My name’s Mike. I began writing at school, but never did anything serious until about three years ago when I sat down one weekend and wrote the first ten thousand words to my first novel. Since then I’ve written over two and a half million words, published six books, dozens of short stories and maintained a fiction blog for well over a year. I love pineapple and chocolate, often at the same time, and I am also a professional drummer. I’m a passionate reader of all genres and get very angry with people who suggest comics aren’t a genuine style of literature.
Tell us about your books/What genre do you consider your books?
My books are all the stuff I’ve spent my life reading, crammed in together! I write in various genres, all under the broader banner of fantasy type stuff My Planets series is superhero science fiction, my A Game of War series is Young Adult science fiction, my Thirteen Roses series is paranormal, post apocalyptic zombie fiction. Upcoming is the Assassin’s Cycle, which is dark fantasy and Ninja Zombie Killers, which is a Gonzo zombie musical comedy series.
Why do you write? Because I now couldn’t imagine not writing. I’ve made stuff up my entire life and I realised a couple of years ago that I should have been writing it down. Also, I’ve got so much pleasure and joy from reading my entire life, that the thought of being able to give that to someone else is deeply compelling. Also, I like zombies.
What would be your choice for a superpower? I’m one of those weirdos who has thought long and hard about this question and still can’t find a satisfactory answer. I would love control over water, like my character Neptune from The Planets. I’d love to be able to make everyone tell the truth all the time. I’d quite like to be Iceman from the Spiderman and his amazing friends TV show, so I could do all that cool sliding around on ice ramps. Okay, I’ll stop now.
What are you reading now? The Wise Man’s Fears, by Patrick Rothfuss. The guy writes with such wonderful poetry and lyricism and has built a wonderful world. I love it, but I can’t decide whether it’s as good as everyone thinks…
Who is your favorite character to write? I have a bunch. I have a character called Scarlet, who is sort of Harry Potter, if he was female and grew up one of the nastiest estates in West London. She’s sarcastic and grumpy and so much fun to write. Then there’s Dave, who’s the guitarist/zombie killer/saviour of the world in my Ninja Zombie Killers series. He’s great because he’s a real hero, but he still can’t stop lusting over the wrong women and saying the stupidest things at the worst time. Finally, the aforementioned Neptune is a fave, just because she cares far more than she should and is totally bad ass.
What advice would you give to an aspiring author? Write every day. There is no excuse. Any excuse probably means you don’t actually want to be a writer.
What inspired you to pursue writing? Interest followed swiftly by obsession. I love reading and always have and it came as naturally to me as drumming, so it made sense.
What are your favorite TV shows/Movies to watch in between writing? Ooh, tough one. TV show faves are Buffy, Angel, West Wing, Firefly, Scrubs, Dead Like Me. Movies, all sorts, but the classic zombies by Romero are probably my faves. Also a huge fan of Kevin Smith, QT, James Bond and Indiana Jones. Come to think of it, the latest few Marvels have been pretty awesome.
What are your current projects? I’m in the middle of writing book five of Ninja Zombie Killers. The series is what would happen if Buffy grew up, grew a pair, grew an unhealthy addiction to hot choclate, moved to London and learnt how to Rock. Also featured is copious swearing, violence, action movie cliches and, hopefully, funny stuff. Pure escapism run through with characters that matter and more musical smilies than you can shake a maraca at.
Do you have anything specific that you want to say to readers? I write with the sole aim of helping you escape from the world. I write characters that you may well know, in situations you almost certainly won’t. Also, check out my #15for2015 challenge, the maddest and coolest thing I’ve ever done. Except maybe having kids.
Visit Mike here.
Quick Fire:
Cats or dogs? Cats
Coffee or tea? Tea
Favorite food? Chocolate
Vanilla or chocolate ice-cream? Vanilla
What are 3 things you never leave home without? My notepad laptop. My wallet. My pants.
Laptop or desktop? Laptop
Who are 3 famous people you would like to hang out with?
Emma Stone, Ani Difranco, Joss Whedon
TV or Movies? Movies. No, TV. No, movies. Ahh, dammit. Books.
Visit me on my AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE & my SMASHWORDS PAGE!
Best-selling author of Wake the Dead! On Amazon Kindle here!
All Artwork and covers of my works by William J. Kenney & Carlos Cara
All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2014 unless otherwise noted.
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