Ask the Author: Michelle Cox
Answered Questions (21)
Michelle Cox
Sure!! Welcome, Christa, and best of luck writing!
Michelle Cox
Hi, Sheila!!! Thank you so much for your kind words! I'm thrilled you enjoyed the book. And, yes, there will be a Book 7, which will more than likely end the series. But don't despair - I will probably start a spin-off!
Thanks again!
Thanks again!
Michelle Cox
You are so welcome, Sues!! So happy you got the package. Looking forward to your feedback! Cheers!
Michelle Cox
Hi, Michael!!! Thanks so much for reading A Child Lost and my blog!! I'm thrilled. Interesting that you should mention the two of these in the same sentence and likewise to ask about my inspiration for Henrietta! They are very closely connected, as you might have guessed.
The character of Henrietta is very much based on a woman I met while working at the Bohemian Home for the Aged in the early 1990's.
Here is her original story from the blog, though I changed her name. Hope you enjoy finding similarities! And thanks for asking!
https://michellecoxauthor.com/a-girl-...
The character of Henrietta is very much based on a woman I met while working at the Bohemian Home for the Aged in the early 1990's.
Here is her original story from the blog, though I changed her name. Hope you enjoy finding similarities! And thanks for asking!
https://michellecoxauthor.com/a-girl-...
Michelle Cox
Hi, Fred!!
Thanks so much for reaching out and for reading my series!!! I'm thrilled that you are enjoying it. And, yes! There will be more in the series, though I don't have a firm date on when Book 6 will be released. Make sure you sign up for my newsletter: http://michellecoxauthor.com/newslett... to get all the latest updates and to be part of my big giveaways!!
Thanks again for the kind compliments about the series and A Child Lost in particular. I have a soft spot for Elsie, too. ❤ Stay safe!
Thanks so much for reaching out and for reading my series!!! I'm thrilled that you are enjoying it. And, yes! There will be more in the series, though I don't have a firm date on when Book 6 will be released. Make sure you sign up for my newsletter: http://michellecoxauthor.com/newslett... to get all the latest updates and to be part of my big giveaways!!
Thanks again for the kind compliments about the series and A Child Lost in particular. I have a soft spot for Elsie, too. ❤ Stay safe!
Michelle Cox
Nice! I'm going to have to learn it!
Michelle Cox
Ha!! Great question! I love all types of board and card games (though not a huge fan of poker). I like fun party games like Pictionary, Apples to Apples, Telestrations, Charades, Scattegories, etc. Also any sort of trivia game or the classics like Clue, Monopoly, Risk, Life, etc. And I really love long strategy games like Settlers of Catan, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, or Empire Builder. I'll pretty much play ANY game!! How about you?
Michelle Cox
Great question, Olusola! No...I haven't actually. Probably because I don't know chess well enough to write about it. But maybe in the future... Why do you ask?!
Michelle Cox
Yes! Thanks, Cole Marie. You are entered! Good luck!
Michelle Cox
Hi, John!
What a great question. Yes, for sure it does. When I first began writing in 2012, it was just a hobby - a personal challenge to see if I could actually sit in a chair long enough and have enough mental concentration to write a novel. Now, seven books later, I find myself in the midst of running what is essentially a small business.
This is not something I expected or planned for. It just sort of happened, and now I find myself working two jobs - being a writer and still trying to be wife/mom/and household manager. I try to give equal time to both, but it's really difficult. I'm grateful that my kids are in their teens, so they are pretty self-sufficient, but they still need a lot of my time and attention. (Whoever said that the toddler years are the hardest is sadly mistaken! Just wait...)
Some writers say that writers block is their biggest challenge, but for me it's definitely balance. I'm constantly trying to balance not only my two "jobs," but also the duties within those two jobs. For example, I'd love to just sit and write all day, but, sadly, the actual time I get to spend creating during my "writing job" portion of the day is very small - about an hour.
The rest of my writing day is spent writing a blog, articles, my newsletter, creating ads, promoting and a hundred other marketing tasks. That requires a lot of balance.
But my household manager/mom job requires a lot of balance, too - do I clean the bathroom, weed the garden or just sit and play a game of cards with the kids?
I'm in a permanent state of balancing from the moment I wake up until the moment I go to sleep. But I suspect I'm not the only one.... :)
Hope this helps, John. How about for you?
What a great question. Yes, for sure it does. When I first began writing in 2012, it was just a hobby - a personal challenge to see if I could actually sit in a chair long enough and have enough mental concentration to write a novel. Now, seven books later, I find myself in the midst of running what is essentially a small business.
This is not something I expected or planned for. It just sort of happened, and now I find myself working two jobs - being a writer and still trying to be wife/mom/and household manager. I try to give equal time to both, but it's really difficult. I'm grateful that my kids are in their teens, so they are pretty self-sufficient, but they still need a lot of my time and attention. (Whoever said that the toddler years are the hardest is sadly mistaken! Just wait...)
Some writers say that writers block is their biggest challenge, but for me it's definitely balance. I'm constantly trying to balance not only my two "jobs," but also the duties within those two jobs. For example, I'd love to just sit and write all day, but, sadly, the actual time I get to spend creating during my "writing job" portion of the day is very small - about an hour.
The rest of my writing day is spent writing a blog, articles, my newsletter, creating ads, promoting and a hundred other marketing tasks. That requires a lot of balance.
But my household manager/mom job requires a lot of balance, too - do I clean the bathroom, weed the garden or just sit and play a game of cards with the kids?
I'm in a permanent state of balancing from the moment I wake up until the moment I go to sleep. But I suspect I'm not the only one.... :)
Hope this helps, John. How about for you?
Michelle Cox
I would love that, too, Pam! Just sent you a friend request . . .
Michelle Cox
Hi, Kathy! Yes, there will be more! Book 5 of the series, A Child Lost, is due out in April, so watch for that! I'd like to keep going past that but am waiting to see if people want me to keep going or not...! Thanks so much for taking the time to write to me!
Michelle Cox
Hi, Dyana!
It depends on the genre. They're actually not interested in the number of pages; they're interested in the total number of words. So here's a handy chart I found, which I think is pretty accurate, especially if you're a debut author:
Romance: 65,000–80,000 words (Most romance imprints have specific word count requirements that writers should know and observe before they submit.)
Mystery: 80,000 words (Subgenres like cozies tend to be a bit shorter, often coming in at 70,000–80,000 words.)
Science fiction: 100,000–120,000 words
Thriller: 90,000–100,000 words
True Crime: 90,000–100,000 words
Historical fiction: 100,000–150,000 words (This may depend on the topic and demands of the marketplace.)
Mainstream women’s fiction: 90,000–100,000 words
Memoir/Bio: 70,000–90,000 words
Literary fiction: 80,000–100,000 words
Young Adult: 70,000–80,000 words
Middle Grade: 40,000–50,000 words
Picture books: 500–700 words
Hope this helps! Are you a writer, too?!
It depends on the genre. They're actually not interested in the number of pages; they're interested in the total number of words. So here's a handy chart I found, which I think is pretty accurate, especially if you're a debut author:
Romance: 65,000–80,000 words (Most romance imprints have specific word count requirements that writers should know and observe before they submit.)
Mystery: 80,000 words (Subgenres like cozies tend to be a bit shorter, often coming in at 70,000–80,000 words.)
Science fiction: 100,000–120,000 words
Thriller: 90,000–100,000 words
True Crime: 90,000–100,000 words
Historical fiction: 100,000–150,000 words (This may depend on the topic and demands of the marketplace.)
Mainstream women’s fiction: 90,000–100,000 words
Memoir/Bio: 70,000–90,000 words
Literary fiction: 80,000–100,000 words
Young Adult: 70,000–80,000 words
Middle Grade: 40,000–50,000 words
Picture books: 500–700 words
Hope this helps! Are you a writer, too?!
Michelle Cox
Hi, Richard,
Thanks for reaching out! I do do a lot of my own editing (though I know you're not supposed to!) I am a former English major, however, and worked briefly as an editor/proofreader for Amoco Oil, so I perhaps have a little bit of license. I edit my manuscripts many, many, many times before I turn them in my publisher, SWP, where it goes through yet another set of professional copy edits and proofs.
As for writing, yes, it definitely becomes easier over time. Writing a weekly blog, even if you suspect your audience is negligible, is a great help in improving writing skills and discipline. Having to stick to a weekly deadline to produce a piece of writing worthy of public view can only improve your writing.
As for my novels, they get easier as well because each time I'm a more experienced writer. Though each novel of my series presents it's own challenge, they are easier in some ways, I think, each time because the characters are already known to me and a lot of their back story has already been explained.
So with my Henrietta and Inspector Howard series, I already have that world built when I start a new book. I'm always introducing new characters, which feel stiff at first, but writing the parts about Clive and Henrietta are really easy now!
Hope this helps!
Thanks for reaching out! I do do a lot of my own editing (though I know you're not supposed to!) I am a former English major, however, and worked briefly as an editor/proofreader for Amoco Oil, so I perhaps have a little bit of license. I edit my manuscripts many, many, many times before I turn them in my publisher, SWP, where it goes through yet another set of professional copy edits and proofs.
As for writing, yes, it definitely becomes easier over time. Writing a weekly blog, even if you suspect your audience is negligible, is a great help in improving writing skills and discipline. Having to stick to a weekly deadline to produce a piece of writing worthy of public view can only improve your writing.
As for my novels, they get easier as well because each time I'm a more experienced writer. Though each novel of my series presents it's own challenge, they are easier in some ways, I think, each time because the characters are already known to me and a lot of their back story has already been explained.
So with my Henrietta and Inspector Howard series, I already have that world built when I start a new book. I'm always introducing new characters, which feel stiff at first, but writing the parts about Clive and Henrietta are really easy now!
Hope this helps!
Michelle Cox
I got the germ of the idea for A Girl Like You from an old woman I met in a nursing home. She was quite a character, and I used some of the fascinating details of her story to shape the novel. The mystery aspect of the book is fictional, of course, but there are many parts that are true!
Michelle Cox
I don't wait to be "inspired." I sit down at my computer at 6:50 am (when my kids get on the bus) every day, even weekends, and I write. Whether I feel like it or not. It's a lot like exercising. If you waited to be inspired to exercise, chances are you'll be pretty rotund.
Michelle Cox
I'm working on the edits for Book 2 (A Ring of Truth) of The Henrietta and Inspector Howard series, due out next April. Writing-wise, however, I'm currently writing Book 4 of the series. It's getting interesting!
Michelle Cox
Read, read, read. You can't read enough!
Michelle Cox
I don't really get writer's block! I do take a walk through my neighborhood each evening, which is a great way to jostle ideas free. During that time, I usually try to focus on what I'm going to write the next morning. It seems to work!
Michelle Cox
Being able to go into a different world and have a whole other life with these characters you've brought to life.
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