Author (and book cover designer) Interview: Emma Michaels

I am absolutely DELIGHTED to have the wonderful author Emma Michaels with me today. Not only is Emma a FAB author, but she is also an AMAZING book cover designer who did the most FANTASTIC job re-designing my covers for The Raven Saga!!

I noticed that you're having a mega Tour for Owlet next month. Can tell us a little about the book and the tour?
Yes, thanks to my amazing publisher Tribute Books there is going to be a 101 spot blog tour with short exerts from the novel featured on each stop along with an amazing giveaway! Here is the blurb:

Somewhere between falling and flying… there is a girl.
Iris has a secret. She lost her memory eight years ago and never told a living soul. After an asthma attack one night she finds out that her dreams of a strange house on a snowy island may be a memory resurfacing but the more she learns about the past the more she realizes the life she has been living is a lie. As the façade her father built starts to crumble around her she will have to decide which means more to her; the truth or her life.

What inspired you to write Owlet?
There are so many moments that had to come together to give me the courage to write Owlet. When I was about ten, I was sitting in my grandmother’s bed and so sick I could hardly move. She didn’t know what to do to help me beyond filling me up with food and liquids so she brought me a YA book. I fell in love with it and read the rest of the series that day and all of the authors’ novels within about three days. But while I was reading, there was something that ate away at me a little bit and made me sad. The main character managed to run for five days to reach the man she loved in time to save him. I had asthma. I could never even run to the end of my block without doubling over and needing my inhaler. It hurt to know that if it came down to a life or death situation my health issues could hurt my chances of saving someone I love. As I grew up I realized, no they wouldn’t; there is always another way. I really started to wish there were a book out there with an asthmatic lead character who could show that to the world. So finally, I wrote one. I got tired of waiting and wanted it so desperately. I can’t regret it because writing Owlet helped me grow as more than just an author, it helped me grow as a person.

Is Owlet one of a series? 
Yes, book two is titled Eyrie and will be coming out October 2013 and the final novel in the trilogy will be titled Stryx.

If Owlet was made into a movie, who would you like to play the main characters? 

Photo credit: RavenU via photo pin cc 

Terrence Mann would make the perfect Nathaniel (Iris grandfather) and Summer Glau for Diana are really the only two I am perfectly sure of. I would love Iris to be played by someone unknown just so that the face would be synonymous with her specifically.

What made you want to become an author?
I don’t think there was an “I want to be an author” kind of moment really. It was more filling up crazy amounts of notebooks and my now fiancé asking me what I really wanted to do with my life. I admitted to him what I had never admitted to anyone and he told me to go for it, that even if I only wrote a book and he was the only person to get to read it he still felt it would be a great idea because it was what I wanted to do. So I did!

You're also a super brilliant awesome book cover designer (I know this folks, because Emma very kindly did the most amazing new covers for The Raven Saga), how did you get into designing covers?
I had a budget of $25 for the cover of my first novel and started out my hunt for the perfect artist. Of course no one is willing to work for only $25, it would be near impossible to even get anything back from it. So my publisher and I found a designer willing to do the base design and I built off of it. I realized as I worked on it that it was really something I was enjoying and as I got the opportunity to work on more book covers I slowly started learning more and more until finally I decided to make it official and became the cover artist for a publisher I adore. From there, it’s history.

What do you think makes a really good book cover?
Unique concepts and appropriate use of space. You need to know where the focus should be and there are so many ways to accomplish bringing the focus in on one point but I have noticed a lot of covers lately where the title and author name really don’t stand out as much as they should and I feel like, while the art is important it is ultimately about making sure the novel catches the eye of the reader and is the type of cover where you will easily be able to read the title and associate the image with it. A cover doesn’t make or break a novel but it can really help it catch the attention of readers who are just browsing.

Name one of your all-time favourite book covers?

Ohhh hard one. I have a terrible memory span so I would have to go with my current favorite which is The Flame of Olympus (Pegasus). I saw it in the store and stopped dead in my tracks to stare at it for a few minutes.

What genre of books do you love creating covers for?
Anything Young Adult though especially YA fantasy or paranormal.

Name one book that made you think 'wow'? Why did it have such an effect on you?
The Fault in our Stars. A friend told me I had to read it and sent me a copy and once I did… just WOW. It is simply phenomenal.

Who, or what, inspires you?
I find inspiration in so many different places and forms but I think the main thing that inspires me is core emotions. Those moments that change a person’s life and where you really realize what you are made of. It is part of why I am such a huge fan of Severus Snape, Alanna from in the Hand of the Goddess and Paksonarian from an Elizabeth Moon series. I had a few of those moments and I feel like they are really what I draw on when I am writing certain scenes.

Where is your favourite place to write?
I write just about anywhere. I love being at a desk though and I don’t currently have one. <3

What is your favourite movie that was based on a book?
Okay, so a lot of Harry Potter lovers are going to throw tomatoes at me for this but Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2. Like many readers I enjoy the books more than the movies simply because those books capture your heart and mind every moment you are reading them and immerse you in this magical world. The reason I love that movie is because while it doesn’t exactly hold true to the book, it brings it all back to me. I remember all of the details of the book and the movie and they come together. It is an epic finale that was bitter sweet because already the book series had been finished and now, the movies are as well.

Who is your favourite author (s) and why?
I have so many. There are the authors I love because of getting to know them personally and the authors I love because their books have really taken hold on my heart. My current favorite is John Green after reading The Fault in Our Stars. That book is brilliant.

If you could have a dinner party with any authors from any time in history, who would you choose and why?
I would be so worried about being disillusioned about certain authors that I would have to go with someone… wait. I just came up with the perfect answer. I can’t believe I never thought of it before. Solomon, Peter and John from the bible. Talk about an interesting dinner party.

Tell us a random fact about yourself.
I love Doctor Who and consider myself a proud nerd.

Tell us something interesting about the area where you live.
The island that inspired the ‘sand dollar’ in Owlet is very close to where I live!

Author Website: www.EmmaMichaels.com
Buy Links: http://www.amazon.com/Emma-Michaels/e/B004FVEL1E/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1313195938&sr=8-1
Owlet – New series - Coming this October 13th!
Blog Link: http://OurBooksOurVoice.Blogspot.com
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/emma.michaels.90
Twitter: http://twitter.com/EmmaMichaels
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4104941.Emma_Michaels

Thank you so much for having me Suzy! I loved the questions and always have such a blast talking to you! <3
It's an absolute pleasure, Emma! And ditto to that!! <3