Interview with Michelle Sutton

Welcome a new guest blogger! Michelle Sutton is a fellow DBP author and is here with us today to talk about her August 1st release, Danger at the Door. Now for the interview!

Tell us about yourself.

I am the author of more than 11 books but for now that is the number I have contracted for publication. I started writing in August of 2003 and joined a writer's group in 2004, signed on with an agent in 2005 and sold my first book in 2007. I am also a part-time website designer and am Editor-in-Chief of an online magazine called Christian Fiction Online Magazine. I've been married 19 years (in August) and have two teenage boys.

Wow, 11 books. That's wonderful! Let's talk more about your writing. When did you start? And why?

I wrote my first full-length novel in 2003. In fact, it has been retitled and will be sold by Desert Breeze in January 2010. It was originally about 80,000 words and I cut it back to 20,000 words for a novella collection that didn't happen (with three other multi-pubbed authors) so I left it in the hard drive all this time and pulled it out again to polish when my husband kept nagging me about tweaking that book for sale. I'm glad I listened. It's a cool story.

Aargh, I know all about writing a story for an anthology or collection and then getting the rejection letter. But that's great that you were able to find another home for it! That's inspiring news for other authors to read about. And speaking of inspiring, what inspires your writing? In particular, you current book, Danger at the Door.

What inspires my writing is my faith and the fact that many Christian novels leave out the physical side of life and the sensuality in romance. I want to read more fiction with real life temptation and struggles so I write about that myself. And in Danger at the Door, I wanted a character who struggled with the English language and American culture and didn't speak something easy like Spanish, so I picked a language with an obscure alphabet and difficult words, like Macedonian. My hero is pretty hot. :) The accent definitely helps.

We all face temptations so why shouldn't our characters? And I love characters with accents. I also love the title. How did you come up with it?

For Danger at the Door? I brainstormed it with friends as the original title didn't sound very suspenseful. Same with First Impressions (releasing in January). It used to be called "For the Love of James" and then "The Shady Lady" and then "The Shy Captain" and now this.

Most authors are also readers. What book are you currently reading?

I'm in the middle of reading about five books right now. As long as they are in different genres I don't have trouble keeping them straight. Love's Pursuit by Siri Mitchell is currently on the top of my list of books I'm reading for review.

That sounds like me, my nose is always in a book or two or five! *laughs* Do you have advice for writers?

Don't be a one book wonder. Write like crazy until something sells.


Excellent advice. And now for a couple of fun questions. How would you describe yourself in two words?

Energizer Bunny

And if you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?

The ability to make 24 hour days longer and to not need sleep so I can be on top of the game all of the time and not get behind in my reading. If I couldn't accomplish that I'd like to be a speed reader who has great comprehension skills.

What a wonderful superpower that would be! Thank you so much for interviewing with me today, Michelle. I'm looking forward for your August release. You can learn more and read an excerpt from Danger at the Door here

As a closing, here is the blurb to Danger at the Door:

Upon her fiancé's death, Laney became a recluse who only left her home for emergencies. She managed to survive - barely - on food delivery service and her work-at-home job. When she tries to move on from her grief, the commemorative meal she orders is ruined. However, it leads to an unlikely friendship with an attractive man, Bojan, who speaks little English.

As he befriends Laney he continually says the wrong things, but he doesn't give up trying to win her trust. Meanwhile, she has this strange feeling of being watched and wonders if she's losing her mind.

Complicating things further, every time she leaves her house something bad happens, confirming that she is safer at home. Can Bojan convince Laney she'll be safe with him, or will his presence put her in further danger? Will he be able to protect the woman he loves before it's too late?