Monday, December 17, 2012

Michelle Muto - HBS Author's Spotlight

Today our blog puts the Spotlight on award-winning Author Michelle Muto. She is a YA Fantasy and Horror Author. She is a Georgia peach, geek, writer and blogger.

Author Genre: YA Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction

Website: Michelle Muto Paranormal Writer
Author's Blog: Blogger Spotlight
Twitter: @MichWritesBooks
E-Mail: michelle.muto@gmail.com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
LinkedIn: Check Out LinkedIn
Facebook: Check Out Facebook


Author Description: Michelle has always loved storytelling. When she was a child, her favorite stories were of monsters and things that lurked in the dark. Telling stories often frightened her classmates and got her into a lot of trouble with her teachers. They had no sense of humor.

As an adult, Michelle traded her love of writing for the corporate life where she was an IT professional. Today, she's doing what she loves best - writing and storytelling.

Michelle grew up in Chicago, but currently lives in NE Georgia with her husband and their two dogs. She loves scary books, funny movies, sports cars, chocolate, dogs, and changes of season.

SPOTLIGHT Questions and Answers with the Author

I understand you are working on another YA novel. Do you have a title yet and about when will it be published? Can you give us a brief tease about the book? I understand that Savannah, Georgia is lovely in the spring but spooky.

Yes, the title is The Haunting Season, which takes place in Savannah, GA. I have plans to publish the book in November 2012.

Here’s what I think will appear as the book’s blurb:

Be careful what you let in…
Siler House has stood silent beneath Savannah’s moss-draped oaks for decades. Notoriously haunted, it has remained empty until college-bound Jess Perry and three of her peers gather to take part in a month-long study on the paranormal. Jess, who talks to ghosts, quickly bonds with her fellow test subjects. One is a girl possessed. Another just wants to forget. The third is a guy who really knows how to turn up the August heat, not to mention Jess’s heart rate…when he’s not resurrecting the dead.

The study soon turns into something far more sinister when they discover that Siler House and the dark forces within are determined to keep them forever. In order to escape, Jess and the others will have to open themselves up to the true horror of Siler House and channel the very evil that has welcomed them all.

Your blogs are very good. Where you a blogger before you started writing novels? When did you decide to write the blog and author interviews? Do you see an uptick in book sales by blogging quality information?

LOL! Thanks! I blogged for a short time before I decided to jump into indie publishing. I decided to do author interviews because I don’t see my life as all that exciting. I don’t really see any uptick in sales, but hopefully, my fellow authors do.

Being a fellow geek, I have automated as much of the writing process as I can. Do you use software like a database or a spreadsheet to keep track of your plots, characters and storylines?

I use Scrivener to plot, write in, keep character profiles, research, etc.

Your twitter count is close to 20K and growing about 1000 a month. Are your social media accounts your primary marketing push? Do you do traditional marketing like book signings and personal appearances?

I’d say that Twitter and whatever activity I have on FB accounts for over 90% of my marketing push. I really stink at marketing. I have been to three book signings and appearances. I hope they’ve gained my work some exposure.

Your blogs indicate you are a great supporter of indie publishing. Me too. What groups do you belong too besides Goodreads and Linkedin? Please give a brief list so new and indie authors can follow in your footsteps.

I try to make myself appear everywhere: Twitter, FB, Google+, Linkedin, Goodreads, and I’m part of three indie groups: Paranormal Plumes, Indie Chicks, and the Indelibles. I do confess that I’m rarely on Linkedin or Google+. Being on so much social media is time consuming.

Since you are from the absolute world of computers, is it relaxing to change your thinking to the abstract paranormal world of make believe when you write your novels?

I love switching gears - both from and to imaginary worlds. I definitely embrace my inner geek.

I notice in my research that you have referenced the book: the Indie Chicks. I like the concept of group marketing and information. The group of authors included in this book are outstanding. What role does the Indie Chicks book play in your blogging and your marketing?

The Indie Chicks is made up of an incredible group of women. We first came together to not only support each other, but to raise awareness and money for breast cancer research. We each not only shared a chapter of our first book, but the story of strength it took to self-publish and the obstacles we overcame.


Author's Book List
Don't Fear the Reaper
Haunted by memories of her murdered twin, Keely Morrison is convinced suicide is her only ticket to eternal peace. But in death, she discovers the afterlife is nothing like she expected. Instead of peaceful oblivion or a joyful reunion with her sister, Keely is trapped in a netherworld on Earth with only a bounty-hunting reaper and a sarcastic demon to show her the ropes.

When the demon offers Keely her ultimate temptation--revenge on her sister's killer--she must determine who she can trust. Because, as Keely soon learns, the reaper and demon have been keeping secrets and she fears the worst is true--that her every decision changes how, and with whom, she spends eternity.
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Amazon Buy Page -- Barnes and Noble Buy Page -- Smashwords Buy Page
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The Book of Lost Souls
When teen witch Ivy MacTavish changes a lizard into her date for a Halloween dance, everything turns to chaos. And when no one is powerful enough to transform him back except Ivy, it sparks the rumor: Like father, like daughter. Ivy has heard it all before - that her father, who left when she was seven - was involved with the darkest of magic.

. Making the rumors worse, someone uses an evil spell book to bring back two of history's most nefarious killers. Ivy's got a simple plan to set things right: find the real dark spell caster, steal the book, and reverse the spell. No problem! But she'll have to deal with something more dangerous than murderous spirits that want her and her friends dead: the school's resident bad boy and hotter-than-brimstone demon, Nick Marcelli. Nick's offering Ivy more than his help with recovering the missing book - he's offering her a way to ditch her scaly reputation as a lizard-lover. Demons are about as hard to handle as black magic, and as Ivy soon discovers, it's going to take more than a lot of luck and a little charm if she wants to survive long enough to clear her status as a dark witch, get a warm-blooded boyfriend, and have her former date back to eating meal worms before the week's end.
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Amazon Buy Page -- Barnes and Noble Buy Page -- Smashwords Buy Page
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Indie Chicks: 25 Independent Women 25 Personal Stories
This exciting anthology contains stories from twenty-five women from different parts of the world. Their ages differ, as do their backgrounds and locations, but one thing they all have in common is a spirit of independence and a determination to not only succeed, but prevail. Whether their struggles are to maintain balance between motherhood and career, escape from an abusive relationship, or to step out in faith and pursue a dream, all of these women have forged their own path. As women, one of our most powerful "gifts" is the ability to encourage one another.

This book is an effort to encourage women across the world. These twenty-five women share stories that will make you laugh, inspire you, and maybe even make you cry. Their hope is that these stories will inspire YOUR independent spirit and allow you to live the life you were meant to live.

All proceeds from the sale of this book are donated to various charitable organizations.
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Amazon Buy Page -- Barnes and Noble Buy Page
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Author Recommended by: HBSystems Publications
Publisher of ebooks, writing industry blogger and the sponsor of the HBS Author's Spotlight plus the blog: eBook Author’s Corner. Check out the index of other Spotlight authors. Spotlight Index.

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