Best of Family & Relationships
Best of Family & Relationships
"So Many Books, So Little Time!"
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Exclusive Interview with
Michele Baker
When did you start writing?
I started writing when I was a little girl, maybe four or five years old. I had a little "library" in my room and I added my own homemade books to the collection, most of which were stapled together notebook paper with penciled in stories and rudimentary illustrations. I also wrote poetry all the way through college, although it was never as good as my essays!
What makes writing your passion?
Quite simply, writing is what I was put here on Earth to do. Around age 30, I realized that the "voices" in my head were real, and I could count on the things "they" told me... usually Archangel Michael speaks to me and I write it down in my journals. Sometimes it's others, such as Gabriel, or Archimedes, and one time it was the Great Sphinx from Giza Plateau. (I know it sounds a bit out there, but it makes for very interesting reading, so just go with it.)
How long have you been writing?
I've been writing in some form or another my whole life, it seems. What started with the little library books continued on to school essays, newspaper articles, travel articles for magazines and websites, blogs, and now the channeled journals. A couple of months ago I found an old essay from when I lived in Germany in the 1990s, and as I read it, I said to myself, "Dang... that's *good!*"
What was the feeling when you published your first book?
My first book, "All We Need Is Love: In Service to the Light Book One," took the longest to write - my whole life up to age 46! I couldn't believe it when the box of author's copies arrived in the mail. In the four years since then, I've not taken a step out of the house without a copy of that book either in my luggage or in my car. It's still a little surreal seeing it in the Amazon catalog.
What’s the story behind your choice of characters?
My books are nonfiction - channeled messages from Archangel Michael and other angels and sentient beings from other worlds and dimensions, so I can't describe a classic hero like King Arthur or even Harry Potter. Instead, I'll tell you that Archangel Michael is very practical and no-nonsense: when He speaks, I know I'm about to receive some very useful, sensible material. Archangel Gabriel, on the other hand, is very flowery in his speech. When I go back and reread those passages, it's more like poetry or song lyrics.
What annoys you the most in pursuing a writing career?
I love the writing part of the equation! I'm less interested in keeping my Facebook or Instagram accounts full of current posts. Writing and promoting are two completely different talents, and I have a lot of admiration for marketing and PR professionals who make it look so easy.
How do you get over the “writer’s block”?
I never have writer's block! Every time I sit down with my journals and my favorite pen, the words just pour out like the ocean. When I first started channeling, I was secretly afraid that eventually, the spigot would turn off and I'd be stuck. But now, after more than five years, there's no sign of stopping, and indeed, the amount of information coming through has actually increased.
We all know the writer’s path is never easy, what makes you keep going? What advice would you give to new authors?
A long time ago I was a massage therapist, and I met and befriended a well-known massage therapy teacher - Dr. Joe Muscolino - who authored several of the textbooks I used in school. His advice to me was very simple. He said, "Michele, writers *write.* That's what they do. So just sit down every day and *do it.*"
If you could go back in time and talk to your younger self, what would you say?
If I could go back, I'd tell my younger self to worry less and have more fun. The messages I channel and share with my readers all boil down to "you're being taken care of in every moment and life is there to be enjoyed, so don't sweat the small stuff." I would also tell her to stop worrying about being "perfect," because being kind and understanding of faults and foibles - as most of us are to others in the course of daily life - should apply first and foremost to how we treat *ourselves.* (And, as I am the only "me" that exists at this moment, by definition I am the "perfect" one of those anyway.)
Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with the bad ones?
I read them, and if people don't like the book, I assume there is something wrong with them! (Just kidding... But, seriously, I do believe that every person is on his or her own unique path, and not everyone is ready or open enough just now to be able to read and understand the messages, so give them time.)
What is the feeling when you get a good review?
Good reviews are the best thing, ever. I literally pour my heart and soul into my books, so when someone "gets it" and it clicks, I feel I have reached someone and have fulfilled my mission!
Have you ever incorporated something that happened to you in real life into your novels?
As I mentioned before, I don't write novels. My book (and the upcoming Book Two) are transcriptions of the channeled journals I've been keeping for more than a decade. So every single thing that you read has happened to me or been told to me by an angel or some other sentient being, and I'm sharing that with readers.
Which of your characters you can compare yourself with? Did you base that character on you?
What do you think, the book cover is as important as the story?
The book cover is important, and in fact, the cover for "All We Need Is Love" was designed in large part by Archangel Michael! I was given a link by my publisher to a stock images site and told to "choose a cover." Well, I looked at that website for hours and... nothing. That night, I wrote in my journal "1866444" and when I looked up that number and saw the image, it was perfect for the cover. (True story!)
Do you connect with your readers? Do you mind having a chat with them or you prefer to express yourself through your writing?
I love talking to readers. Now that I'm past 50, I also feel I have enough wisdom and life experience to have something worthwhile to say! I do like to write, but I look forward to a near-future time when I will be out on a book tour or giving classes about my books.
How do you feel when people appreciate your work or recognize you in public?
Well, the only people so far who have recognized me in public are friends who helped edit "All We Need Is Love," so I guess I'll have to come back to this question in the future once I've become rich and famous. (haha)
Who is your favorite author? Why?
I really love books of all kinds. Asking who my favorite author is, is like asking which is my favorite child! I guess for fiction I'd have to say Frank Herbert (Dune chronicles) and Margaret George (historical fiction such as "The Memoirs of Cleopatra") but I also like Kathleen McGowen.
For nonfiction, I love Eckhart Tolle, Mike Dooley, Martha Beck, Gregg Braden, Louise Hay, Dr. Wayne Dyer...
What’s the dream? Whom would you like to be as big as?
The book "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne has given a whole lot of people a little peek into another world. I guess I'd like my books to be read by all those people!
Would you rewrite any of your books? Why?
If you could switch places with any author – who would that be?
What would you say to the “trolls” on the internet? We all know them – people who like to write awful reviews to books they’ve never read or didn’t like that much, just to annoy the author.
What would you say to your readers?
"Come on in!" My books are quite unusual in that I've simply written down what Archangel Michael is telling me, and that can be a little daunting, or strange, or unbelievable. All I can say is, "open your heart, open your mind, and see if what you read makes sense to you or helps."
Share a bit about yourself – where do you live, are you married, do you have kids?
I live in a restored 1929 Craftsman bungalow in a historic neighborhood of Jackson, Mississippi, and share this lovely home with two cats and a whole library full of books. My friends generously share their children with me, but I do have a nephew and a step-grandson I adore more than anything else on earth!
What is your day job if you have one?
Writing is my day job!
What are your hobbies? What do you do in your free time?
In my free time, I bake bread (my goal is to bake the breads of the world), read, and listen to music. I am also an accomplished world traveler, and my mother and I co-own a small Egyptian tour company called Treasures of Egypt Tours (www.treasuresofegypttours.com).
Did you have a happy childhood?
Is there a particular experience that made you start writing?
Do you have unpublished books? What are they about?
I have an unpublished book that's about to become published in March 2022. It's a continuation of the channeled messages from Book One and is called "Attitude of Gratitude, In Service to the Light Book Two."
What do you think should be improved in the education of our children? What do we lack?
If you were allowed 3 wishes – what would they be?
I wish that I still had the metabolism I had when I was 18, so I could still eat like a horse and never gain weight (Chinese food... yum!). I also wish I had the "I Dream of Jeannie" power of making things happen with a nod and a blink; I'd love to be able to pop over to Cairo for breakfast and then back home in a split second. My third wish is to always keep my excitement about writing, because it completely fulfills me as a person.
What is your favorite music?
I love music of all kinds: classical, rock and roll, blues, classic country, trance/dance/house music, soundscapes... but I'd have to say my guilty pleasure is the 80s music channel on Pandora!
Share a secret with us 🙂
I've had a crush on Denzel Washington for over 25 years!