Snappy Interview: Mischa Eliot Talks Redemption and Love

For those who don’t know, Mischa Eliot is a tech wizard, formatting guru, talented writer, and my best friend. We’ve known each other since late 2016 and have entwined our real lives over the years, sharing family and friends. The Cards of Passion project couldn’t have happened without her. I’ll remember fondly sitting on the porch of the old house during our writing retreat and bringing up the idea. And now it is an actual project. I’m so excited. Let’s hear from Mischa herself.

Who are you as a writer? 

I feel like a different writer every time I write a new story. It’s weird. These characters come into my mind, sometimes in snippets, sometimes in full blown movie form. A lot of those stories don’t get written because… well, I already know what happens. It’s the snippets and the tidbits that draw me in. It’s my way of being the nosy neighbor, but with fictional people. Occasionally, someone in real life will say or do something that spawns an idea that coalesces into a story or serial. 

How did you decide to participate in the Cards of Passion Series? 

Some crazy woman twisted– 

Uh. The series idea was mentioned to me, and I was invited to join. I have no idea why I’m here or how the heck I wrote a book with everything else going on in life. But hey, I did it to the best of my ability and my editor did a fantastic job wrangling me in. Neither of us could wrangle in the word count, so it’s almost a novel. *flips scarf* 

What was your process for coming up with your story? 

I had an epiphany. 

Originally, I was going to write about a woman leaving a toxic relationship. Then my mind exploded, and I thought “what if she IS the toxic relationship?” and it all went nuts from there. Everyone knows a Natalie, and gender doesn’t matter. Look around for the person who is overworked, overwhelmed, and can’t delegate. They always hold on to everything too tightly. And when they turn toxic, it turns them into someone no one wants to be around. I wanted to show people that it’s hard being vulnerable. It’s hard asking for help. And that it’s not only the people around that person who are suffering, but the person living it is as well. 

Tease us and tell us about your story. 

Tease and tell? Well, alright then, remember – you asked for it. 

Stumbling Toward Serenity isn’t just a romance, it’s also a redemption story. I hadn’t planned on putting Natalie’s fall from grace into the story, but dear friend and amazing editor, Heather Whitaker, listened to her fall from grace and said ‘No, I love this! Why wouldn’t you put it in?” So, I put it in and man, did I put that poor woman through hell. 

There’s no meet-cute in this story. There’s a meet-wtaf! There’s also no dark night of the soul – I gave enough of that to Natalie in the beginning, so I thought she could use a happy for now ending without experiencing more trauma. 

Marcus is drawn to Natalie’s prickly nature and Natalie is not having any of it – until she can’t get enough of his warmth, calm ‘everything is going to be alright’ vibe. Let’s just say it goes from slow burn to hot and spicy. 

What are your future plans-events, new books, other? 

Stumbling Toward Serenity is now the first novella in the Revelry Island books. I have lots of story ideas for the series, all centered around people living on the mainland, people who visit Revelry Island and the people who created it. And yes, there will be kinky fuckery in some of them. But first, a short break from the crazy schedule.

Mischa’s book is the third in the series. We are all writing in different genres and with different character couplings. Let us know what you think. We’d love to hear. Follow her on Instagram.

Read last week’s Book 2 author blog with Gabbi Black. And next week, meet the next Cards of Passion author.