Hello, My Name Is…

HI! My name is Michelle and I’m addicted to movies. This is part of my 12-step program.

I grew up in the era when movies stayed at the theater for a year, you waited in line around the building to see the new ones, and it only cost $2.00 for a matinee. There was no Blockbuster and our VCR had the giant buttons and the pop-up thing where you inserted the tape. The remote was called a “clicker” because there were two buttons (on and off) that actually CLICKED. DVR wasn’t even a thought in our young minds and who would have ever imagined an entire movie on a shiny circular disk? And digital music? Dude. We had vinyl.

I’m a child of the early ‘70s. In high school, I had ‘80’s hair and acid wash jeans. The local hang out was the roller rink (that’s roller skates for those of you who remember) and I watched Sonny and Cher (and other variety shows). Fantasy Island scared the crap out of me, Love Boat was cool and Night Gallery and The Twilight Zone were two shows I always steered clear of. I thought The Lawrence Welk Show was dorky but my parents watched it anyway.

I saw Star Wars (the original 1974 release, mind you) in the theater at least five times. My big sister took me and whispered the scrolling opening in my ear as I saw and watched with wide eyes. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen. I can clearly remember saying, “I’ve seen it FIVE times. How many times have YOU seen it?” to my friends in school. I remember how shocked we all where when Darth Vader “got good” at the end of Return of the Jedi. I also remember how shocked I was when I realized, at the tender age of 9, that Han Solo and Indiana Jones was the same guy. Be still my pre-teen heart.

It was somewhere along that same time when I discovered the 1960s version of Star Trek. Of course by that time, they were in syndication. But then, in 1987, Star Trek: The Next Generation premiered. And a Trekkie was born. I dragged family and friends and just about anyone who’d go with me to Star Trek conventions. I got autographs of Nichelle Nichols, George Takai, James Doohan, and Patrick Stewart in my Star Trek Compendium.

But it wasn’t enough. Neither my imagination nor my need for more action/adventure/science fiction/romance was sated. So I began to write my own stories. I wrote fan-fiction. Everything from Star Trek to Indiana Jones to Bladerunner. I wrote about damsels in distress and inter-galactic wars. I commissioned friends to write with me. With one I did my own Indiana Jones illustrated comic books starring us (I SO wish I still had those!); with another we did Bladerunner stories. I even went so far as to play Star Trek role playing games with fellow friends.
And so, ladies and gentlemen, there you have me. I’m a nerd, through and through. I have learned to embrace this feeling of nerdom and accept it for what it is. I have learned that movies are special things that give you hope, dreams, love, chills, fear. They lift you up and open your mind to things you may never have thought about before. As I got older, I loved old movies and musicals, too.

I have a son in which I’m trying to instill a love of movies, as well. He loves the old Star Trek show and the Star Wars movies, too. I’m so proud.

I suppose my love of movies helped drive my love of books, too. And why I wanted to write. I’ve had movies (and voices) in my head for as long as I can remember. If I wasn’t a writer, I’d be in a straightjacket.

How about you? What types of things inspire you?

Michelle Miles is an avid movie watcher and writes fantasy, paranormal and contemporary romance. You can learn more about her books at http://www.michellemiles.net.