Welcome Michelle Picard

Welcome to Michelle Picard's blog tour! Michelle, thanks for letting us be a part of your tour. For the benefit of those who don’t know you, tell us a little bit about you. Any unusual hobbies or interests?

First, thanks so much for having me here today. My name is Michelle Picard. I’m an adopted New Englander, live the crazy suburban life with kids and hubbie, a job outside of my writing passion in social work, a cat, frog and fish, a never ending need to clean my disorganized home, and a quest to live an examined life. I don’t think any of my hobbies are unusual. If I say reading you’ll laugh because what writer doesn’t share the same addiction? But I admit I wish I went dancing more often. My newest release is a book entitled Surviving Eden. It’s a contemporary fantasy romance and the second in the Eden’s Court series, which began with Ruling Eden.

It sounds busy around your house! What attracted you to the paranormal genre? Have you written in other genres?

I’ve always read paranormal, or what years ago was simply the fantasy genre before the proliferation of paranormal. I’m a dreamer by nature. What I write is some paranormal-fantasy hybrid, coming down on one or the other end of that spectrum depending on the book. I’m open to writing other things if my muse visits and insists.

Is your work based on old myths or legends, or did you start from scratch to create a new world with a new mythology?

I do a bit of both. I use pieces of standard western mythologies and then add my own elements. For instance, you’ll find familiar myths about the paranormal creatures in my books-- vampires, shapeshifters, angels, demons, witches and dragons—but I add my own twists. Additionally, I created an entirely new creation myth to explain the concurrent existence of humanity and these paranormals. That part was the most fun, I admit.

I totally understand the lure of creating your own world. What’s your biggest challenge when you write paranormal stories?

To track all of the world building. My imagination goes wild, but there are millions of details to manage. I’m not an organizer by nature, so most of it sits in my brain cells.

LOL. Yes, world building is a pretty big job. What are you working on at the present time?

The third book in the Eden’s Court series tentatively titled Recasting Eden.
6.What future goals have you set for your writing?

Just to write something every day. Even if it’s a line. I don’t create ambitious goals because I want to ensure I enjoy my writing. An artificial target just builds pressure. I do better when I let the muse ebb and flow. Plus, if I’m not enjoying it why am I doing it?

Good point. Would you share your links with us?

Sure. My website is www.michellepicard.com and my blogsite is at www.michellepicardsblog.wordpress.com. I have a wonderful group of ladies with whom I also blog at www.thequirkyladies.com.

I’m also found on facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/people/Michelle-Picard/100000107670126

And twitter at: http://twitter.com/RulingEden

We’d love to read an excerpt from Surviving Eden. Be sure to include a buy link.

Buy links: publisher’s website http://crescentmoonpress.com/books/SurvivingEden.html

Amazon paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Eden-Michelle-Picard/dp/0984180524/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1280621882&sr=1-2

Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Eden-ebook/dp/B003UNJZPK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1286309713&sr=1-1

Barnes & Noble paperback: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Surviving-Eden/Michelle-Picard/e/9780984180523/?itm=1&USRI=surviving+eden

Blurb:


Rachel Rieh wields enough magic to make a goddess jealous, or so she learned three weeks ago when she thought she was an ordinary, reclusive, and short-tempered gal from Boston. In this second story of Eden’s Court, Rachel, now the new ruler of the Kesayim, (angels, demons, dragons, faeries, vampires, shapeshifters and witches¾the goddess-created protectors of mortalkind) finds herself faced with the task of stopping vampire hunters from annihilating the vampire race. Her lover, Gabriel, half-angel, half-demon, stands by her side to help if she can escape her obsession with protecting him at all cost.

Earth is already on the verge of destruction within six months because magic is out of balance. The new threat to the vampires destabilizes the situation more. In her race to save the vampires, Rachel meets Lilith, goddess, creator of all Kesayim and humans, and the one with all the answers to Rachel’s problems. But is the cold-hearted goddess intent on changing Rachel into her image the greater threat to Rachel and everyone she loves?

Excerpt:

Walking through the lush beauty of the Garden of Eden was meant to be inspiring, stimulating, a damned orgiastic delight for the eyes. This morning it was only annoying. Mostly because I was late for my first official diplomatic visit to the vampire realm, and fuming because the path through the garden refused to cooperate and lead us to the appropriate portal.

But the garden, its exotic sentience plucking at my mind, riffling through my thoughts and twittering its opinions--always a spine-tingling sensation--preferred to shift its dimensions and keep the elusive portal far from me and my companion. I would have questioned its motive, but I doubted it practiced anything but an amusing propensity for stirring trouble.

The Eden I strode through wasn’t anywhere on twenty-first century mortal maps of earth; more like a parallel realm snapped out of normal space, disconnected long ago by the goddess who created us all. Same as the home realms of all of the seven Kesayim peoples. Unfortunately, the garden had never recovered from its upset over the separation and tended to become testy at the oddest times. Oh yeah, PMS had nothing on this paradise when it got in a snit.

And now I had to negotiate its moody walkways and get to my destination or else. Without all the Kesayim races stable, including the vampires, I had no chance of uniting them to prevent the literal destruction of our world.

I walked faster.

What’s a little deterioration of the balance of magic on the planet, Rachel? End game, that’s what. So get your butt in gear and figure out what to do about the vampires. Christian’s counting on you. Or do you want to see him murdered too?
My heart rate skyrocketed with the last thought. I so didn’t have time for the garden right now.

On top of the furious pace I set as I stormed down the dirt-covered pathways winding through forest and meadow, I had Tarn, my fae guardsman, still harping at me about my limited escort. His long legs and graceful stride were more than a match for my own. His waist-length white-gold hair, braided down his back, trailed him as he followed me and left no visual impediment to his hard, toned body. Tarn was of the fae’s warrior caste, and he wore his position with every powerful movement, a counterpoint to the more delicate beauty of his face with its milky complexion and deep blue eyes.
As a rule I loved the irreverent fool, but he damned near pushed his limit today with his uncharacteristic doomsday warning that started from first light, when I’d stepped outside my suite in Eden’s Court. His usual caramel tones had flowed to burnt sugar instead. “My lady, if you will not contact Gabriel and ask him to join us for your own safety as we visit the vampires, at least do so for my welfare,” he repeated yet again. “He will tear me up into countless number of little pieces when he discovers only one guard accompanied you.”

I glared at the fae, his scrollwork-covered sword already drawn with his concern, before continuing down the path. I snarled, “Tarn, if you don’t shut up about Gabriel, I’ll be the one tearing you into countless pieces.”

The morning was not shaping up as I’d hoped and the reminder that my lover no longer held his position by my side as constant companion and protector did nothing to improve my mood. I was irritated with Gabriel anyway. I couldn’t figure out the why of it, I just was. “If you don’t remember, Gabriel’s no longer part of the guard and has no say whatsoever about my choice of escort. Anyway, he’s stuck in another bamboo up the fingernails, walking over hot coals negotiation between the angels and the demons today. He does not need any distractions.” No matter how much I want him here, too, I carefully kept to myself.

We dodged a grouping of new bushes popping up in the middle of our path and diverted down a new lane to our side. The garden cackled.

“But my lady...Rachel, if we just--”

I rounded on him, stopping in place with a sudden movement born of anxiety-edged irritation, causing him to skid to a halt to avoid ramming into me. “You know, this shit really gets to me. I’m supposed to be the Mother Heir, the exalted leader of the seven magical races of the Kesayim, all their powers rolled into one complete package. I’m the ruler of Eden’s Court and half the time I’m read the riot act by my own guard, my court seneschal, and the council of representatives, all of whom are supposed to answer to me. Me, remember? The crazy woman in charge of this nuthouse. I say who goes with me to visit the vampires.”


This sounds wonderful, Michelle. I hope you have great luck with it.