Essays
Where Ideas Come From
In Michael’s latest blog post, he discusses the most asked question of authors—”Where do your ideas come from?”
This post focuses on what prompted the idea for The Dark Side of Sunlight Basin, a short story for Christopher Golden’s Seize the Night: New Tales of Vampiric Terror, available Oct 6 (http://amzn.to/1GuGtuy).
What Are You Doing, Writing a Book?
Michael is well known for the extensive research he does for his books. For THE PROPHET, he shadowed the Bloomington High School North football team and blended in so well that some people, including players and staff, thought he was part of the coaching staff. Read the stories in his latest blog post.
A Note on Character and Voice
Michael talks about the development of his characters’ voices, including favorites like Lincoln Perry and Adam Austin as well as LAST WORDS’ Markus Novak in this latest blog post.
Bounce Across The Beartooths, September 2010
Repost from Michael:
Below is a short, personal parody I wrote of a camping trip I took with friends almost five years ago. We hiked across the Beartooths (they’re plural, and it is tooths, don’t argue with me) in Montana, a truly incredible trip and great experience. Along the way was a friend named Bob Bley, and in my parody account I captured something close to the reality — he was in far better shape than any of us, with far better poise and trail skills and every quality you’d want in a fellow outdoorsman. He’d crossed the Atlantic in a two-man sailboat, biked the Canadian Rockies, hiked the Alps twice. You know, little things. He was planning more adventures. Then came a spring bike ride near his home, a slip in wet sand, an impact so powerful it shattered his helmet.
And left him paralyzed from the waist down.
Return to the scene of the crimes…
Now this is what a book tour should be like! I’m sitting at a table outside of the Bearclaw Bakery in Cooke City, MT (year-round population 110 at last census, it is a CDP or “census-designated place”) and a friend I met last year, Cathy Pate, (whose son, Nick,...
Farewell to a great friend
I lost a great friend this week named George Juergens. A retired professor emeritus of history at Indiana University, George was introduced to me years ago by my writing mentor, Bob Hammel. We had regular lunches for years, first in my days at the newspaper in...