Author Interview & Giveaway: Mayandree Michel Betrayal

Mar 31, 2011 | Author Interview, Giveaway | 0

Find Mayandree

website – http://mayandreemichel.blogspot.com/

Facebook – http://mayandreemichel.blogspot.com/

Thanks so much for stopping by Literary Cravings, can you tell us a bit about yourself and your road to publishing?

Thank you so much for having me. I’m an artist and that’s what most people know me for. It’s a surprise to a lot of people that I write since I’ve always written for myself and not for the public. I like being in control and making the decisions when it comes to personal projects, so I never thought of having my work published the traditional way. I decided to self- publish because I wanted to be the leading decision maker for something that I had put so much into.

How did you come up with the idea for Betrayal and what was your writing process like?

I’ve always loved Greek Mythology and the story of the Descendants has always lived in my mind. I knew that I wanted to write about a strong heroine who overcomes major obstacles through a journey of self-discovery.

I started with a premise that I love, like Greek Mythology for instance. I research the premise to death online and through reference books for world building, etc. I get a three subject notebook and break my idea for my story down into three sections: Characters, Plot, Theme /Premise. Then I start building my plot and characters simultaneously. This is the only way I’ve been able to keep myself organized.

The most difficult choices usually come during the editing process on the first draft. I find it so hard to eliminate things that may not fit into the story but seemed to have sounded so right at the time of writing.

If you had to sum up Betrayal in four words, what would they be?

Magical. Tragic. Romantic. Scandalous.

In the beginning, what or who spoke to your first? The story or the characters?

The story line spoke to me first, and then the characters personalities helped paved the direction of the story.

Out of all the myths, why Greek myths?

Greek mythology stories are the myths I know the most about, and the tales which I have enjoyed the most. I started reading Greek mythology in high school and fell in love with both the beautiful and equally tragic stories.

Did you do any unique research for Betrayal?

Hours of reading on historical mining towns in the west, life during the Victorian age, and Greek mythology.

Was there any scene or part in Betrayal that was difficult to write? And if so how did you get through writing it?

The action scenes weren’t exactly difficult to write, but my husband (an action flick enthusiast) critiquing of them was somewhat brutal, and made me step up my game. I was able to write them more visually then.

Since finishing Betrayal what are you working on next?

I’m working on the second installment of the Descendants series which I’ve titled Sacrifice.

Readers check out Betrayal out Today!