Interview with C. M. Michaels
If you could
date any character from any book, who would it be? Hmm… I would
have to say Rose Hathaway from the Vampire Academy series. She is stubborn and
impulsive, which often gets her into hot water, but she is also incredibly
brave, has unshakable morals and is fiercely loyal to her friends. And let’s
not forget she’s a half-human / half-vampire trained assassin. Something tells
me our dates would never be boring J
If you could
transport to any place during any time period, where and when would you go? I’m torn
between western North America in the time before humans and the Jurassic
period. I am a huge nature lover, and both would be fascinating, but I guess
I’d go with the former rather than face a hungry T-Rex.
When and why did
you start writing?
I have always had an overactive imagination which writing has provided an
outlet for. When I was 9 or 10 I used to exchange letters with my oldest
brother each week while he was at college. Our fantasy creatures were mortal
enemies, and battled each other in our imaginary world. I have fond memories of reading my first book,
a children’s novella that I still have tucked away in my closet, to local grade
schools when I was 14.
What is your
favorite part about writing? Being surprised by where my characters
take me. Listening to impulse thoughts of what your character would do in a
given moment doesn’t always pan out—and can take you off on some pretty odd
tangents—but I’ve learned to let myself run with them and see if I like where I
end up rather than rigidly sticking to my chapter outline.
What are you
working on now and what are your writing goals/plans for the future? The book I am
working on now, Kerrigan’s Race, is a fantasy romance set in a water world that
features mermaid-like creatures and griffins. I hope to have the first draft
completed before the end of the year. I will also be starting on the sequel to
Dangerous Waters in the next month or so.
Favorite
book(s)?
The Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong, The Vampire Academy and Bloodcurse
series by Richelle Mead, Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, Desert
Spear and Daylight War by Peter V. Brett.
Favorite
movie(s)?
The Matrix, Troy, Gladiator, Braveheart, Dances with Wolves
Favorite TV
show(s)?
24, Big Bang Theory, Game of Thrones, Cougar Town, The Middle
What is on your
"Bucket List" Visit Alaska, visit Scotland and Ireland, go whale
watching, renew our vows in Yellowstone National Park.
Dangerous Waters
For Emily Waters, a nature-loving, small-town girl with an
overprotective father, heading off to Boston University to study conservation
biology is a dream come true—until a chance encounter catapults her into a
mythical world she’d do anything to escape.
The latest victim in a rash of abductions near campus, Emily is brutally
attacked before being rescued by a powerful new friend. She survives the
ordeal, only to find herself held captive and presented with an impossible
choice. While preparing for the unimaginable life she must now embrace clues
soon emerge that Emily may not be entirely human, and her physical
transformation awakens goddess-like powers that her new family cannot begin to
explain. Dealing with her human first love, the not-so-platonic relationship
with her coven “sister,” and her new vampire sort-of-boyfriend further
complicates matters, not to mention being secretly hunted by the psychopaths
who attacked her. And as the only known offspring of a once all-powerful race,
the climactic battle is only the beginning of her journey.
C.M Michaels grew up in a small town in northern Michigan as the youngest
child of a close-knit family of seven. He met his wife, Teresa, while attending
Saginaw Valley State University. Together they’ve provided a loving home for
several four-legged “kids”, including Sophie, their eternally young at heart,
hopelessly spoiled Spaniel.
He has always enjoyed writing, and still has fond memories of reading his
first book, a children’s novella, to local grade schools when he was 14.
Dangerous Waters, the first book in the Sisters in Blood series, is being
published by Freya’s Bower on September 5
th, 2013. C.M. is currently
working on the second book in the Sisters in Blood series along with a Fantasy
romance.
When he’s not writing, C.M. can be found curled up with a good book,
watching movies or hitting the hiking trails with his wife. An avid reader
since discovering Jim Kjelgaard novels in early childhood, his favorite authors
include Kelley Armstrong, Peter V. Brett, Richelle Mead, Rachel Caine,
Cassandra Claire, J.R. Ward, Laini Taylor and Tessa Dawn.
C.M. currently resides in Louisville, Kentucky.
Social Media links:
Facebook
- http://www.facebook.com/UFAuthorCMMichaels
Twitter - https://twitter.com/UFAuthor
Blog - http://cmmichaels.blogspot.com/
Website - http://cmmichaels.com/
YouTube
-
https://www.youtube.com/user/authorcmmichaels
Book trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7Q7m0MrwlQ
Prologue
The ornately carved golden doors of the
global court swung open, and the raucous crowd settled into their seats.
Soldiers outfitted in full battle gear streamed in, marching down the long
marble aisle to the raised gallery that formed a half circle behind the five
vampire containment chairs. They each carried a debilitating knockout stick and
a shoulder-fired laser rifle. The electromagnetic waves generated by the RF
frequency systems in their helmets shielded their thoughts and ensured that not
even the strongest of their enemy could hijack their minds.
Once they were positioned, the bailiff
typed a code into the touch pad on the wall, and a steel panel slid open. Four
hooded figures emerged, surrounded by several more guards who forcefully
escorted them to their chairs. Their shackled ankles and wrists were smeared
with conductive jelly and attached to electrical leads. As soon as they were
seated, thick metal bands extended around their shins, thighs, chests, biceps
and forearms, firmly securing them in place.
None of the prisoners made a sound,
knowing that even a whimper would be met with another punishing jolt of current
from the collars fastened around their necks, but that did little to lessen the
deafening noise in the room. Every seat of the three-story grand hall was
occupied for this momentous event, with another 750,000 people crammed into
Central Park outside. Reporters from around the globe scrambled to get their
last pretrial clips recorded before the court was called to order.
“Some are questioning the tactics of the
global court this morning,” an Austrian reporter stated in her native German,
“using vampires and humans as bait in an effort to lure what most people
consider to be the Vampire Queen out of hiding. So far their plan doesn’t seem
to have worked, as there have been no sensor reports of vampire activity in or
around New York, but with the executions moving forward today, things are
expected to intensify.”
“All rise!” the bailiff bellowed out
through the hall. “This court is now in session. The honorable global court
inquisitor O’Callaghan presiding.”
An imposing figure with short, golden
locks entered from behind the bailiff, motioning for people to take their
seats. He gathered his floor-length white and purple robes in his left hand,
made his way over to the furthest prisoner and yanked the hood from her head.
“So this is the all-powerful Sienna,” the
inquisitor mocked, squeezing the bound woman’s cheeks with his hand. “How
disappointing.”
Her once beautiful face was disfigured by
several charred-black electrical burns. Blood and pus oozed out of the open
wounds. The pungent salve packed into her broken nose made her eyes tear up and
prevented her from smelling anything.
“Do you have anything you wish to say in
your defense before I render my verdict?” the inquisitor asked, deactivating
the device around her throat so she could speak.
“This will never work—she knows her life
is far more important than mine.”
“It’s possible she’d let you die,” he
acknowledged. “But both of her parents, her mate and her best friend? No, I
think that’s far too much to expect her to endure. Sooner or later she’ll come,
and the world will celebrate her execution.”
Sienna snapped to attention, her green
eyes widening in horror at the news of who else had been captured. “You have no
idea what you’ve done—everyone in this building’s going to die.”
The crowd erupted at her outburst, and
the inquisitor held up his hand to silence them. “And how exactly is your
precious queen going to manage that? She’ll be welcomed to our fair city by
twenty thousand volts from the first alarm she trips. Not enough to kill your
kind, but plenty to leave her unconscious until—”
“Sir, a perimeter alarm’s been triggered
just outside the north gate,” a soldier interrupted from the gallery.
He wheeled on the man in a fit of anger.
“Interrupt me again, and I’ll disembowel you! People have been jumping the
fence all day—contact the guards at the gate and have them check it out.”
“We tried sir. Calls have been placed to
the guard desk, the three closest perimeter sweep teams and the north tactical
unit—they’re not responding.”
“Who’s not responding, you imbecile!”
“Any of them.”
“It’s too late,” Sienna said, gazing at
his panic-stricken face. “She’s here.”
“Clear the courtroom and take the
prisoners back into custody!” he commanded.
Before anyone could move, a massive
explosion rocked the third-floor balcony, raining debris and body parts down on
the crowd below. The auditorium filled with a choking white smoke. The crowd
flooded for the exits, which were soon hopelessly jammed. They started to push
and trample each other in a desperate attempt to escape.
The lone set of stairs to the balcony was
located outside the courtroom, so the soldiers had no choice but to yield the
high ground to their unseen enemy. Several of them panicked and fired blindly
into the smoke, only adding to the chaos. The commanding officer who’d been
talking with the inquisitor raised his rifle—his body no longer under his
control—and sent a chest high laser beam though the entire gallery, cutting
several of his fellow soldiers in half. The ones who survived were turned to
dust by an energy burst that blew out the entire back of the building.
Moments later, a woman dressed in
skin-tight black leather swooped down onto the marble floor, drawing two
broadswords from the sheaths on her back. Her vengeful glare bore into the
inquisitor, who took three running steps and dove for a knockout stick that had
come to rest a few feet in front of him. His body was suspended mid leap. The
inquisitor glanced down in total disbelief at the marble tile he was now
hovering over before being catapulted sideways into the solid steel outer wall
of the holding cells.
The vampire advanced but had to break off
her attack when a laser tore through the floor inches in front of her black
leather boots. In a move too fast to be seen, she coiled and launched herself
across the courtroom, landing amongst the small group of soldiers who had
fought their way through the crowd. A bright red mist filled the air as she
executed her elegant dance of death, moving with the grace and agility of a
jungle cat.
By the time she returned to the
inquisitor, he’d managed to pull his body up into a sitting position and was
taking short, labored breaths. She raised his chin with the tip of her
blood-covered blade, wanting him to see who was delivering him to hell.
He let out something between a choking
sound and a chuckle, spitting blood from his mouth. “Releasing the locks
requires an order from me, and the code can only be entered remotely by central
command. They’re all going to burn.”
“Don’t flatter yourself—there’s nothing I
need from you.” She fixed her gaze on the restraints binding Sienna to the
chair. Within seconds they started to rattle, shaking more and more violently
until they broke free and dropped to the floor.
His lower lip trembled in fear. “Wh—what
are you?”
“The last thing your wife and three kids
are ever going to see.” She flicked her wrist, and his severed head fell into
his lap.
Fire was rapidly engulfing the courtroom,
and waves of torrid heat washed over her face. She scanned the hall in search
of any additional threats. Most of the remaining people had succumbed to the
noxious gas that was making her gag. Those who were left were sprawled out on
the floor, clinging to the last threads of life. Assured that they weren’t in
any imminent danger, she sheathed her weapons and turned toward Sienna. “Hi
Mom.”
“I told you not to come.”
She laughed, wiping some of the blood
from her face. “You can ground me when we get home. Can you walk?”
Sienna took a tentative step forward
before gripping her side and doubling over in pain. “Not far. Your father’s in
worse shape, though. Brooke, his heart—”
“I know—I can hear it.” Brooke reached
behind her back, pulled a sports bottle out of the top of her pants and tossed
it to Sienna. “You’ll need your strength.”
“Thanks.” Using both hands, she reset the
bones in her nose, and then popped the top, poured about a quarter of the
bottle over her face and chugged down the rest. Within a few seconds the wounds
healed over. They both jumped when one of the rafters crashed to the floor
behind them. “I think that’s our cue. Let’s get out of here.”
Brooke concentrated on her father’s
restraints. As soon as they broke free, his hunched-over body pitched forward
into Sienna’s waiting arms, and she eased him onto his back. “Hang in there,
David,” she whispered, removing his hood. “We’ll get you to a hospital soon.”
The whirling noise from dozens of
approaching helicopters sent them scrambling to free the others. Countless
soldiers—an entire brigade at least—charged into the mouth of the blown-out
opening just as the last of the restraints fell.
“My God,” Sienna gasped. “There’s too
many, sweetheart, even for you.”
“I’m what they want,” Brooke said with a
resigned nod. “Take my father and head north. Stick to the rooftops until you
get outside the city so you don’t trip any alarms.”
Sienna was appalled. “We’re not leaving
you here to die.”
“No fucking way!” Her quirky, endlessly
compassionate soul mate grabbed her by the shoulders, glaring at her. “You’re
my wife—I’m not going anywhere without you.”
Stepping forward to flank her mate, her
goddess of a best friend—still looking runway ready in spite of her
ordeal—flashed a warm but determined smile. “Neither am I. Like it or not,
we’re in this together.”
Tears pricked the corners of her eyes.
Part of her wanted to say yes, to have them all fight together to the end, but
she knew how selfish that was. Three vampires with too weak of a trance ability
to penetrate the RF jamming would be all but useless against an army this size,
and if she fled with them, any chance they had of escaping vanished. She’d
resisted the stupid “Queen” title from the moment it’d been forced upon her—the
first and only order she’d ever given her family was that they never bow to
her—but invoking that authority was the only way she’d get them to leave. Using
her telekinetic ability, Brooke pushed them away, knocking her mate to the
floor. “As your queen I command it! Move!”
They all shot her stunned looks laced
with an edge of betrayal. Without another word, Sienna hoisted David into her
arms and disappeared into what remained of the third floor balcony, the other
two vampires close behind.
The exchange had cost her precious
seconds she could have used to move to a far more defensible position. As it
was, she was now surrounded, with the only gap coming from the roaring wall of
flames at her back. All of the soldiers had their knockout sticks in hand.
Apparently they were intent on taking her alive. Brooke arched her hands out in
front of her, and a glimmering light began to radiate between them. Once it had
fully materialized, she thrust her arms forward, hurling a ball of plasma into
the advancing troops that obliterated the entire first wave. The hundreds
behind them closed in, driving her back toward the flames. There was no escape.
She defiantly drew her swords before the first blow from a knockout stick sent
her tumbling to her knees. The second incapacitated her completely.
When she came to, she was in the cargo
hold of a Blackhawk helicopter, and a soldier was fitting a voice restraint
collar around her neck. Her boots had been removed, and her wrists and ankles
were bound together with the latest alloy composite, stronger than even she
could break with sheer force alone.
“Sir? We’ve got her,” the commanding
officer called over his satellite phone. He listened for a few moments, and
then handed the phone back to his first lieutenant. “Bring me the laser shears.”
“Yes, Colonel.” The first lieutenant
relayed the order and soon had them in his hand. “Here you go, sir.”
“Prop her up.”
Two soldiers stepped forward and raised
Brooke into a sitting position. The Colonel flipped on the shears, took hold of
her chin and shaved off all of her milk-chocolate colored hair.
“This cap is packed with lorazepam,” he
said, sliding a black swim cap onto her now bald head. “It’s a potent
tranquilizer that’s absorbed through your skin. In a couple minutes you won’t
be able to remember your name, let alone trance anyone.”
He started to walk away, and then stopped
and turned back toward her. “And this is a gift from me, for killing over three
hundred of my men.” The Colonel removed the guard from the shears and stuck the
tip of his combat knife into the beam, heating it to a molten red. The other
soldiers moved aside as he bent down over her and burned a large V deep into
her forehead. Brooke screamed in agony, and five thousand volts fired into her
throat. Her eyes rolled back in her head, and her jaw fell slack.
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