Interview With Author Michelle Muckley

In my interview with author Michelle Muckley we discussed her dark psychological thriller " The Loss of Deference". The book revolves around a conspiracy in a small town and betrayal among the closest of friends.

Q: “The Loss of Deference” revolves around a frightening conspiracy. How challenging was it to write such a complex psychological thriller?

A: It was challenging in the fact that it was hard for me to keep on track. Whilst I was writing The Loss of Deference I was often working a sixty hour week. When the story line is complex, finding the time to write so that the story is constantly fresh in your mind is so important, and often I would not be able to write for whole weeks at a time. I needed a serious dose of editing by the time I finished.

Q: “The Loss of Deference” features some very flawed characters. Is it more fun to write about characters who are seriously flawed as opposed to characters who appear healthy and well adjusted?

A: Everytime. It's my personal beleif that you don't learn anything when life is just easy and simple. The best life lessons are those you learn when you come out from the otherside of something tough. This is what gives us strength and makes us cherish the good times. Flawed characters have lived.

Q: Do you identify with any of the characters from “The Loss of Deference”? If so, which one do you identify with the most?

A: There is no one character that I identify with, but I read once that authors put a bit of themselves in all of their characters. My favourite charcter in The Loss of Deference is Dan. I know he is in many ways unlikeable, but there is a thread running through him from an early age, when if life had just been a bit different, a little bit kinder, he could have been a very different person. He is the character that I care about the most from The Loss of Deference.

Q: Do you have any ideas on actors you would like to see cast in “The Loss of Deference” if it was made into a movie?

A: Yes! I am somebody that has a mental picture of my characters when I write about them. I wrote this up as a blog post recently. http://michellemuckley.blogspot.com/2...
You can see my full answer here, but just to give you a taster, I would cast Christian Bale as Dan. He is for me near flawless in any movie I have seen him in.

Q: What do you hope to accomplish with “The Loss of Deference”?

A: My aim has changed constantly throughout the process. At first it was just to write it. To say I had tried. Then at 40,000 words in and half way through it became to finish it and finish it well. It was only really afterwards that I gave publishing any serious thought. Now my aim for The Loss of Deference is to use it as my first book, for it to be cheap enough for people to 'give it a chance', and for it always to be the worst thing that I ever write. That way I will always be getting better.

Q: What are your future writing plans?

A: Currently to get Escaping Life out in December as per my schedule. The third book should be out within the next five months. I am not looking past that point, because if my ideas get too lofty, I will loose track on what I am currently doing. We writers are daydreamers after all, so I have to conciously keep my feet on the ground to get things done. But, to indulge the idea, I would love to have a library of books that make people care enough to read them, and that once they have done so it makes them question what they just read. I want people to close the book and sit there for a moment to contemplate it, and to feel it. And then to go to my website and see what else they can read by me!



You can catch the second part of the interview on Examiner http://www.examiner.com/article/inter...