Urban Reviews: Tell us about Trippin'.
Michelle Buckley: It's the story of two very different twins (a doctor and stripper/web porn model) who decide to start a travel club. They quickly learn everyone in the club has plenty of baggage...and the result is a tangled web of secrets, lies, sex, drugs, intrigue, danger, drama and murder.

Urban Reviews: How did you come up with the storyline for this novel?
Michelle Buckley: I actually met two people in the same month who belonged to different travel clubs and the idea of traveling with a group of folks on a regular basis sounded fun and intriguing. Then I got to looking at what happened to Natalee Holloway who disappeared on vacation while in Aruba and it got me thinking. What would happen if the dynamics of a travel club were jacked up from jump and with each trip things went progressively, terribly wrong? Ding, ding, ding...book idea! :-)

Urban Reviews: Describe your literary journey from your first book Bulletproof Soul to your latest novel Trippin'.
Michelle Buckley: I had a 2-book contract with Urban Books, so I knew when it was done the second book had a definite home, whereas when I finished the first book it didn't have a home. The biggest difference between the two books is the first one I wrote at my leisure and with the second one I had a deadline -- the writing process was totally different given the different scenarios.

Urban Reviews: Can you give us a sneak peek at your third novel?
Michelle Buckley: I'm toying with the idea of taking one of the most hated characters from Trippin' and having his family seek revenge against his killer. He of course will be narrating the story from Hell.

Urban Reviews: Any new developments on your Civil War screenplay project?
Michelle Buckley: I have a production company that looked at it and gave me some "notes" to make it stronger. I'm currently incorporating those notes and I hope to get it back to them soon.

Urban Reviews: Will you write any more screenplays in the future?
Michelle Buckley: I love writing screenplays. I think dialogue is my forte and writing just dialogue comes naturally to me. Of course the screenplay formatting is a whole 'nother story. I need to invest in some software for that. It's so painstaking! :P

Urban Reviews: Who are your writing/publishing influences and why?
Michelle Buckley: Bernice McFadden because her characters are so down-home and real. Walter Mosley because he's just a darn good writer who comes up with engaging and suspenseful tales and Octavia Butler because of her unique storylines. Also, Donna Hill and Monica Jackson because they have both been in the game so long and are so prolific and Carl Weber because he knows the business and is helping other African Americans come up.

Urban Reviews: What is the best advice advice that someone in the book industry has given you?
Michelle Buckley: Someone once told me to "own my town and then let the word grow from there." That basically means everyone in your city should have a copy of your book or at least know about it! I don't think I quite "own" Kansas City -- but I'm working on it!

Urban Reviews: What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Michelle Buckley: I suggest they do as much writing as they can and really learn the business and develop contacts. Also, I suggest they really take time to read up on and learn their craft. A few books I found helpful include: Three Rules for Writing a Novel by William Noble and Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass.

Urban Reviews: Name one thing the world does not know about Michelle Buckley.
Michelle Buckley: Following a karaoke contest in college, I was once offered a job to be a Whitney Houston impersonator/performer. Had I taken the job, I would have been a pre-'crack is whack' Whitney!