Michele is a recovering demon (AKA attorney) who left the legal field to follow her dreams of writing and teaching college-level English. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling as far as her credit card will take her, reading an assortment of fantasy and paranormal, and playing with her frisky animals (two black cats and two loud-mouthed cockatiels).
She’s loved vampires since she was four, when her BFF confided that her older sister was a vamp who enjoyed drinking blood. Like any four-year old, Michele thought this was the most awesome thing ever. Michele currently lives in Modesto, California, but will move to Santa Barbara to begin a Ph.D. program in education and literacy this fall.
www.facebook.com/MicheleNZugnoni
www.starfireseries.com
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From an ancient battle comes a forbidden love … and the chance to hope again.
Destined to destroy vampires, or refuse and be executed, seventeen-year-old Julia Kirkwood finds herself drawn to two things: a life of partying and rebelling against the law, and Clay Blackwell. The trouble is, Clay happens to be the son of the Lumince high priestess, the leader of a race of peace-loving vampires, and Julia’s father’s unspoken enemy. For Julia isn’t just a Reaver, she’s the daughter of the Reaver Chief. And Julia’s father is furious to discover she’s secretly dating and falling in love with a Lumince, particularly after an attempt at peace crumbles in bloodshed.
When her father intensifies his attack against the Luminces, endangering the lives of Clay’s people, Julia’s forced to take a stand. She must choose to accept her destiny as a Reaver, or claim her heart and find the inward strength to declare war against her own flesh and blood. Interwoven with her fate are the ramifications of a love story as forbidden and passionate as her own: the ancient romance that sparked the creation of Reavers and Luminces, igniting this centuries-old feud. Will Julia’s feelings for Clay be enough to transcend centuries of love-turned-hate? Or will their final hope for peace be incinerated in a fiery war?
Q) What inspired you
to write this story?
You know, it’s interesting. I had no intention of writing
STARFIRE. I was actually happily composing another story when BAM! I got a
severe case of writers block. And when I say severe, I mean severe. After
several hours of attempting to get past one scene, and threatening my computer
with life or death bodily injury, I finally gave up and went swimming. In the
early hours of the morning, however, I awoke with a voice in my head: it was
Julia, the main character of STARFIRE. And she informed me that she had a story
to tell. Within the space of a day, I was hooked. I couldn’t imagine writing
anything else. My writers block went away, and here we are now. J
Q) How long did it
take you to write?
Three months. I was so enthralled with this story, I was
waking up at night simply to write it all down. I couldn’t wait to find out
what happened next. This story flowed faster than any I’ve written thus far; it
was pure joy to write.
Q) What is your
favorite thing about writing?
Creating fantasy worlds and getting to know different
characters. It’s so much fun to play around in my own mind!
Q) What is your least
favorite thing about writing?
Oh, that would have to be the self-doubt. Every once in a
while, it just sneaks up on me, and I have a hard time forcing it away. It’s
when I allow myself to get re-immersed in my fantasy worlds, and reacquainted
with my characters that the self-doubt goes away and I remember how much I love
to write. It truly is the greatest thing in the world.
Q) If you could be
any famous person for one day, who would you be and why?
*lol* That’s a tough one! But if I really had to choose … I
guess it would have to be JK Rowling. It would
be so much fun to play around in the world of Hogwarts! Can you imagine?
Inventing various things Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, getting inside the head of
Draco Malfoy, playing around with Harry and Ron and Hermione… Yeah, it would be
a dream.
In fact, I think one of the reasons I love STARFIRE so much
is that I really did create my own world, complete with magic and poetry and
laws. There’s really nothing better than delving into a world of your own
creation and watching it come to life.
Q) What is the oldest
thing in your fridge and how old is it?
Can I do the stalest thing instead? ‘Cause that would have
to be my chocolate pie. And ain’t no one touchin’ my chocolate. Just you go
ahead and try. ;-)
Q) What can readers
expect from you in the future?
Thank you for asking. I’m excited to report that Goddess
Kissed, the STARFIRE short-story prequel, will be coming out on September 1. It
tells the story of Sonia Blackwell before she was high priestess of the
vampires, and her rise to power amidst a world of Reavers who would do about
anything to stop this incredibly powerful woman from taking the throne.
You can also expect the second book in the STARFIRE series
come early 2014. I can’t wait to share!
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