Michelle Karl Interview

Q: How did you get your start writing fiction and what genre do you predominantly write in?

A: I’ve always been writing fiction and I’ve always known that’s what I wanted to do! Literally since I was five years old. But it was long road to publication, and now I’m writing predominantly in inspirational romantic suspense.

Q: What part of a writing career do you find most difficult?

A: Finding work/life balance. I tend to either go to one extreme or the other—one day I’ll work for 12 hours straight and the next day I won’t get a single thing done—and I’d love to find that happy medium where I can work eight hours and then leave writing, promo, and everything else until the next day. It’s hard to relax when your work is calling to you from a laptop on the other side of the room!

Q: What does your writing space look like?

A: I have two main places where I work. One is the dining room table, which is an absolute disaster area right now, and the second is at a local independent coffee shop. The ladies who work there are fantastic and don’t mind if I take the smallest table and hunker down for hours! Plus, they roast their own coffee and it’s both fair trade and delicious. Bonus!

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release OUTSIDE THE LAW?

A: Three weeks after Yasmine Browder’s brother “accidentally” dies, her investigation into his death draws the attention of people who want her dead. Fresh-out-of-Quantico FBI agent Noel Black—her childhood friend and crush—doesn’t believe the attacks on her are a coincidence, and it becomes clear that there’s a powerful enemy after her who won’t stop until she’s been eliminated. With no one left to trust, Noel must find a way to keep her alive while they uncover the truth…and try not to fall in love, of course.

Q: What did you enjoy most about writing this book? Least?

A: There are several cameos of characters from my previous two releases, which were a lot of fun to include. I hope that readers who’ve been with me from the beginning are as excited to see them as I was to write them in!

What I enjoyed least was doing research for the second half of the book. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but I needed to find a floorplan for a specific government building which, I assume for security reasons, isn’t available online anywhere. I spent hours searching, and eventually had to make my best guess based on bits and pieces of information from different sources…but boy, was that a tedious process…!

Q: What is the main theme or spiritual message of this book?

A: Both characters in OUTSIDE THE LAW are dealing with a sense of displacement—from their homes, their lives, even their families. They must learn that God’s hand is always at work, even when everything else feels jumbled up and there’s no “safe place” to go. Which is a tough lesson for all of us, even without bullets flying at our heads, so you can imagine the difficulty for Yasmine and Noel!

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?

A: Right now I’m finishing up work on my November release, SILENT NIGHT THREAT. I’m really excited about that one, as my main character is a female astronaut. It was tons of fun to write (and research)!

Q: If you could have dinner with 2 people, who would they be?

A: Lucy and Susan Pevensie from The Chronicles of Narnia.

Q: Do you have a favorite hobby?

A: I often take Indian Cooking Classes with my mom! It’s fun, relaxing, and we have a fantastic South Indian instructor who shares not only her recipes, but her heart with all of us in each class. It’s a hands-on type of class, which makes for a lovely atmosphere even in a group of strangers. We all work together to create something delicious! I love recreating Chitra’s recipes at home, too.

Q: What is the most rewarding thing you have ever done?

A: Ever? Oh wow, that’s a big question. I’d say the most unexpectedly rewarding thing was adopting my sun conure parrot. I had no idea how much joy and love one little bird could bring into my life. I mean, he’s not always a delight—conures have the mental capacity of a human two-year-old, so yes, he throws tantrums and has food preferences and gets grouchy when he doesn’t go to bed on time—but those moments when he curls up next to my shoulder, closes his eyes and snuggles against me make it all worth it.