Welcome Back to Pottersville: Interview with Michelle Hollstein

"Join Aggie as she flies with her best friend Betty to Palm Springs where a $200,000 fish is stolen, an actress is kidnapped, and a man is murdered. Naturally curious, Aggie can’t help getting involved. Despite numerous warnings from her daughter to mind her own business, Aggie takes matters into her own hands.” –Synopsis for Something’s Fishy, the first (2^nd?) entry in the Aggie Underhill mystery series.

This month, I profile prolific and eclectic indie author and painter Michelle Hollstein of sunny SoCal. Michelle is the author of the long-running Aggie Underhill mystery series as well as that of the dystopian Fatal Reaction series, the Vienna Rossi (or Lost Souls) paranormal mystery series, the sci fi/fantasy trilogy, The Niburu Chronicles and the nonfiction series, Who Says You Can't Paint?

15) Michelle, could you please unravel for us the mystery within the mystery and explain how the Carl Hiaasenesque Something's Fishy came to be the first and the second book in the Underhill series?

Since my writing has improved over the years, and my characters' personalities have grown, I’d decided to rewrite the first five books in my Aggie Underhill series. I’d taken them off the market and had rewritten them starting with One Hell of a Cruise, working my way backwards, rereleasing each one as I finished. The older the book, the more work the story needed. Unfortunately, I’d become ill with cancer before I was able to rewrite the very first book in the series, Deadly Withdrawal. Hopefully, I’ll be able to rerelease the first book soon. For now, Something’s Fishy, which is the 2^nd book in the series, is the first one available. My main characters come together in the 2^nd book.

14) What strengths and weaknesses do you think make Aggie such a compelling and effective detective? What makes her tick?

Aggie is a very curious and somewhat nosy person. Unfortunately, her curiosity is what causes her to stumble into trouble. Her daughter, Sarah, is constantly saying, “Mum, tripping over bodies is not normal.” She’s also always warning her mother not to be nosy. However, it’s a good thing for us that Aggie never listens to her daughter. If she wasn’t so darn nosy, we wouldn’t have any fun.

13) As someone juggling multiple series, I know how difficult it must be keeping all those chronologies straight and staying focused. How difficult is it for you to keep those five plates spinning at once?

Since I enjoy writing in series, I’ve really gotten to know my characters inside and out. It’s almost like they’re family. So, it’s not very difficult to keep them straight. When I start something new with all brand new characters, that can be a bit challenging. I’ll suddenly forget their names or what they look like and have to backtrack in my stories.

12) Let’s talk about Vienna Rossi. Even moreso than Aggie, Vienna is a more cosmopolitan detective, thereby skillfully avoiding the dreaded Cabot Cove syndrome. Could you give those of us who’ve never read a Rossi mystery a run-down of Vienna’s character?

Vienna Rossi is a young adult getting ready to graduate college with a degree in Art Studio. She’s still trying to find herself and figure out what she wants to do with her life. Vienna starts having nightmares and eventually learns that these nightmares are caused by ghosts trying to communicate with her. With the help of Vienna’s handsome spirit guide named Jack, and her best friend Kim, she solves the mysteries that’d caused the souls to be lost, releasing them to crossover to the other side. The biggest challenge for Vienna is that she doesn’t believe in ghosts, spirit guides and psychics, so she’s very resistant to the whole idea and fights it.

11) Paranormal mysteries are all good and well but how does one go about bringing a criminally-minded ghost to justice?

In my series, most of the ghosts have been victims. I don’t want to spoil anything or give anything away, but I do have one ghost that’d committed a murder, which was why he was too afraid to cross over. Between his guilty conscsience and fear, he was trapped in between realms for centuries. He was looking for forgiveness for what he’d done so that he could move on.

10) I’ve been doing these interviews for going on three years and I don’t think I’ve ever profiled anyone who was both an author and someone making a serious go at art. Does one discipline bleed into the other? Or does one inspire the other?

I actually started with singing and performing. Then in college I took a painting class and loved it so much, I decided to major in Art Studio. Since graduating from college, I’ve always worked in offices, and it was difficult to find time for a creative outlet. One day, while work was slow, I had decided to try writing a book. Once I got started, I couldn’t stop. Whether I’m singing, painting, or writing, I feel like I tap into that same creative portion of my brain. All three are just as satisfying to me.

9) Are there any plans to do an Aggie/Vienna crossover?

My Aggie Underhill book, Vegas or Bust, and my Vienna Rossi book, Beautiful Beginnings cross over. The characters are all in Las Vegas at the same time, staying in the same hotel and just happen to run into each other at a buffet. I’d written both books right after I gotten home from attending a Marine Corps Ball in Las Vegas. Even though both stories are completely different, I thought it’d be fun to have my characters bump into one another.

8) Let’s talk about the Fatal Reaction tetralogy for a minute. A virus has swept the planet (stop me if this sounds familiar), turning much of the human race into rage monsters. How do you plausibly maintain characters who still manage to keep their wits about them and maintain the narrative?

It’s funny you ask that because many of my characters are not keeping their wits about them. I wanted realistic everyday people for my characters and a lot of them are doing really stupid things. They’re trying their best to survive a deadly virus that was originally let loose on the public to save the human race but backfired, as well as dealing with an alien invasion. Most people, including myself, wouldn’t have a clue as to what to do. When I wrote this series, I thought of my neighbors, grocery store workers, administrative assistants, students… average everyday people and how they’d react. I can’t imagine that very many people would know what to do and be able to keep their wits about them. I delve into their fears and thoughts as they plunge through each day.

7) Plotter, pantser or plantser?

Most definitely a panster. I just make up my stories as I go along. I never have an outline. Everything starts with a scene that pops into my head and I just go with the flow. I was completely shocked when aliens showed up in my book Fatal Reaction, The Beginning.

6) Who were some of your favorite authors growing up and which ones, if any, became an influence on your own work?

Growing up, I loved reading C.S. Lewis, Judy Bloom and Beverly Cleary. When I was in my late twenties, I read Harry Potter and that was what motivated me to want to write a fantasy series. JK Rowling’s imagination inspired me to tap into my own. That’s when I wrote my Niburu Chronicles.

5) Have you ever had any paranormal experiences of your own that found their way into the Vienna series?

Yes, I’ve had many paranormal experiences growing up. I’ve always been fascinated by ghosts, psychics and anything paranormal. So, I thought it’d be fun to incorporate them into a series.

4) If you were offered a Big Five contract for any of your series, which one would it be or would you insist on keeping your indie status?

I’ve often wondered what I’d do. I love being in charge of my own creations. I guess it would depend on the amount of money offered. It would have to be a very good offer. As for which series, my Fatal Reaction series and my Aggie Underhill series have been my most popular. So, it’d probably be one of the two.

3) Describe your typical writing day, if that exists. Do you draft exclusively on a laptop or in a notebook or do you use both? If you have daily word goals, what are they?

I just write whenever inspiration hits me. I primarily use my laptop to write, but I’ve been known to grab a notebook and write a scene that comes to me from time to time. I don’t have a set schedule or word count. Sometimes I’ll write every chance I’d get around my work schedule and other times, several months will go by without me writing anything. It’s very sporadic.

2) Have your kids read your books and, if so, what do they think of them?

No. My kids haven’t read any of my books. My daughter is fourteen and has recently mentioned being curious about them

1) So, what’s next for Michelle Hollstein?

I have two books currently in the works. One is a romantic comedy that involves a crazy fairy godmother, and the other is an action adventure, scifi novel which will be the start of a new series. I haven’t settled on titles yet. As you see, I enjoy writing in a variety of genres. I also plan to continue writing stories in my Aggie Underhill Mystery series. I may also write more books in my Fatal Reaction series that take place about 5 to 10 years in the future from the last book

If you’re interested in learning more about Ms. Hollstein’s work, then please follow the handy links listed below: