I’d like to Welcome Michele Bardsley to Writings of a Wicked Book Addict. It’s great to have you here, especially at such a busy time of year!

WLP: What is the worst gift you’ve personally given someone?

MB: I can’t reveal the answer to this question due to the nature of the crime. I mean, gift. Sorry. You know how it is with confidentiality and lawsuits. I’m kidding. That thing with you-know-who and the mysterious box of you-know-what NEVER happened. Ahem.

WLP: Can you tell us, what your favorite Christmas related smell is?

MB: Dakota Cassidy’s cinnamon-scented Aqua Net. Nothing says the holidays like a big whiff of DC’s lacquered locks. And that glittery sprig of mistletoe that she always tucks just so into her hair … who needs a Christmas tree, I ask you?

WLP: What about the worst gift you’ve received?

MB: The worst gift is when my ex-husband would come home from trips and tell me about all the delightful things he saw that reminded him of me, and how much I would’ve have enjoyed said delightful things except … well, they were just too darned expensive and isn’t it the thought that counted? I’m here to tell you: No, damn it, the thought does not count. The PRESENT counts. So, either buy it or don’t tell me about it.  

WLP: Best gift received?

MB: I should’ve probably tell you some heartwarming story about something cute my kids gave me, and or did for me, but instead, I’ll say that my most favorite recent gift was getting surprised by Charlaine Harris’s fan group, the Charlaine Charlatans at last year’s Romantic Times convention. I received an Honorary Membership in the fan club, along with several goodies including an awesome T-shirt. I have never worn it. It sits clean and pristine in my closet. That was a wonderful surprise, and I’m still thrilled by the honor.

WLP: Favorite Christmas food?

MB: My step-grandmother used to make a dish called Sex in a Pan for our family gatherings. Good God. That was the best dessert ever made. Overall, though, I miss the dinners my maternal grandmother cooked, and the way we all crammed into her tiny apartment to enjoy the meals. She passed away in 2006, and I miss her every day.

WLP: Do you have any holiday traditions?

 MB: I used to keep holiday traditions, but now that I’m single with one child out of the nest and one six years away from adulthood (not that I’m counting), I’ve paired down my responsibilities during the Christmas season. One thing we used to do when the kids were younger was to buy new ornaments every year to hang on the tree.

WLP: Favorite Christmas Movie or Favorite Christmas Song?

MB: I like Jim Carrey’s version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. One of my all-time favorite holiday movies is While You Were Sleeping with Sandra Bullock and Bill Putnam.

WLP: What is your favorite book of 2009?

MB: Mine. Heh. I can’t pick just one, especially since I read a lot. I will say that I recently discovered Caitlin Kittredge, and got to read an advanced copy of her first Black London novel, STREET MAGIC. That girl can write! And the next book in the series, DEMON BOUND, is a December release.

WLP: Come Hell Or High Water comes out January 5, 2010. Can you tell us about it?

MB: Phoebe Allen is a vampire mom with demon powers who, while her four-year-old son is visiting his human father, gets herself into some serious trouble with a half-demon Scottish hottie named Connor Ballard. He’s trying to prevent his demon step-mother from breaking through to the earthly plane, and Phoebe is the key to making sure Lilith stays in the Pit. However, he sorta seduces Phoebe, and if vampires have sex, they’re married to the object of their lust for 100 years. Needless to say, Phoebe is very un-thrilled about her sudden marriage.

WLP: How did you get your start in writing?

MB: I always wanted to write. I think I decided when I was twelve that I wanted to make a living as a writer. At first, I channeled that desire into journalism, but I really wanted to write fiction. So, I did. I worked as much as could in the publishing industry, from independent newspapers to small press companies such as electronic publisher Hard Shell Word Factory (which published my first novel) to Huntington Press, which is located in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In 2003, I won the grand prize in the Writer’s Digest annual writing competition, which got me a trip to New York and some agent meet-and-greets. That’s where I found my agent, Stephanie Kip Rostan with Levine Greenberg, and she sold me within four months. I’ve been writing for New American Library, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA), ever since. They’ve published two erotic romance trade paperbacks, and with the publication of Come Hell or High Water, six mass market novels.

WLP: If you could be any type of paranormal, what would you be and why?

MB: I would probably pick vampire, but only if I could have chocolate. I’m a natural night owl, so I wouldn’t mind the loss of daylight hours, and I’m already pale (yeah, me and the outdoors are not friends). I like the idea of immortality. I wouldn’t have to live forever, but I’d love to know I could hang around for a long time and see what happens. Sometimes eighty or ninety or even a hundred years just doesn’t seem like a long enough life. There’s too much to do and see and so many, many stories to write.

WLP: Yesterday, Michelle Rowen got to ask you a question: If you weren’t a writer, what would your dream job be and why?

MB: If I wasn’t a writer, then chocolate taster would be my dream job. International chocolate taster. I’d travel around the world to the great chocolate-making countries and partake of their wondrous treats. Belgium. France. Sweden. Now that’s a sweet career. Hee.

WLP: Tomorrow, we have Jennifer Rardin here. It’s your turn, ask Jennifer anything and she has to answer!

MB: If she had a million tax-free dollars, what would she buy first, and why?

WLP: Thanks once again for taking the time to drop by Michele! Happy Holidays & all the best in 2010!

MB: Thank you so much. It was a pleasure to be here. Happy Holidays and may 2010 be the year of all that is good and chocolate-ly.

Contest Alert!!

Michele has offered up for grabs an autographed bound galley of Come Hell or High Water! To win, all you have to do is comment on this post with your favorite Holiday Movie! For extras, see below. Be sure to only comment ONCE with everything in one comment.

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Don’t forget to visit Michele on her Website.