As the mother of a two week old baby, Tanya Michaels wasn't exactly prepared for "the call" when it finally came. All her lavish plans to celebrate flew out the window, and instead she spent the evening eating take-out--from the carton.
Since her first book was published in 2003, Tanya Michaels has released books in multiple series romance lines, including Harlequin Duets, Flipside and Temptation. Later this year, she'll be branching into even another line, Next, with Dating The Mrs. Smiths, which is due out November 2005.
Tanya Michaels is a reader favorite
Tanya loves making people laugh, and it shows in her work. Her book Not Quite As Advertised garnered the highest rating (4 stars) from our very own WeWriteRomance.com reviewers.
"Funny, romantic, and serious.... I didn't even realize I was holding my breath until I HAD to breathe, it was so awesome." --Audria L. (link to review)
"The inner-running theme of realizing what is most important in life...shines through. This is definitely a must read!" --Heather R. (link to review)
Not only has she been a Romantic Times BOOKclub Reviewer's Choice nominee, her books have finaled in the Romance Writers of America's RITA twice, as well as the Published Maggie Award of Excellence, the National Readers' Choice Award, and the Madcap Romantic Comedy Award.
In her newest release, Spicing It Up, Chef Miriam Scott gets dumped by her restaurateur boyfriend on the same day her cookbook is rejected by a publisher. Before she has second thoughts--and aided by a bottle of wine, Miriam writes a proposal for a new, sexy cookbook. The publisher wants the book and wants to send Miriam on a publicity tour, but only after media consultant Dylan Kincaid makes over Miriam. They develop a romance, but what's going to happen when his job is done? Is he attracted to the real her or the public image they've created? "She feels a little like Frankenstein's monster," Tanya says, "only with better shoes and a padded bra."
Spicing It Up (released this month, June 2005) is generating just such raves of its own, receiving 4 and 1/2 stars from the Romantic Times BOOKclub.
From her love of television, most notably Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, and Lost, to her love of romance, Tanya has developed a lifetime love affair with romance novels. Although she reads outside the genre, having a definite affinity for fantasy novels, she's made it clear that romance is her first love. "I like a variety of books and a variety of movies," she says, "but I always come back to romance. It's the same with writing--sometimes I dabble with ideas for other genres, but I always come back to romance." About her women's fiction novel Dating The Mrs. Smiths, she says the book was "challenging but fun, too."
Tanya enjoys traveling, and is a frequent speaker for writing organizations and readers' groups.
Like many writers, the most difficult aspect of writing for her is the waiting. (eharlequin interview) But without writing, she says she'd be miserable. "Writing isn't really a very glamorous way to make a living," she says, "but those days when I get mail from Finland and think about my words touching someone across the globe...I'm reminded there's no other job I'd rather do."
