Author Spotlight: Michelle Heard

Michelle Heard is a Bestselling Romance Author who loves creating stories her readers can get lost in. She might have a slight obsession with alpha heroes who are not afraid to fight for their women.

Michelle Horst has changed to Michelle Heard.

Connect with Michelle Online:

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/cUXM_P

Amazon: https://amazon.com/author/michellehorst

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18108320.Michelle_Heard

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/michelle-horst

Website: https://michelleheardauthor.wordpress.com/

FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/MHeardAuthor/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormichelleheard/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichelleAHorst

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Random Questions:

• What is your favorite restaurant?

I don’t have one, but if I’m forced at gunpoint to choose I’d say Mexican.

• Where is your favorite or dream vacation spot?

North Carolina, Virginia, or Ireland. I want to experience the small-town feel. 

• What do you eat and drink while writing?

Everything I can get my hands on! JK. When I’m writing there’s not time to eat. This is usually the best time for me to diet.

• Where were you born?

Parktown – Johannesburg, South Africa.

• Who is your favorite entertainer (comedian, musician, actor, etc.)?

Comedian – Trevor Noah (Proudly South African)

Music – Baaba Maal (Proudly African)

Actor – Keanu Reeves (No contest! Hands down, I’d watch anything he acts in.)

Actress – Sandra Bullock (Love her!!!)

Author – Vi Keeland (Sure you understand why LOL) 

• How many siblings so you have?

Two brothers, one 3 yrs older and one 7 yrs younger.

• When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A Queen – dream big right? I used to grab the cover from my bed and use one of my mom’s belts to tie it around my waist, then walk around for hours pretending I was wearing a gown and my brothers were my servants. Although, I have to admit, my brothers never played along, much to my dismay.

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This or That:

• Plan everything or Go with the flow?

Go with the flow.

• Cat or Dog?

Cat

• Toilet paper: Over or Under?

Over

• Beer or Wine?

Wine – Just not red wine. I learned my lesson with red wine. It’s poison from the lowest level of hell.

• Beach or Mountains?

Mountains!!! PS… there has to be a lake. 

• Phone Call or Text?

Text. I never answer the phone. 

• iOS or Android?

Android.

• Football or Basketball?

Ugh… for reals? I run from anything sport related. 

• Bath or Shower?

Bath. I can’t stand water on my face.

• Sneakers or Sandals?

If I have to choose one, then sneakers, but I’m more of a barefoot kinda gal.

• Puzzles or board games?

Neither. I don’t have the patience to spend hours on games. I’d rather be reading or binge watching the next best show.

• Piercings or tattoos? 

Both have needles right? Yeah, I’m gonna pass.

• Pasta or pizza? 

Is there any contest? Pizza!!!! All the pizza.

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Book Related Questions: **SPOILERS AHEAD**

• I have read 14 of your books, including your books you published under M.A. Horst. Wake Me Up, was the first book of yours I read. I went into this book blind, and I was glad I did. Why did you decided to make Emma British? Why not just American? 

Oooh! Good question. Grab some popcorn and settle down.

Emma, my sweet Emma. There’s a lot of me in her. I made her British because I thought making her South African would be pushing it a bit. Back then readers used to ask me whether I live in a hut and how I coped with the lions roaming the streets. Not joking.

My father’s side of the family comes from England so I went with British.

Ps. I’m currently rewriting Wake Me Up. It will be republished as The Ocean Between Us at the end of Sep 2018. 

• Emma’s mother was a drunk and mentally abused her. Why did you choose for her mother to mentally abuse her and not physically abuse her?

Sensitive subject, and I’m praying my mother never sees this.

All the parts where Emma’s mom is featured is based on facts from my past. My mom went through a difficult time at one stage. She’s so much better now and we have an amazing relationship. Writing Emma’s story was a way for me to deal with my past.

Personally, I feel emotional abuse tends to be ignored by the public in general. People figure if they can’t see the physical scars then it’s not bad and you should just get over it.

Having experienced emotional abuse, I know how deep the scars go. I wanted to shine a light on it.

• Predator’s blurb starts: If you need a warning before reading a book, then this book is not for you. Why did you feel the need to add this to the beginning of this book?

Predator dealt with a sensitive subject and if you’ve read it then you’ll remember that I didn’t glamorize or tame the scene where Cara is held in the container. I added the warning out of respect for my readers who might have suffered through something similar as Cara. The last thing I wanted to do was open wounds and cause unnecessary trauma for a reader. 

• I loved the Boundaries Series. Dark Boundaries is dark. Really, really dark. This book captured my attention from the first page. You talk about the world of sex slavery in this book. What kind of research did you do for this book?

 I seldom do research for my books. Honestly, the only books I’ve done research for was Vaalbara and Insensate. When I approach a book with dark content I place myself in the character’s shoes and write what I would feel if something similar were to happen to me.

• There were parts of this book that were really difficult to read and this book made me cry multiple times. Why did you have Garrett do what he did in the book, even though he was the “hero”?

I’d do anything for my family and I felt Garrett would do the same. Garrett thought only of his little sister. When faced with the unimaginable there’s only one way to get past it and that’s to go right through the heart of it. I will admit, with Dark Boundaries being my first Dark book, I made a lot of mistakes with Garrett’s character. I learned a lot from writing Dark Boundaries and the constructive reviews I received.

 

• “Fear only has the power your mind gives it.” This is a powerful quote from Twisted Boundaries. Where did you come up with this?

 You’re going all out with these questions LOL

Twisted Boundaries. Bridgett… sigh, this character is close to my heart.

Birdie suffered immensely at the hands of her sadistic father. Again, I used some of my past to shape Birdie’s story. Let me start by saying that I haven’t had contact with my biological father since I was thirteen. When I think of him, I remember as a little girl how he used to taunt me with the bogeyman. He used to scare the ever-living crap out of me.

But, life has taught me – Fear only has the power your mind gives it. When faced with a traumatic situation, we tend to run ahead of ourselves, imagining all the worst-case scenarios the situation could end in, instead of only coping with what’s happening right at that moment. This is something I’ve learned from bank hold up’s during my career in finance. From living in a country where it’s not safe for a woman to walk the streets alone, where every person you meet is a suspect until proven otherwise.

You can choose to live in fear of what can happen, or you can refuse to give that power to the unknown. It’s up to what you choose to focus on.

I hope this answers the question 😉

 

• Dirty and Filthy were written at two different times but they both take place during the same time period. Why did you decided to write the books this way? Why have them be “written” at the same time?

Jack and Sophia – Although their circumstances were similar and their stories happen at the same time – they are still two different people. I wanted to show the difference between being born into slavery and being forced into slavery.

• Rivers father was a monster. She grew up in a house that had sex slaves. When her father died, she took everything he had built and turned it into a place to help people escape and be free. Why did she want to help these people? Why not try and get as far away from that life as possible?

I’d like to think River’s conscience wouldn’t let her run away. She’s seen first hand what happens to slaves. I wouldn’t be able to turn my back on someone in need. That’s why River didn’t. It’s not about being a hero, it’s about doing the right thing when everyone around you expects you to run.

  

• Surrendering is my favorite book of yours, even though it has been unpublished. Why was it unpublished?

Due to Surrendering dealing with a ‘cult’ theme it was banned.

I will rewrite it at some point as I’ll have to remove the cult from the plot and replace it with something more acceptable for publishing standards. 

 

• You wrote 2 books under the name M.A. Horst and I read both of them, Poppy and Lily. Do you plan to write more under this name and continue this series?

Unfortunately, I won’t be continuing the Force of Nature series. It was the first time I tried my hand at writing smut and I have to admit that it doesn’t fit with the kind of writer I am. Also, most of my readers didn’t care for it.  It was by far my lowest selling books. If I remember correctly, Poppy only sold around 50 copies. It ran at a huge loss. The loss combined with my writing style forced me to shelf the series.

 

• What can readers expect from you in the future?

Good question!

I’m a Suspense Romance author at heart. I only wrote the Enemies To Lovers series to take a break while I was dealing with my personal life. But that’s all sorted so I’m back to writing darker and suspense filled stories. I love showing the strength of the human spirit while writing. Even my Fantasy and Dystopian series which will be published early 2020 have a dark and suspense filled undertone. I’m addicted to it.

I’ll be publishing False Perceptions at the end of July, and after that I’ll be republishing some old and some new books. Here’s the line-up for the next year;

The Ocean Between Us – September 2018 (Previously – Wake Me Up)

All The Wasted Time – November 2018 (Previously – Wyatt)

Girl In The Closet – January 2019 (Previously – Twisted Boundaries)

Wishing On A Shooting Star – March 2019 (Previously – Broken Boundaries)

We Were Lost – May 2019 (Previously – Zac)

The Fire Between Us – July 2019 (Previously – Aiden)

Legacy – September 2019

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Random Ending Questions:

• Is it hard to write duel POV?

No, I prefer duel POV. It’s less frustrating for me as I get to explain the story, emotions and opinions from both characters POV.

• Who are your one-click authors?

I only have one. Vi Keeland.

• What is the most difficult part of writing a sex scene?

Everything. Like from start to finish. I hate writing sex scenes. There are only so many positions, you know? I’m good at coming up with thousands of ways to torture my characters but when it comes to a sex scene my creativity shrivels and dies.

• Do you feel authors should put trigger warnings in their books?

I feel it’s the authors right to decide. Opinions on this matter differs from author to author, reader to reader. Just like any other opinion out there, it shouldn’t be forced on people.

• Do you write full-time or part-time?

I’m a full-time author. I’ve been actively writing for 9 years now. It’s no longer a hobby, but a career a take seriously.

Thank you for the interview, Kathy. Your questions were refreshingly different.

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Books by Michelle:

Enemies To Lovers Series:

Men Of Honor Series:

Stand-alones: