Interview with Michele Israel

Author of OUT OF DARKNESS, A Testament of Love, Endurance, and Survival

Where are you from originally and where do you reside now?

The suburbs of New Jersey is where I was born and raised. Middle Tennessee has been my home for 36-years now.

If you currently reside somewhere besides where you were born, what’s the story that lead from there to here?

After graduating high school, I moved to Montreal, Canada for a short time, to share an apartment with my cousin. We were the same age and eager to be on our own. From there, I moved upstate NY to reconnect with an old boyfriend. We married and had a son. The relationship, however, was not a healthy one and ended in divorce, which led me to NC, where I found work in a bathing suit factory. My aunt and uncle were a great source of help and support to us, both financially and emotionally. I don’t know what I would have done without them. But the small town we lived in had little to offer by way of job opportunities with health and long-term benefits. It was for those reasons that led me to Tennessee, where I landed a job with the State. It was a good move. We love it here.

What made you decide to write and publish your first book?

Well, my first book, Lessons of the Heart, is about two brothers that were taken from their home, placed in an orphanage, and then to separate foster homes. This portion of the story is real, what an old boyfriend shared with me about his life. He used humor to deflect from the hurt and betrayal he suffered. It was an emotional story that gnawed at me for years. And then one day, I decided to write what I knew, and improvise the rest. At first, it was just for fun, something I wanted to try my hand at. Years later, I signed up with the Institute of Children’s Literature. An established author of children’s books was my mentor. It was the best decision; I learned a lot. And it was my instructor that convinced me to get my book published. That invaluable experience was what led to my second book, Out of Darkness, A Testament of Love, Endurance, and Survival. A biography about my brother Joe, who was born deaf, and later suffered a hunting accident, where he spent the night alone in a swamp, having to crawl his way out. I chose to share Joe’s story, not only to show his courage, his strength, and persistence, but also to outline the struggles that our family of eight children had to overcome despite the many difficulties in our somewhat dysfunctional family.

How would you describe your books to first time readers?

My stories reveal the realities of life, of human frailties, and injustices. They are stories about love and hatred, joy and pain, loyalty, and betrayal, with strong characters.

Who do you feel is most likely to connect with the topics you write about?

Readers most likely to connect are those who enjoy true stories, who prefer Drama over Sci-fi, with emotional ups and downs and suspense involving realistic, relatable characters.

What unexpected or surprising thing did you learn during the process of writing and publishing?

The process of writing, though I love it, can seem never-ending. There is always something I want to change, to say it a little better, or with fewer words. The publishing phase, one thing that truly surprised me, was that no matter the dozens of eyes that read and reread my manuscript, I would often find a missed error. The final copy was up to me, and I wanted it perfect.

If you could, what advice would you give to your past self before embarking on this journey?

If only what we know now, we knew back then, our lives would be much different. For one, I would have gone to college, and put off marriage until later, to focus more on a career that included writing. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever suspect I would one day write, let alone publish a book.

How many people would you ideally like to reach with your books?

It’s not about fame or fortune, or the number of books I sell. It’s about sharing my craft, what I love doing, with people of all ages, anyone who is interested. Realistically, thousands, if not more.

What has been the biggest challenge and frustration during the process to date?

There were lots of challenges. Writing a book may seem like an impossible task, but for me, it was the least frustrating, what comes naturally. Finding an agent to represent your book, is sort of like standing on the corner of a downtown busy intersection, handing out flyers with a description of your book, and hope that someone will call or email you to get a copy to read, either in part or the full manuscript. Unless your name is Stephen King or Donald Trump, someone well-known to the world, good luck with that! It’s the reason so many people choose to self-publish. Not because their books aren’t good enough, but that they don’t want to wait years on a hunch, they may or may not get lucky.

What’s your biggest strengths when it comes to book a) writing, b) publishing and c) marketing?

My biggest strength in writing is focusing on the fine details in describing a scene or setting and creating a dialogue between characters. In publishing, I have a keen eye for finding errors that others have missed. My strength in marketing would be my computer skills and my willingness to learn what I don’t know.

What’s your biggest weakness when it comes to book a) writing, b) publishing and c) marketing?

My biggest weakness in writing is that I tend to be too wordy, the reason I spend a lot of time editing, saying what needs to be said, in the least amount of words. In publishing, it would be not knowing enough about the many different publishers to choose the one that is the best fit for me. My weakness in marketing is marketing itself.

When do you think you will write your next book?

I have a couple of ideas brewing and am waiting for the light bulb to go off. Once it does, it will consume me, slow but steady.

Are you self published or did you use a hybrid publisher, or a traditional publisher?

My editor strongly advised I go the traditional route. I took his advice, but there is so much involved in obtaining an agent, so much competition, that agents are very particular in the kinds of stories they are looking to represent. It’s all about what they can sell quickly, and not about the story itself or how well it’s written. After six months and thirty rejection letters to my Query, with only one agent willing to even read my manuscript, I opted to self-publish. When I learned that Harry Potter had as many as 100 rejections before someone took a chance on him, that’s pretty discouraging.