Author Q&A with Michaela Rhua
What inspired you to come up with the idea for your books?
I wanted to write a paranormal FF book again. I loved writing Mated Forever but inspiration would not come at all in anyway shape or form. So I left it all. It was September 2014 when book 1 Moon Dance, began to form in my mind and then I began writing it. It was a gradual process and had its fits and starts. Once it was done – book 2 Moon Bound was already waiting – almost fully formed. So I started writing it almost straight away even before submitting book 1. Moon Bound soon developed a life of its own.
When you’re not writing, what are you up to?
I go out to work for 4 days of the week. I have two teenage children who bring times of joy and stress. I enjoy opening a bottle of wine with friends and just chatting.
What do you love about writing?
I love creating new characters and worlds in which they live. I love the journey each of the main characters go on to figure out who they are and what they want. Each time I sit down to write I do as I please, writing brings a freedom and I love the whole creativity behind it.
Any tips to share with someone who wants to be published?
I cannot claim to be an expert of even experienced, knowledgeable to skilled enough to give advice. But I would say find a group of like-minded people who will support you, help develop your skills, share your journey and just be there for you. I was lucky that I met my Critique group. We blog as The Nuthouse Scribblers and they are an awesome bunch of talented and varied writers.
The other advice is something my dear friend Raven McAllan said to me ‘Write as you can, not as you think you should.’ In other words – be you – not someone else.
Lastly, write because you enjoy telling stories, creating worlds and have characters who want to be seen – don’t write for the money because you have to be awfully lucky to get “that one big contract.”
Do you have a favorite genre you like to read?
I love all different genres – it really depends on my mood. I particularly enjoy paranormal books suck as The Black Dagger Brotherhood, historical fiction such as Jean Plaidy and Philippa Gregory and the odd thrillers by Lee Child or John Grisham – varied as you can see.
Print or e-books–do you have a preference?
Both. E-books as easy to transport via you eReader. No longer do I need to take a bag full of books on holiday but one slip device can carry many words and wolrds to you. But there is something rather special about the feel of a print book in your hands as well.
What’s your favorite song on your playlist?
I am going to be greedy and pick 2.
Lata Mangeshkar – (Film: Pakeezah) – Chalte Chalte Yunhi Koi Mil Gaya Tha
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubQ9hrKO6XI
This is from one of my favourite old Bollywood movies called Pakeezah – which is all about love found, lost and struggling to be as others would wish you to be. The song roughly translated from Hindi says whilst I was traveling I met you.
The other is Luther Vandross and Beyonce Knowles – The Closer I Get to You
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4PMSjUbg88
It’s sexy and sensual. I love or loved Luther.
MOON DANCE – Blurb
A quick pick up and a night of sex was just what Raya was looking for. Only meeting Amari set her insides on fire and she had to have more of this Indian beauty. Witches and shifters aren’t meant to bond only Raya and Amari can’t ignore the chemistry flowing between them. Trouble strikes the lovers when a past trauma hits Raya and Amari’s mother could be to blame. Finally Raya has a chance to get even with the old witch, who destroyed her life. When that revenge reveals that Raya’s past holds secrets she wasn’t aware of, it throws into question everything she believes in. Can the lovers unite to help Raya find her true self or is it all too late?
MOON BOUND – BlurbUnder the glare of the full moon, friends and foes alike meet their destiny…
Wolf shifter Misty never thought she would rescue a damsel in distress, but when she stumbles across a bloodied girl on her run, she has to act fast. An action she ought to regret when that girl turns out to be Were shifter, and thus an enemy of her pack.
Feelings cannot be denied, however, and when she meets Sofya again, the girls give into their attraction for each other.
The path to true love is never smooth and tensions rise further when Sofya’s father is implicated in a shifter death.
Will this news tear the two lovers apart, and turn them into foes or can the moon bind them together to work out the truth?
Jessie J – Dirty Dancing in the Moonlight
K D Lang – Constant Craving
Sophie B. Hawkins – Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover
Lata Mangeshkar – (Film:Pakeezah) – Chalte Chalte Yunhi Koi Mil Gaya Tha
Nazia Hassan – Aap Jaisa Koi
Luther Vandross and Beyonce Knowles – The Closer I Get to You
Janet Jackson –70s Love Groove
Lalah Hathoway – Forever, For Always, For Love
Moon Bound
“You’re stalling, so it must mean it’s time for me to leave.” Sofya spun on the spot, and Misty swiftly caught her arm.
“Let’s take a seat.” Misty pointed to the sofa and Sofya nodded her agreement.
“Raya’s father was killed when she was young, and it’s all messed up.” Misty took a sip. “He had land and somehow the local Were community were involved.”
“My father had nothing to do with that…how could you think such a thing?” Sofya put the cup down and made to get up. Misty reached across and grabbed her arm.
“I know, I know he didn’t. It was all before his time. But if the land was taken without proper permission then Raya has a right to claim it.”
“Wait, are you talking about the land that Wylan wants? He keeps bugging my dad to sign it over to him.”
“You know about all this?” Misty sat up, alert to every detail.
“Sure, I know there’s something going on with some land issue, and I heard Wylan and dad talking about how the Vamps were warning us or something…wait.” Sofya paused, looking into her cup.
“What?”
“Wylan was talking about the night I was attacked and how the Vamps were sending a warning. I didn’t get it at the time.”
“Hold on, that makes sense. Raya and Amari have worked out that somehow the Shifters blamed the Witches who had some involvement in a curse on the Weres. It looks like the Vamps have been using both communities for their own reasons.”
“Oh boy, not the stupid legend of how a powerful witch cursed the Weres who are now bound to the moon? Come on people.” She rolled her eyes. “Sheesh.”
“Each community holds on to their own beliefs and legends. For some it’s what holds people together, since you know a common enemy. You and I are supposed to be enemies, but when you get rid of all that bad history we are two people who love each other.”
“What? You love me? Seriously, like proper love?” Sofya’s eyes widened.
Misty suddenly realized what she had said. There was no going back now.
“Y…Yes I do. I’ve never felt like this with anyone.” Misty looked down at her hands, too scared to look up and stare Sofya in the face. She was worried at what she’d see. Rejection was not something she wanted to feel ever again.
“I love you too.”
The words she longed to hear came as a whisper. Misty looked up and saw tears shining in the eyes of the woman she loved.
“Really?” Misty couldn’t believe it. No-one had ever said that back to her.
MOON DANCE BUY LINKS:
Michaela Rhua always dreamed of writing but this never happened until she met the lovely group of ladies known as UCW. Their passion for writing and encouragement inspired her to see if she could do it too. Now she is multi published and loves writing!
She has teenage children who also keep her busy. However, it is whilst travelling into work that she has time to create her characters and imagine other places in which they exist as her world skims by the window. Conversations overheard often lead to the birth of new ideas that she scribbles down in her trusty notebook.