Michele Campbell | Interview | Author Spotlight | Q&A

I'm thrilled to announce I'm kicking off my Author Spotlight feature this year with Michele Campbell (pictured). I've been an avid fan since I devoured It's Always The Husband a few years ago I love the way she pulls you in with a gripping opening and keeps you hooked all the up to the jaw-dropping ending.

Michele is a graduate of Harvard College and Stanford Law School and a former federal prosecutor in New York City who specialized in international narcotics and gang cases.

A while back, she said goodbye to her big-city legal career and moved with her husband and two children to an idyllic New England college town a lot like Belle River in it's always the husband. Since then, she has spent her time teaching criminal and constitutional law and writing novels.

She has had many close female friends, a few frenemies, and only one husband, who - to the best of her knowledge - has never tried to kill her.

She is currently celebrating the release of her fourth novel The Wife Who Knew Too Much!

Can you tell me something about The Wife Who Knew Too Much that isn't in the blurb?

The setting is both fun and very important to the action! The book is set in and around an oceanfront mansion in the Hamptons, the playground of the rich and famous. The setting is both glamorous and dangerous, perfect for a story of haves and have-nots. Tabitha, the small-town waitress, is transported into Nina’s fabulous life, which has a dark glamor that she’s ill-prepared for, and has to survive some very dangerous games. 

How did you come up with the inspiration for this novel?

Like many of my novels, I start with the title, which was suggested by my brilliant editor. From that, I decided I wanted there to be two wives, from different generations and social strata, married to the same man at different times. I actually think Nina and Tabitha would have gotten along if they’d known each other free from Connor.

What is the most surprising thing you have discovered when writing your novels?

That I never know the ending of my books when I start. I do write an outline.  But once I begin, the characters take over.  They take on a life of their own, behaving in ways I didn’t expect. While that often takes me away from my outline, I always wind up someplace great because of it. 

Where is your favourite place to write?

I love to write in libraries because they’re quiet and filled with books. Can’t wait until I can do that again.

What is the best thing about being an author?

The freedom to create from the imagination. I’m a lawyer by training, a job that I also loved but which is very rooted in facts. It’s simply wonderful to be able to tell stories for a living.

If you could choose to be a character in a book, who would it be? And why?

Claire Beauchamp Randall Fraser from Outlander. She’s strong, intelligent and loves her work. She finds true love. She has many adventures. And she can travel through time.

What do you enjoy doing when you aren't writing?

Cooking, cycling, yoga, and of course reading and watching great television.

What is your favourite quote?

That changes regularly, because I’m always on the hunt for quotes to use as epigraphs in my books. My favorite one that I haven’t been able to use yet is from Shakespeare—“The Prince of Darkness is a gentleman.” I had it in SHE WAS THE QUIET ONE, but decided it was a spoiler, so I changed it.

Which book is currently on your bedside table?

The Family Plot by Megan Collins, a delightful, suspenseful tale about an eccentric family with dark secrets.

What is coming next for you?

My next book, The Housesitter, is coming in 2022. It’s a classic legal thriller in the vein of John Grisham, about a young law student struggling to pay her tuition who gets her dream job, housesitting for a legendary law professor at the center of a web of misdeeds and obsession.

Thanks, Michele it was an absolute pleasure! 😊

You guys can read my review of She Was The Quiet One here, my review of A Stranger on the Beach here & check back soon for my review of The Wife Who Knew Too much *spoiler alert* I loved it!!