Ask the Author: Brian Michels
Answered Questions (6)
Brian Michels
Hey Shaun,
You’re making me blush, man, but I’ll take it. Glad "The Last Bar in NYC" still sticks with you. That night? Coast Guard? Nah, it was tugboat guys who were the real heroes. Every last one of them. They didn’t just pull me from the drink—they saved my sanity. I think about that night more than I care to admit, and I owe them everything.
As for the new book, it’s a grand departure from what you might expect. I’ve stepped out of my usual writing world and dove into something a little different—raw romance. It’s about marriage, about the stuff that happens when the magic fades and the skin starts to sag. Women and their battles with biology, and the challenges of modern culture. That’s the polite way of putting it. It’s a romance, sure, but not the Hallmark kind. More like the real, messy, beautiful truth of passion, pain, and the grit of enduring through it all. I know it’s not your usual thing—no bar fights, no late-night dive chaos—but if you’re curious, I’d be happy to send you an ebook copy.
You rock too, mi Amigo.
You’re making me blush, man, but I’ll take it. Glad "The Last Bar in NYC" still sticks with you. That night? Coast Guard? Nah, it was tugboat guys who were the real heroes. Every last one of them. They didn’t just pull me from the drink—they saved my sanity. I think about that night more than I care to admit, and I owe them everything.
As for the new book, it’s a grand departure from what you might expect. I’ve stepped out of my usual writing world and dove into something a little different—raw romance. It’s about marriage, about the stuff that happens when the magic fades and the skin starts to sag. Women and their battles with biology, and the challenges of modern culture. That’s the polite way of putting it. It’s a romance, sure, but not the Hallmark kind. More like the real, messy, beautiful truth of passion, pain, and the grit of enduring through it all. I know it’s not your usual thing—no bar fights, no late-night dive chaos—but if you’re curious, I’d be happy to send you an ebook copy.
You rock too, mi Amigo.
Brian Michels
Hello Heather, how ya doing? All good on my home front. Now that the Teacher's Union got their benefit demands and schools are reopening close to normal, I will have some spare time. Ishigura's Klara and the Sun sounds like a good read. A top notch writer. I really enjoyed The Remains Of The Day. I will still be pressed for time though between work on on my new novel and new school training for a job. But the novel I'm working on might be shelved soon, so who knows. Unlike other writers that can pop a book out every six months, I need a lot of time. Plus, I have to consider that my stories don't satisfy the establishment's line of propaganda. That means the new book might face a Cancel Culture attack, like my last book was hammered with. It also means mainstream publishers won't consider it, no matter how good the story and writing is. A fair payment would have to be earned with a serious book marketing effort, which I suck at. Oh, life is complicated. We all know it. Anyway, I will check out Klara and the Sun.
Brian
Brian
Brian Michels
Hello Heather, how are you holding up?
I'll try my best to answer your question as simple as possible.
Q: What is it about the story that has me stopping and walking away rather than just reading it straight through as i mostly do with something as gripping ?
A: Perhaps you don't find it truly gripping.
I apologize for letting you down with a poor story, Heather. I suppose some books are not for everyone. Without question, The Devil Fears Nigga Jones, I think you'd agree, is out of the ordinary. I also committed to showing the reader the face of evil, and not many can tolerate that.
I hope my answer helped you understand the book better.
I'll try my best to answer your question as simple as possible.
Q: What is it about the story that has me stopping and walking away rather than just reading it straight through as i mostly do with something as gripping ?
A: Perhaps you don't find it truly gripping.
I apologize for letting you down with a poor story, Heather. I suppose some books are not for everyone. Without question, The Devil Fears Nigga Jones, I think you'd agree, is out of the ordinary. I also committed to showing the reader the face of evil, and not many can tolerate that.
I hope my answer helped you understand the book better.
Brian Michels
I'm not sure of your reference. Perhaps you've mistaken me for someone else. But as far as book recommendations go I suggest On Being and Essence by Thomas Aquinas. It might answer your desire to *fight* with an answer for you life's frustration. Fight and struggle isn't all it's cracked up to be. Eternal Peace - go for that.
Brian Michels
If you do anything routinely with the intention of being your best eventually you get purity, what you should be. It may not be perfect or great but it'll be the real you. When that happens anything is possible.
Brian Michels
Romeo and Juliet: A Kiss Through Time, it was originally titled From History With Love. That was in 1988 or so. The book was less a novel and more scaffolding for a story that I thought was interesting. Going though a box of old things I found the original draft. It wasn't all bad. I thought it'd be fun to rework it, and it was. I like the new version, and title, more than the old. Now I can say it took me nearly forty years to write a novel - HA!
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