T. Michelle Nelson
Let's get to know another Amazing Inkspell Author. Hello T. Michelle, please tell us a little about yourself. I grew up in beautiful Western Kentucky and attended Murray State where I got my degree in Education with a minor in Literature. I now reside in another beautiful small town in Ohio which is where I began writing and also the setting of my first series. I didn’t write and publish my first book until I was in my late thirties. It was never a thought in my head to become a writer, I just enjoyed writing. Having “The Life and Death of Lily Drake” put into print was such an amazing and cool thing!
Now onto some fun questions!
If you could change one thing about our world, what would it be and why? I would open people’s minds. I truly believe most of the people in this world are good-hearted people, but oftentimes we just don’t try to see the perspective of others. “We all should open our ears and close our mouths,” as one of my favorite school teachers once said.
If you knew the exact date of your death down to the minute, what would you change about your life starting tomorrow? Knowing me, I’d overly plan my demise and have a giant yard sale because I can’t imagine leaving my son with all the junk I’ve hoarded over the years!
What television sitcom is most like your family? Why? Roseanne. There’s lots of love and just as much sarcasm!
What’s your favorite thing to do to relax? Canoeing, hiking, traveling. Just getting out of the regular day-to-day is amazing.
Let’s find out a little bit about you as an author.
Did you always want to be an author? Not at all. It just happened and it has been quite an exciting thing! Life is so short, so I try to pack as much in as I can. I’ve worked in sales, customer service, flipping houses, I even was a cake decorator once and my most recent endeavor has been restaurant owner!
What authors had an impact on you growing up and as an adult? Edgar Allen Poe, Margaret Mitchell, Edith Wharton.
Do you have any “must haves” with you while you’re writing? Coffee, and lots of it.
What have you learned the most from being in the writing business? It isn’t as easy as most people probably think it is. And also, a good editor feels like the devil when you’re working with them, but afterwards, I realized mine was AMAZING for making sure everything in my manuscript was perfect and I didn’t look stupid!
How did you decide on your story plot? There’s an older home here in my hometown of Mount Vernon, Ohio that inspired me. When I’d wait for my son to get out of school, I’d stare up at it from the parking lot and make up stories about who lived there and wondered about all the history that house had seen. One of those stories became The Lily Drake series.
How did you choose your characters names and location for your story? Mount Vernon was easy. This town is gorgeous and inspiring. The names mostly had to be researched to be sure they were accurate for the times and location as to which my characters would’ve been born.
Do you have a favorite scene? Why? Lily Drake Book One. About half way in she is heartbroken and binge eating ice cream when she is attacked by a vampire. Hilarity and some real gore ensue.
Do you have a character that you identify with? Who and why? My main character, Lily. She is basically me. She has one son who is a drummer, she is neurotic, stubborn and goofy, just like myself. I guess you could say that was one aspect of my books that had very little creativity or imagination to it. Every scenario that requires Lily to make a decision is a decision I myself would’ve made, some good, some bad and some just insane!
Let our readers know how they can get a hold of you…
@TMichelleNelson almost anywhere!
Now onto some fun questions!
If you could change one thing about our world, what would it be and why? I would open people’s minds. I truly believe most of the people in this world are good-hearted people, but oftentimes we just don’t try to see the perspective of others. “We all should open our ears and close our mouths,” as one of my favorite school teachers once said.
If you knew the exact date of your death down to the minute, what would you change about your life starting tomorrow? Knowing me, I’d overly plan my demise and have a giant yard sale because I can’t imagine leaving my son with all the junk I’ve hoarded over the years!
What television sitcom is most like your family? Why? Roseanne. There’s lots of love and just as much sarcasm!
What’s your favorite thing to do to relax? Canoeing, hiking, traveling. Just getting out of the regular day-to-day is amazing.
Let’s find out a little bit about you as an author.
Did you always want to be an author? Not at all. It just happened and it has been quite an exciting thing! Life is so short, so I try to pack as much in as I can. I’ve worked in sales, customer service, flipping houses, I even was a cake decorator once and my most recent endeavor has been restaurant owner!
What authors had an impact on you growing up and as an adult? Edgar Allen Poe, Margaret Mitchell, Edith Wharton.
Do you have any “must haves” with you while you’re writing? Coffee, and lots of it.
What have you learned the most from being in the writing business? It isn’t as easy as most people probably think it is. And also, a good editor feels like the devil when you’re working with them, but afterwards, I realized mine was AMAZING for making sure everything in my manuscript was perfect and I didn’t look stupid!
How did you decide on your story plot? There’s an older home here in my hometown of Mount Vernon, Ohio that inspired me. When I’d wait for my son to get out of school, I’d stare up at it from the parking lot and make up stories about who lived there and wondered about all the history that house had seen. One of those stories became The Lily Drake series.
How did you choose your characters names and location for your story? Mount Vernon was easy. This town is gorgeous and inspiring. The names mostly had to be researched to be sure they were accurate for the times and location as to which my characters would’ve been born.
Do you have a favorite scene? Why? Lily Drake Book One. About half way in she is heartbroken and binge eating ice cream when she is attacked by a vampire. Hilarity and some real gore ensue.
Do you have a character that you identify with? Who and why? My main character, Lily. She is basically me. She has one son who is a drummer, she is neurotic, stubborn and goofy, just like myself. I guess you could say that was one aspect of my books that had very little creativity or imagination to it. Every scenario that requires Lily to make a decision is a decision I myself would’ve made, some good, some bad and some just insane!
Let our readers know how they can get a hold of you…
@TMichelleNelson almost anywhere!
For Lily Drake, slaying vampires is easy...Dating them is the hard part.
Lily Drake is your everyday hard-working single mom…until a gorgeous vampire shows up on her front door who she mistakenly assumes is her blind date for the evening. As one crazy scenario after another unfolds, Lily finds herself falling in love with two vampires, slaying the evil ones, and being prophesied as the savior of the entire undead race.
Deciding between pizza and Chinese take-out will no longer be one of the hard decisions facing Lily Drake once she is immersed into vampire society. Humanity or immortality? That doesn't hold a candle against this question - which of the two handsome vampire cousins?
The Life and Death of Lily Drake is not your typical vampire love story. It’s a tale about the humorous mistakes a woman makes simply trying to survive not only life, but the dating scene.
How will Lily manage working full-time, taking care of her young son and fighting the undead at every turn?
Lily will have to figure it out, but who better to save the world than a mom?
AMAZON
Lily Drake is your everyday hard-working single mom…until a gorgeous vampire shows up on her front door who she mistakenly assumes is her blind date for the evening. As one crazy scenario after another unfolds, Lily finds herself falling in love with two vampires, slaying the evil ones, and being prophesied as the savior of the entire undead race.
Deciding between pizza and Chinese take-out will no longer be one of the hard decisions facing Lily Drake once she is immersed into vampire society. Humanity or immortality? That doesn't hold a candle against this question - which of the two handsome vampire cousins?
The Life and Death of Lily Drake is not your typical vampire love story. It’s a tale about the humorous mistakes a woman makes simply trying to survive not only life, but the dating scene.
How will Lily manage working full-time, taking care of her young son and fighting the undead at every turn?
Lily will have to figure it out, but who better to save the world than a mom?
AMAZON
