Guest Blog (Day 6): Gallimore by Michelle Griep

Questions and Answers ---------------------Quirky to Serious------------------

with Michelle Griep

Quirky - Q & A.....

Fiction character you would most like to be or most identify with and why?
I always wanted to be Lt. Uhura on Star Trek because her uniform is pretty sweet, she gets to wear a funky ear piece, and she never had a bad hair day in her life.

If you could ask any person, living or dead, a random question -- what question would you ask of whom?
I’d ask Mr. Rogers about the whole sweater and sneaker attire…was that really your idea or your mother’s?

Some out there in writing land have strange rituals. Share yours.
It involves blood letting and small mammals, which I’m pretty sure is illegal in most of the contiguous United States. Good thing I live in the state of confusion (sorry, couldn’t resist).

If you could change something in any novel, what would you change about it and why?
I’ll be stepping on some toes here, but personally I’d cut a dinner party or two out of Sense & Sensibility.

What crayon in the box describes you on a good day? Bad day? Which one do you aspire to be?
I’m a marker girl myself, so I’m not really up on crayon colors.

Pick one…..Pink iguana, purple cow, periwinkle giraffe. Which one and why? Can be negative or positive.
Not touching that with a ten-foot pole.

Favorite turn of phrase or word picture, in literature or movie.
Classic: Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries. (from Monte Python and the Holy Grail)
Most Recent: The sun stretched its rays further and stronger, like a thousand lances determined to strike a strong blow and leave a red mark. (from In the Shadow of Lions by Ginger Garrett)

If you were assured of writing a best-seller, what genre would it be? Give us a sliver of information, a characteristic or glimpse of a scene.
Time travel – I love to throw myself into history, and of course I’m always the heroine. Naturally there’d be an unbelievably muscular hero who’s a warrior with a big heart that’s completely devoted to the heroine. And sorry, Fabio would NOT be on the cover.

What period of history intrigues you the most?
Medieval

What would you write if there were no rules or barriers? (epic novels about characters in the Bible, poetry, greeting cards, plays, movies, instruction manuals, etc.)
Whatever I feel like I wanna do! Gosh!

What makes you feel alive?
A cattle prod…don’t ask.

How does something worm its way into your heart? Through tears, truth, humor or other?
Time – I’m a slow learner.

Book, music, person, food you would take with you on a very long trip.
Book: Bible Person: Jesus
Music: Third Day Food: Chocolate

Where would you most like to travel ----- moon, north pole, deep seas, deserted island, the holy land or back to a place from your childhood, somewhere else? – and why.
England. I’m an Anglophile at heart.

Favorite season and why?
Autumn because of the amazing colors and the fact that hot chocolate is once again in season.

Favorite book setting and why?
Jane Eyre when she’s walking the misty moor and Rochester appears on a rearing horse. That’s how God most often works in my life. I’m usually walking around in a daze and bam! He appears.

Which compliment related to your writing has meant the most and why?
Actually, I try hard to ignore compliments and criticism (mean-spirited, anyway) because I don’t want to get a big head, nor do I want to have my heart pierced.


What would you do today if you knew you had only a week to live?
Eat lots of chocolate, drink lots of coffee, and tell lots of people about Jesus. Wait a minute…I do that anyway.

What is your favorite word?
Pinworms

What word annoys you more than any other?
Can’t

Superhero you most admire and why?
Underdog. What’s not to love about a pup in a cape?

Super power you'd love to borrow for awhile?
Invisibility

Favorite chore
Cooking

Anything you'd do but don't because of fear of pain? What is it? Ex. Bungee jumping, sky diving, running with scissors.
Stiletto Heels


Grammatical pet peeve…sound off.
Just say no to sentence diagramming.


Societal pet peeve…sound off.
Young men, pull up your pants or spackle that crack. I’ve seen enough boxers in my laundry basket. I do not need to see yours.




Nuts and Bolts Q & A

What is your current project? Tell us about it.
I’m taking a vacation from time-travel and visiting the land of cozy mysteries…and this time I’m taking along someone to help carry the luggage. A writer buddy of mine—you may have heard of her, Kelly Klepfer—and I are co-conspirators of Out of the Frying Pan. Shameless but brief blurb: Murder in Paradise whips life into a froth. Zula and Fern Hopkins, sisters-in-law, grudging roommates, and sometimes friends reside in Sunset Paradise retirement community. Their escapades land them in hot water when they attempt to sniff out a murderer. The added ingredient of a handsome, young detective who’d make a fine main-dish for their niece spices up the action even more.

Tell us about your journey to publication. How long had you been writing before you got the call you had a contract, how you heard and what went through your head?

I didn’t actually get a call. It was an e-mail. I’d been a closet-writer since 2000. The first manuscript I wrote is so incredibly horrible, I use it as an example of what-not-to-do in a Creative Writing class I teach. I finished my second manuscript, Gallimore, in 2005. I shopped it around a bit, then edited and re-edited until there was no more red ink in my pen. I sold it to Black Lyon, Spring ’08. I’m pretty sure the stunned disbelief that charged through me fried a few thousand brain cells, but with a little counseling, I’ll be fine.


What mistakes have you made while seeking publication? Or to narrow it down further what’s something you wish you’d known earlier that might have saved you some time/frustration in the publishing business?

I’ve recently had an incredible epiphany—agents and editors are…drum roll please… human. All the palpitations, sweaty palms, and acid reflux I endured when even thinking of talking to an agent or editor was a complete waste of time and Pepto Bismol. Do yourself a favor and take them off the pedestal. They don’t belong there.

What’s the best or worst advice (or both) you’ve heard on writing/publication?
BEST: Get yourself a copy of “Self-Editing for Fiction Writers” by Browne & King
WORST: When you get a rejection, slap on some red lipstick and kiss it good-bye, which is a bad idea
unless you use lipliner first…makes the edges much more defined.

Do you have a dream for the future of your writing, something you would love to accomplish?
One day I’d love to be able to have the time to write more than one night a week. Currently, that’s my allotment. I’m happy to have it, but I wouldn’t mind more.

What is your favorite and least favorite part of being a writer?
FAVORITE: Working out my own theological questions and dilemmas in the lives of my characters.
LEAST FAVORITE: Writing a synopsis—I’d rather cough up a hairball.

Parting words? Anything you wish we would’ve asked because you’ve got the perfect answer?

Write for the enjoyment of playing with one of God’s great blessings to us—words. If you’re writing from your heart, and it’s a heart centered on God (not publication), you will glorify your creator. That’s what writing is all about.