE?

Two nations divided by a common language isn’t just a phrase. There are an unbelievable number of spelling and word differences between here and the US. If I want to write about someone going shopping, then I have to remember that trollies are what we call trams, and what I really want to carry the shopping around in is a cart. And that’s just an easy example! There’s a whole different culture between the two, as well, so it takes a lot of sifting through things to find out exactly what differences there are and get it right.

WHO ARE YOUR FAVORITE AUTHORS/STORIES/GENRES?
Where do I start? There’s a whole room in my house dedicated to books. Shelves and shelves of the things, from dictionaries dating back to 1940, to every full length novel Richard Laymon ever wrote. He’s my favourite horror writer, and I have happily read every novel he wrote, several times. Of course, I do have a particular soft spot for J.R Ward, as well as far too many other authors to mention.



ANY PARTICULAR GENRES YOU LIKE WRITING MORE THAN OTHERS?
Horror and anything supernatural. If it goes bump in the night or isn’t your average human, then I’m there.

DO YOU HAVE ANY INTERESTING WRITING QUIRKS?
I like to write with my eyes closed. I will happily sit in front of my computer, fingers on the keyboard, and close my eyes before I start writing. It helps me keep the pictures in my head a bit clearer, though it can freak people out when I’m out in public. The other advantage of being able to touch type is that I can carry on a conversation, whilst looking at the person I’m talking to, and continuing with writing. It also freaks people out, but honestly, it’s sort of fun. 

DO YOU HAVE ANY

NONWRITING PASSIONS?
Corsets, my bunny, and faeries. I’m a bit of an amateur dressmaker, and out of everything I ever made, corsets are the most fun. They might leave me unable to take a deep breath for the day whilst wearing one, but they are just so pretty!

My faerie collection is spread throughout the entire house. There isn’t a single room in my house that doesn’t have at least one faerie in it. Be that paintings and cross stitches, or ornaments and books, they are everywhere.

Lastly, my bunny. She’s a beautiful little thing called Poppy, who I inherited from a friend. I was given the choice between her or two brothers, Jimmy and Hendrix, but as soon as I heard she was called Poppy, I had to have her. She’s my distraction from the computer, and I sit on the living room floor for hours watching her hop around and play.



ANY WRITING ACCOMPLISHMENTS YOU WANT TO SHARE?
As well as signing the contracts for Consequences to be published (which will be my very first writing publication) I also signed the contracts for my first full length novel earlier this year. Very proud moments for both of those.

ANYTHING YOU WANT TO ADD? ADVICE? WARNINGS? ANYTHING?
Thank you for reading, and enjoy!