Interviews
Before the live bn.com chat, Fern Michaels agreed to answer some of our questions:Q:
Could you tell us a bit about your history as a writer? Have you always written, or did you come to it later in life?
A:
I started later in life. When my youngest child went off to kindergarten, my husband told me to get off my ass and get a job. I was petrified of the outside world. I had no skills, never went to college. All I had ever done was be a wife and mother. My husband gave me an allowance (I kid you not, and I no longer have that husband, thank you very much) that I used to buy gothic romances. That was about all that was being published at the time, 1973. I love to read. I decided I could probably write a book as good as I was reading. I convinced that husband after a lot of whining to give me time to see if I could succeed. After a lot of ranting and raving on his part, he agreed. I wrote two historical romances, one right after the other. I sent off the first one -- they rejected it, but the second one was already in the mail. Ballantine Books accepted it, and the rest is history. If the first one had come back before I mailed the second one, I don't think I would have had the guts to send out that second one.
Q:
Is Fern Michaels a pen name? If so, what made you decide to write under a pen name, and how did you choose this one?
A:
I had a partner in the early years. The editor said one name would be better than two on a book jacket; plus my real name has a Z in it, and it isn't a name that is easy to pronounce. My husband's name was Michael and my oldest son's name was Michael. I had this ugly, dusty tree in my family room that kind of looked like an overgrown fern. Fern kind of went with the two Michaels, and the editor liked it. Fern Michaels was born on a cold, snowy date in November 1973. She's only 25 years old!
Q:
Tell us about "Mary Margaret." What has she been up to lately?
A:
Mary Margaret is a ghost that came with my house. No one told me about her until after I bought the property. She's what I call a Friendly. For the most part she does not bother me. We cohabit nicely -- most of the time. She is busy at times. She breaks dishes, moves pillows, messes with my computer, and rocks on my rocking chairs. Her favorite thing is stopping all my clocks at 9:10am. She does the clock business at least once a week. She hangs out at the bottom of the stairwell leading to the second floor. There's kind of an alcove there. It's always cold there, and it's the one place my dogs won't go. In the summertime, like right now, when it is very hot, very humid with no breeze, you can see my rocker on the front porch moving, and then again around twilight the swing will be moving when there is absolutely no breeze at all. I had someone come out from Duke to check it out, and he said, "Yes, indeedy, little lady, you do have a ghost." He went on to say that ghosts are energy fields. She doesn't seem to want to relocate, and I'm not going anywhere, so I guess I'm stuck with her and she's stuck with me. It is kind of funny, though, when the dogs line up and look to the right and then the left and back to the right. They look like they're at a tennis match. I always know she's around when that happens.
Q:
What inspired Finders Keepers?
A:
My grandson. I was babysitting him one day, and we had just gone through a lengthy dialogue about was he or wasn't he adopted. He wasn't. He had himself convinced he was because his mother wouldn't let him get a dirt bike. The kid just ran with it. While all this was going on, there was a cartoon on television with chipmunks, squirrels, and barnyard animals chasing each other. One of the animals yelled, "Finders keepers!" I liked the way it sounded, and those words stayed with me all day, as did the adoption talk I had with my grandson. I put them together and Finders Keepers became a reality. Did the kid get the dirt bike? Yep. But he's only allowed to ride it here, because I am on four acres and his school marks have to stay up to snuff. My grass is starting to grow again and the bushes are coming back to life. When I typed the title for the first time, my grandson was standing next to me. He tickled me to no end when he said, "Way to go, Grandma!"
Q:
Rumor has it that you own some dogs. Do they figure into your stories in any way?
A:
Go ahead, get me started on my dogs. There isn't enough room to tell you everything. I own five, Fred, Harry, Maxie, Rosie, and Charlie. Charlie is a new Goldenray Yorkie pup and is only three and a half months old. My old Yorkie crossed the rainbow bridge on Easter Monday. I always try to put dogs in my stories -- not necessarily my own. In Wish List the German shepherd was my daughter's dog, who is so smart he can buckle up his seat belt and knows when Burger King is coming up. Jelly in Finders Keepers is a golden retriever and is kind of like a friend's dog. I cannot imagine my life without dogs. They are loyal and love unconditionally. Isn't that what life is all about?
Q:
Having had such phenomenal successes with the Vegas and Texas series, do you have any plans for a new upcoming series?
A:
Yes and no. What I can't decide is if I should continue with the Colemans and Thorntons or start a whole new family. My readers want more of the same families. I just don't know if I can make that work. It's been seven books and three more would be a real stretch. Maybe.
