What is your favorite part of writing? I love creating flawed, broken and funny characters and creating a unique set of circumstances for them. I especially love writing multi-cultural romances. There is an outcry for more diversity in the romance world. I’m thrilled to be a writer during this exciting time.
What is your least favorite part of writing? I have a difficult time juggling. A lot of writing is just that. It’s making time for edits. It’s spending hours on promotion, which is needed for every release. It’s dealing with budgets and covers and query letters. Also, examining the reviews of the book (or as I call it, fingernail biting time). By the way, reader responses are awesome when they are good. They encourage me to keep going knowing I’ve given people a few enjoyable hours with my characters. However, when they are bad, I have to take a deep breath, revaluate each book with fresh eyes, and find ways to make the next book even better. Oh yeah and speaking of the next book, you have to find time to write it! But I love being an author. It’s the best job I’ve ever had.
What is your next project and when will it be released?
Unwanted Girl is due out January 19th from Kensington Publishing. The story is about a girl from a rural village in India, who falls for a cynical, down and out, New York City author. These two have a whole world separating them, not to mention a ticking time-bomb since her student visa will expire in a few months. Both characters also have scarred pasts and heavy burdens that limit their views of a promising future. Yet, together, they learn to embrace life and experience true joy for the first time. Shyla, the heroine, wants to write a story, but she is no writer. Nick, although a seasoned successful writer, has lost his passion. The novel goes between the story they write and the life they are living. I’ve never attempted anything so outside the box. But then again, why limit yourself to a box at all?
What is your favorite dessert/food? I usually go for anything chocolate. The more chocolate, the better. I love bacon too. I know chocolate-covered bacon is actually a thing, but being a creature of addiction, I’m afraid to try it.
How likely are people you meet to end up in your next book? There is actually a second book coming out with Kensington next year. There might be a few surprise cameos.
Do you have a view in your writing space? What does your space look like? Funny story, I gave a friend of mine the royal tour of my house. When we got to my office, I announced ‘and this is where the magic happens.’ She gave me a sad nod and replied most people say that about their bedrooms!
Anyway, the view you ask? Well, right now, it’s piled with snow. The snow is drifting all across the driveway. I probably should think about shoveling it. Then again, I’m a writer, always on a deadline, dedicated to my work. See…I have almost as many excuses as plot elements!
My desk is very messy because I’m between promotion one book, editing another, and writing a third. I’ll admit I wouldn’t give you the grand tour of my writing space right about now.
Tell us about your hero. Give us one of his strengths and one of his weaknesses.
Tell us about your heroine. Give us one of her strengths and one of her weaknesses.
What genres are you drawn to as a reader?
I love romance of course. But there are so many subsets to that category. I read all genres, but my favorite books are the ones that pair two unlikely but loveable characters. I enjoy reading about people from different slices of life finding common ground. It’s the reason I choose to write multicultural romance. I believe we create our own barriers.
With technology, I’m seeing the world grow smaller every day. Instead of tolerating difference or worst ignoring them, we are embracing them. We need the same type of diversity represented in the romance world.
Do you have any words of inspiration for aspiring authors?
Take every compliment with humility and learn from every criticism. Both will make you a stronger writer.
Book Description or Synopsis
When a man loves a woman
Recovering addict Nick Dorsey finds solace in his regimented life. That is until he meets Shyla Metha. Something about the shy Indian beauty who delivers take-out to his Greenwich Village loft inspires the reclusive writer. And when Shyla reveals her desire to write a book of her own, he agrees to help her. The tale of a young Indian girl growing up against a landscape of brutal choices isn’t Nick’s usual territory, but something about the story, and the beautiful storyteller, draws him in deep.
Shyla is drawn to Nick, but she never imagines falling for him. Like Nick, Shyla hails from a village, too…a rural village in India. They have nothing in common, yet he makes her feel alive for the first time in her life. She is not ready for their journey to end, but the plans she’s made cannot be broken…not even by him. Can they find a way to rewrite the next chapter?
This smoothly written cross-cultural romance, which initially appears uncomplicated, evolves into an in-depth study of strong emotions and underlying motivations. Schiller has a fine talent for describing cultural conflicts, and the characters are multifaceted and endearing. A truly unanticipated turn of events sends the riveting conclusion into overdrive, leaving readers breathless. – Publisher’s Weekly
Author Bio –
I am a hopeless romantic in a hopelessly pragmatic world. I have a full time life and two busy teenagers, but in the dark of night, I sit by the warm glow of my computer monitor, and attempt to conjure up passionate heartwarming stories with plenty of humor.
I started imagining stories in my head at a very young age. In fact, I got so good at it that friends asked me to create plots featuring them as the heroine and the object of their affection as the hero. We’d spend hours on the phone while I came up with a series of unrealistic, yet tender events, which led to a satisfying conclusion. You’ve heard of fan fiction… this was friend fiction.
Even with that, it took many years to realize I could produce an actual full-length book that readers would enjoy. I try to make my stories humorous, realistic, with flawed but redeeming characters. I hope you enjoy my stories and always find The Happily Ever After in every endeavor.
http://www.mkschillerauthor.com/
Author Links
Website – http://www.mkschillerauthor.com/
FB author page – https://www.facebook.com/MKSchillerauthor?ref_type=bookmark
FB personal Page – https://www.facebook.com/mk.schiller
Amazon Author page – http://www.amazon.com/MK-Schiller/e/B00FE0FGDM/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1407492789&sr=8-1Twitter – https://twitter.com/MKSchillerGoodreads author page – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7223625.M_K_Schiller
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