Just Erotic Romance Reviews

M & M Presents: Michelle Pillow and Mandy Roth - two delectable authors in the erotic romance genre

Michelle Pillow and Mandy Roth have combined their writing talents to become two ladies with formidable skills. Watch out because this dynamic duo is fast gaining a name for themselves, in their individual endeavors and their collaborative books. Their writing skills compliment each other and Michelle and Mandy are being recognized for their talents in the publishing community. They are fortunate enough to be recognized by both the print media and the e-publishing community, having books in a variety of genres and settings. I've found both ladies have published books that are gripping, sensual, highly erotic, but above all they're always centered on the love between strong and confident individuals who fly off the pages and are brought to life by their brilliant word-weaving in the erotic romance genre.

JERR welcome these two gifted authors for this insightful interview into their daily lives, their writing and their views on the industry. We hope to gain a further understanding of them as both authors and individuals. We also want to know the ladies behind some of the most sexy and adventurous books I've read that include the darker elements of life, fantastic paranormals and some HOT contemporary books. Their intriguing and charismatic characters are the reasons so many of us are buying their books and I'm proud to include some of these on my keeper shelf. Pleasure Cruise coming out soon from Ellora's Cave Publishing, The Dragon Lords, Galaxy Playmates, Tribes of the Vampire, and the CAPA winner Mountain's Captive, M & M Presents, Vampyre Productions, Peace Offerings, Immortal Ops, Gwyneth Stevens among the many titles these ladies have published. Because we found these lovely authoress' as intriguing as their writing we decided to publish their interview over two issues. Yes, we did want to know everything about them! These ladies have certainly won me over to their stories and I can't wait to read more of their books. I hope you gain just as much pleasure in reading about them as I had interviewing them. Michelle and Mandy please take a bow and introduce yourselves to our readers . . . .

Could you describe yourself in 3 sentences for our readers?

Michelle: *taking deep breath, looking at Mandy, thinking 'I am not neurotic, she's the neurotic one'* Hum, I love pajama pants, okay, addiction is a better word, but Mandy is addicted to pleather. Wait, sorry, about me… Is that three yet?

Mandy: An overachieving nimrod who would be better off not subjecting to the public to her inner mind. Wait, that was only one sentence.

When did you start writing? What attracted you to writing erotic romance?

Michelle: I didn't start writing erotic romance. I actually started writing mainstream historical romances in my spare time because I wanted to prove I could do it and kind of fell into erotic, lol. Okay, Mandy pulled me in, held me under and…OUCH! What? Jeesh, Mandy, Fine! *mumbling* Mandy didn't push me in.

Mandy: LOL. I kicked her. It was way more fun. I didn't know anything (still don't) about the world of writing and publishing. I wrote what felt right. If it felt like the characters needed to be getting down and dirty then they did.

Describe a day in the life of Michelle Pillow.

Michelle: Coffee. Write. Phone. Write. Coffee. Coffee. Husband reminds me to eat. Emails. Coffee. Avoid Mandy's calls (don't tell on me) Oh, and coffee.

Describe a day in the life of Mandy Roth.

Mandy: Up at around six in the morning. Write for an hour or check email. Get family up and out the door. Do a full house fast tidy. Drop and write for an hour or two. Run pick up little one. Do lunchtime, playtime and pray for a naptime. Laundry, laundry, laundry. Meet everyone at front door to order their shoes off and check them for school/work germs. Start dinner, avoid Michelle's calls. Feed everyone. Re-tidy the house. Double-check homework. This is where I fit my yelling time in. It's nice to schedule it. No doubt ALL of them will need it for some reason. LOL. Dunk them all in the tub. Give kisses and hand off to hubby (who is really trying to help more) so he can finish bedtime rituals. Dive into computer chair and work until three or four in the morning. Rinse and Repeat.

Did you always have aspirations to become a writer?

Michelle: Actually, I wanted to be a 'starving artist' photographer living in a studio apartment in New York City. However, I met my husband (who was accepted into a very prestigious chef school) and he fed me. I never made it to New York. LOL Kind of glad now.

Mandy: No. *laughs hard* It never once occurred to me until almost two years ago. My chosen profession was art/marketing. I got bored one night and started a book. By the end of the month, I had Daughter of Darkness done. I still laugh when I tell someone I'm an author because I don't feel like one.

If you weren't a writer what profession would you have chosen?

Michelle: Mandy would've been a pole dancer.

Mandy: I'm actually doing that on the side now. LOL. No, art and marketing.

What defining moment made you realize this is what you wanted to do?

Michelle: Well, the aliens said it would happen... Ouch! Stop that. Mandy's got issues. Anyway, um, no. No real defining moment.

Mandy: I was just extremely bored because I was suffering from a bad case of insomnia so I sat down, opened a word processing document and shut my mind off. When I blinked, I found I'd started a novel. And then of course the aliens helped to guide me. LOL.

Do you have any advice for new writers and those collecting rejections as they wait for The Call? Tell us about The Call story.

Michelle: I basically got a letter in the mail from NCP saying they wanted to publish my book. I was shocked. Then I realized I had to call everyone and tell them that I'd actually been writing books. LOL Nobody knew, not even family.

Mandy: I stood there staring at it trying to decipher the 'secret publishing code.' Uhh, turns out DOD did not mean date of delivery. I mean Daughter of Darkness. Yeah, they let me in people. Anyone can make it.

Has your family supported you in your career choice?

Michelle: I'm always going to do what I do and they know that. My husband is very supportive. He basically allows me do whatever I want and lets me take off from the tattoo shop to work. My mother has read some of my beginning manuscripts (and still believed in me afterwards) I can't thank her enough for that.

No one has said anything to my face, lol. Not that I'd really listen to the naysayers anyway.

Mandy: My family is extremely supportive. My mother is a walking billboard for not only myself but Michelle and Jaycee Clark as well. She wants us to succeed and is proud of her unofficial daughters as well. My husband has come a long way in a year and a half. He didn't even know we had a washer and dryer for the first eight years of our marriage. Now, he's practically a pro. (Shane, this does NOT mean you can keep washing my dress shirts with the towels. That is still bad no matter what nice things I say about you here.)

You both lead very hectic lives, business and personal. You've also proven to be prolific writers. How do you manage to balance these two aspects and juggling all your commitments?

Michelle: Lots and Lots of Coffee. And it helps to be work-a-holics.

Mandy: I'm with my conscience (Michelle) on this one. We need IV drips of coffee and we are certainly work-a-holics.

When did your love of romance, more particularly, erotic romance, translate into a career choice?

Michelle: It was just something I always did. Then I looked, saw I had all these manuscripts laying around and decided to shop them around. There was no real defining moment.

Mandy: When NCP contracted the first piece I ever wrote, I figured I'd try my luck at more. So far, so good.

Michelle, you have a very interesting background owning two businesses (one of which is a tattoo and body piercing studio), as well as being a freelance photographer. What made you choose writing as a career?

Michelle: Like I said, it's just something I've always done. I don't like feeling trapped in a particular job and wouldn't consider writing my only career, though it is a big one right now. I love owning the tattoo shop and it's a great break from writing. I get to be around a lot of talented artists. We go to art shows, conventions, and I even hold continuing education seminars so that artists can get licenses renewed. It's a very interesting industry.

Mandy, did you find your career prior to writing, especially marketing, has helped you as a writer?

Mandy: Yes. Marketing gave me a sense of what it was like, creating something, more often than not from the ground up and then knowing it was in the hands of thousands very shortly afterwards. I rely on my marketing education and experience almost daily now. In fact, I joke with Michelle that I do more now then when I was in the field.

For two such young ladies, how does it feel to have achieved publication and reader recognition so early in your career?

Michelle: I AM THE MASTER…what? Oops, sorry. *glancing over cue card" MISTRESS OF THE UNIVERSE! Muwhahahahahhahahha

Hey, why isn't everyone running scared?

Mandy: I'm not running. I'm passing out M&M world domination tee shirts at the door. LOL. I'd love to answer this but in truth, it just feels like I'm having fun with a bunch of great people (writers, authors, reviews, the works.) I have a hard time comprehending it as anything more than that

How long were you writing seriously prior to publication?

Michelle: I wrote because and when I wanted to. I would say I got serious after publication. I jumped straight into books. I never had any interest in writing a bunch of articles and such. Not really my style. I'd only written one short story before getting published, until my editor said she needed some.

Mandy: About six months. Until I'd started DOD, I'd never even considered writing anything beyond what my career in marketing demanded.

What do you love/not love about writing?

Michelle: Writing. And writing. *laughing 'cause I took Mandy's answer*

Mandy: That I never feel the need to plop in front of a TV and rot my mind away. I do it in front of the computer now and I'm the ringmaster.

I've noticed that you both have some really sexy book covers. Do you have any creative input on these? If so, do your first choices make the cover of the suggested book?

Michelle: : Covers depend on the publishing house. I love new cover day. It's one of my fave parts of the process. We get lots of input on the New Concepts and Ellora's Cave covers. It's very cool, though we don't have final say. Sometimes they take our suggestions, sometimes not, most times yes. At Virgin Publishing we don't really have any say-at least I haven't yet, lol. Either way is fine with me. I've been really lucky to have some great cover artists working on my books. Eliza Black, NCP, has won a couple art awards with my covers - The Barbarian Prince, The Mists of Midnight.

Mandy: Great, she stole that answer too. I'm filing a JERR grievance. I want to play too! ROFLMAO

You've both won awards and well-deserved accolades for your writing. How do you feel about the wonderful and sexy stories you write and the awards you've garnered in your writing career?

Michelle: Thanks. The awards are amazing. I didn't really think I'd be getting them, but WOW! I love especially love when readers email saying they love my books. We both write a variety of genres and sexuality levels and it's nice to be recognized for the different things we do. It's great how readers respond to the different genres as well. There support has been great!

Changing it up keeps it interesting and keeps us from being bored, which is important. If either of us gets bored the books stop, lol.

Mandy: *licks JERR Silver Star* What, oh, you were asking about how I feel about awards. I don't pay much mind to them. *Rubs finger over JERR award and sings it a soft lullaby.* LOL. It's unbelievable when I look at reader/reviewer response. I'm happy someone is even ready my work. Having them enjoy it is more than I could have hoped for.

How does it feel to have done extremely well at Fictionwise both being recognized as bestselling authors and story-tellers?

Michelle: *thud, laying on floor stunned just to think about it*

Mandy: *dumps cold water on Michelle* Really damn kewl! Is it wrong to admit I visit their sight monthly and smile? If so, ignore that comment.

What stirs the creative juices? Are you inspired by a particular person or events?

Michelle: Anything really. I come up with most of my ideas either in bed when I can't sleep or in the shower. Though, sometimes I'll see something as inane as a peanut laying on the ground and develop an entire series. Shut up Mandy. lol

Mandy: I once had a paper towel commercial inspire me. Cyber Sex came out of that. Please don't ask me to elaborate. It will just scare you.

What type of writing process do you follow? Are you a planner/plotter or do you write straight from the cuff?

Michelle: A combination of both. I know the characters and have a general idea of where I want them to go, but other than that, they lead me. LOL, Mandy charts EVERYTHING.

Mandy: Back off my charts. They're my friends. We sit around and laugh at your pile of stuff.

Do you like to write in silence or with music? What songs or CDs work for you and help set the mood for your books? Also, when do you like to write?

Michelle: I write in silence, but use music to inspire a mood before I write. What depends on the book. I like all types of music. I write off and on all day. Evening and night tend to have the most flow.

Mandy: I do both. LOL. No joke. I put earplugs in, my headphones on, jack the volume up full blast and write. I can barely hear the music and I can't hear ANY distractions. LOL. Yes, I am a freak. I embrace it fully. I wrote the Daughter series to the Wizard of Oz soundtrack. No joke. For some reason, it just felt right.

Do you do any brainstorming for your stories, especially the collaborative stories you do?

Michelle: We're both pretty careful to make sure we carry our own work load and it comes out even. We usually talk on the phone, get to laughing and before we know it we've laid and entire 11 books series (yeah, has happened a couple times, if only I could find those notes). We both pretty much come up with ideas. One person will say something, the other person will add to it, back and forth like that. It's also nice because we both like to genre hop and change our styles around.

Mandy: Yep, what she said. We also reserve the right to never bring up a horrible idea again. Remember the man who turned into a flea Michelle? Yeah, I'll put that back into the do not disturb box.

Do you find writing is an easy process or one you would still want to hone your skills on?

Michelle: You're always learning, no matter what you do. I've learned a lot this last year and hope to continue to do so. I write because I love it. If it ever became a constant chore, I'd probably stop. There have been several times where Mandy has kept me from quitting due to frustration, lol.

Mandy: Oh, I have no clue what I'm doing ninety percent of the time. And Michelle is being modest. She's talked me off many a ledges in the last year.

Do you find that writing is an ever learning experience for you as a person? And do you apply these learning's in your books?

Michelle: Well, I do know I've learned some 'interesting' things, lol. Mandy has taught me the fine points of pleather and I like to think that I've taught her some things as well-um, nothing is coming to mind. Oh, that monogamy in a story isn't a 'dirty' word and you shouldn't have your characters screaming it out during sex. It's just weird. LOL.

Mandy: OMG! She's not kidding. I had the biggest aversion to writing third person and monogamous. It was hard enough to write in third person for me. Add monogamy and I felt like she'd broken all my fingers, leaving me to type with my toes.

What do you see as the positive sides of being a writer?

Michelle: Being paid to do what I love. That feeling you get when someone's liked your hard work and tells you.

Mandy: I'm no longer considered a freak in my community. Now I'm just eccentric.

Did you show any signs of being a writer at an early age? What were the giveaways? Did anyone in your family notice this talent?

Michelle: I was a terribly shy kid. My first real experience was in 8th grade. We had to write a thanksgiving story-anything we wanted within word count. Everyone wrote the generic-'oh no! Someone burnt the turkey, what will we do?' I wanted to do something different. So I wrote 'Thanksgiving Murders'. I was going for an Edgar Allen Poe's Tell Tale Heart type thing. Needless to say, the counselor was called in. They called my mother wanting to get me 'help'. They never did give me my story back. I would love to read it. I can't help but wonder if it was so good it scared them, or if I failed completely in what I was trying to do. My mother was great. She stood by me and told the teachers that I was just creative and didn't have any 'issues'. She rocks! Thanks mom!!! I'm still pissed at that teacher. Her 'dumb-ass-edness' really set me back in my writing. *taking deep breath-8th grade is a long ways away* LOL

Mandy: No. I excelled in art. I won my first art contest when I was five and continued through my freshman year of college. I loved to read but had never given any thought to writing myself.

You both write in many erotic romance sub-genres, vampire, futuristic and contemporary to name some. Do you have a favorite sub-genre? Any reasons why this is your favorite one?

Michelle: I'm in love with paranormal right now-any paranormal. It allows us to push boundaries and create whole new worlds with new rules. My first love was straight historical.

Mandy: I love paranormals. I almost always mix paranormal with dark fantasy. And really happy when it's a thriller. I'm a bit bummed if I have to keep the violence out. I think I have anger issues.

Do you have any favorite characters from your stories? Who are they? Why do they pull at your heart?

Michelle One of my favorite series has been Tribes of the Vampire, though Dragon Lords with the spin off series Lords of the Var (coming soon, NCP) ranks up there as well. With Tribes, Jiri is by far my favorite and he's only a secondary character, LOL. There is just something about him.

Mandy: Gwen from Daughter of Darkness. I didn't know any better at the time I created her so I based her personality off mine.

Have any of these characters been inspired by someone close to you?

Michelle: Each character I'm sure pulls from people I know, have known. There are a lot of my strangeness in them as well. Like Morrigan, from Dragon Lords: The Barbarian Prince, and her reluctance to cook and clean. Or the Dragon Lords' affinity to pajama pant like clothing.

Mandy: Yes. It's a way for me to immortalize everyone I know and love.

To be continued...

Click here to read part 2 of the interview

Click here to read part 3 of the interview

Back to Interviews 2005