Tall Dark and Rich: A Hot Billionaire Romance Collection

Usually, I offer this blog spot to other authors to introduce them to you and to allow them to brag about a book or two. But November 7th a collection of nearly twenty billionaire romances is being released aptly titled Tall Dark and Rich, and I wanted to brag about it and my contribution, A Crazy Rich Dilemma. This anthology includes almost 25% NY Times or USA Today Bestselling authors. That’s a lot of author power!

Tall, Dark and Rich cover

 

Background on Tall Dark and Rich

Money, suits and style.

Possessive, dominant, and used to getting their way.

Tall dark and rich.

 These powerful men will stop at nothing to claim the women they want. From boardrooms to bedrooms, these billionaires live a life of luxury and excess, but it’s the women who captivate them and hold their hearts.

Follow the journeys of these powerful men as they navigate the turbulent waters of love, lust, and power while they explore their deepest desires.

With intense chemistry, blistering sensuality, and unforgettable characters, this anthology is a must-read for anyone who loves their romance with a healthy dose of heat. So pour yourself a glass of wine, get comfortable, and be swept away by the intoxicating world of steamy billionaire romance.

My entry into the anthology, a new novel from my All’s Crazy in Love series, and is a story loosely based on a true story. A young friend living In Manhattan found herself tossed from her cheap housing before she could find new digs. Luckily, she attended a party and met a man who was setting out for places unknown. He offered her his place and love bloomed.

I took that lovely story and ran with it, moving it from Manhattan to my beloved Chicago and creating deceptions, an ultra-rich patron of the arts, and sizzling hot chemistry. Tea at the famous Drake Hotel with my wonderful friend Sandy capped my inspiration and I was off and running.

Usually, I ask my visiting authors to share something about themselves as well as the book they are here to share, so I created interview questions that hopefully allow you new insights into me as well as into A Crazy Rich Dilemma.

Contributing Authors:

Melissa Stevens – NYT bestselling author, Stephanie Morris – USA Today bestselling author, Megyn Ward – USA Today bestselling author, Sahara Roberts – USA Today bestselling author, Dawn Brower – USA Today bestselling author, Charmaine Louise Shelton, Madison Michael, TL Reeve/Michele Ryan, Anne Roman, Kitt Lynn, VK Holt, Erika Vanzin, MacKenzie Stowe, Jess Peters, Eliza Renton, Susanna Eastman, E.S. McMillan/Tiffany Carby, and Elizabeth Kozloff

BUY LINKS FOR THE ANTHOLOGY:

Background on A Crazy Rich Dilemma

One Night. One Lie. What Could Go Wrong?

Leah: In thirty-one years, I’ve never left a party with a stranger, never planned a one-night stand in a hotel room, and never been kissed until my toes curled. I’d come to this shindig in search of a place to live. With one semester left of art school I was drowning in debt and in need of cheap housing.

Enter Fletcher Donovan, elusive, rich, playboy. My friends ask if I can stay at his place while he jaunts off to Paris. The answer: a resounding no!

Maybe if we meet, I can change his mind. So here I am, waiting for Fletcher until a too handsome, too charming, too persuasive Van leads me away from the party and into his suite.

But then I get Fletcher’s mansion, and a glimpse of the man, too.  I’m craving two men, both unknowable apparitions far out of reach.

Fletcher: I’d intended to sneak in and sneak out, but the stranger caught my eye, as did her cleavage.

Next thing I know I’m luring her from the party to my suite, using a false name to hide my identity, and my fortune. It’s just one night. But one night with this temptress and I’m breaking all the rules.

Ignoring the alarms exploding in my head, I give her the keys to my house for six months. I’m no stalker, but I know I want Leah, and I can’t stay away. Instead, I start a charade that may blow up in my face. But at least I’ll know.

Does she want me or my money? With a thousand miles between us, it’s insanity. Soon there are emails as Fletcher and texts as Van.

We are playing a dangerous game in the art of love where winner takes all.

So here goes. I give you five questions to help you know me and my writing a bit better.

Interview with Madison Michael

1/ Who inspires your characters?

Recently, I have been working on my All’s Crazy in Love series, where each heroine pays homage to a dear friend who lives away from Chicago. I started the series to hold them a little closer despite the distance. A Crazy Rich Dilemma is not based on a character I know as much as a plot.

The book I am writing now veers from my usual inspiration. Instead, I have imagined the behind the scenes lives of more famous people, ripping my story from today’s headlines. It’s new for me, but I am having fun with it. I imagine it’s rather like the docudramatists who create private scenes and dialogs for programs like The Crown. I am muddying my facts more too, which is so much easier.

Sometimes something random happens to ignite my imagination. Have you ever been out and about and seen a couple arguing or in fancy dress and found yourself creating a story about them? Little snippets about strangers sometimes spring full-blown into novels.  I might be inspired by strangers, by a building, by another novelist’s work. Anything can be inspiration, as long as I am open to what I hear and see.

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear cover by Elizabeth GilbertIn her book Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, Elizabeth Gilbert of Eat Pray Love fame, shares her view of ideas—what she and I both call inspiration. And as random as it may sound, she is pretty convincing.

I believe the creative process is both magical and magic,  because here is what I choose to believe about how creativity functions:

I believe that our planet is inhabited not only by animals and plants and bacteria and viruses, but also by ideas. Ideas are a disembodied, energetic life-form. They are completely separate from us, but capable of interacting with us – albeit strangely. Ideas have no consciousness, and they most certainly have will. Ideas are driven by a single impulse : to be made manifest. And the only way an idea can be made manifest in our world is through collaboration with a human partner. It is only through a human’s efforts that an idea can be escorted out of the ether and into the realm of the actual.

 

If I believe Elizabeth Gilbert, and I think I do, then when I find inspiration, it is also finding me. I love that concept. It helps me be more thoughtful, and somber, about  my role of bringing that idea to life.

2/What do I struggle most with when writing?

Underneath it All [The Walsh Family by Kate Cantebary]One of my favorite authors, Kate Canterbary of Underneath it All and the nine-book Walsh Series, wrote something on Facebook (at least I think it was her)  that stuck with me, because it rang so true. ‘It takes me six weeks to write a book but six months to name my characters.”

Names are my weakness. I read tombstones, credits at the end of movies, and articles. I study class rosters and quiz friends on names of their family and friends. I search the internet and building directories. If a name feels off, the character feels off. If the name is spot on, the character will jump off the page for me.

I usually change the names of my key characters as many as five or six times before it feels right. With the exception of Keeli Larsen in Bedazzled. Her name came to me in a dream and never varied.

I plan to release a novel in 2024 in which a fan named a character. The right to select the name was the grand prize in a contest. The character will be named Maverick. Maverick is the name of the winner’s granddaughter, but in the novel Maverick is a hot-shot baseball player. Meet him in my upcoming Crazy to Dream, then watch for him and his own All’s Crazy in Love story in Crazy to Score, late in 2024.

Confused by all this crazy talk? Meet them yourself by downloading the free prequel to the All’s Crazy in Love series, Crazy to Wed available at www.madisonmichael.net

3/ What are three things few people know about me?

Although I am an open book about my love of writing food and cats, there are still some things I’m a little more reluctant to share. Here are three things most people don’t know about me:

  • I am a closet Bachelor, Bachelorette, Bachelor in Paradise junkie and if you get me rehashing episodes, I can’t shut up about it. By the end of each season, I loathe the people, but clearly not enough to stop watching.
  • I am obsessed with all things Hello Kitty. I went to China years ago on business and didn’t know the people, the language, or how to get around. When I found a store with nothing but Hello Kitty merchandise in it, it felt like finding a friend. A love affair began that continues to flourish. I have HK pencils. Kitty banks, lunch boxes, tablecloths, napkins, mood lights and more.
  • Ever since I saw Kevin Sullivan’s version of Anne of Green Gables I have wanted to live in Canada. I traveled to Prince Edward Island with the idea of moving there in the back of my mind. It was beautiful, but I fell in love with Nova Scotia. I still believe I will live in Halifax or near Grand Pré someday soon. I haven’t weathered a winter yet though, but can it really be worse than Chicago?

4/ Do you have a morning routine to get you in a writing mood?  

Lessons in Chemistry cover by Bonnie GarmusI start my day with Gracie, my cat who thinks she’s a dog and who wakes me as reliably as any alarm clock. For those of you familiar with Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry, Gracie would be named six-forty-five. For those of you unfamiliar, read the book. You’ll love it. Then watch it as a series on Apple TV. But only after you read the book.

I never got up this early when I had a ‘desk job’ but I do now.

I make coffee, for myself and my neighbors and we check in with one another. They start my day with a smile.  Gracie gets breakfast and we hang together while I check the headlines and today’s Wordle and Spelling Bee in the NY Times. I am obsessed with achieving Genius status.

What that has to do with writing I don’t know, but it’s effective for me because by eight I am at my desk, fingers flying over the keyboard, Gracie sleeping on my feet.

5/What is my go-to ice-breaker question and why?

When my mother lost her memory, we moved her to assisted living facility with a lovely dining room. My mom was reluctant to take advantage of it. Finally, I asked her why she wasn’t joining the other residents for lunch. Her response was, “I don’t want to eat with all those old people.”

I realized that my mother had forgotten she too was old and believed herself younger. That leads to my icebreaker.

“If you didn’t know how old you are, how old would you think you were?”

Think about it…

Madison MichaelMadison Michael is the author of more than a dozen romance novels focused on sassy, smart women and the powerful, sexy men who love them. Maddy loves to write against a background of wealth and luxury, usually in the upper crust of Chicago society.

A Chicago girl herself, Maddy spent almost thirty years working for the man before she dumped her conservative business suit for a comfy pair of yoga pants, a desk overlooking the city skyline and a chance to write happy endings full time.

When she’s not writing, Maddy loves watching movies. RomComs and historical dramas are her favorites. Then there is the food that made Chicago famous – pizza, hotdogs, Italian Beef and anything with sugar. Maddy can’t get enough of it.

Give Maddy a Diet Dr. Pepper, mint-chip ice cream, her cat Gracie and her computer and she’s a happy girl.

 

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