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Mike’s 2022 Year in Books

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Mike Stop Continues

Goodreads Author

Born

in New York City, The United States

April 20, 1984

Website

https://mikestopcontinues.com

Twitter

stopcontinues

Genre

Superhero, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy

Member Since

July 2010

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/mikestopcontinues

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“The further you go, the further you can go.”

Mike Stop Continues writes thrilling, provocative urban fantasy stories about portal-hopping heroes, outlandish entities, and worlds both near and far. Space is cold and the ocean dark, but the far reaches of the Omniverse are wonderful, wild, and alive. Why not go there?

Mike wrote his first story when he was eight, about a leprechaun who followed the rainbow backwards in search of the person who needed his gold. Mike's been in search of new worlds ever since. His favorites include MGM's The Wizard of Oz, HBO’s Carnivàle, Bonobo’s Black Sands, Hieronymus Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights, and Katherine Dunn’s Geek Love.

Check out MSC's graffiti-artist superhero series King Cage and his psyc ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

Who is your favorite fictional couple, and why?

Mike Stop Continues I'd love to say Romeo and Juliette, Humbert Humbert and Lolita, Ron and Hermione, Scott Pilgrim and Ramona Flowers, Harry Dresden and Karrin Murphy, E…moreI'd love to say Romeo and Juliette, Humbert Humbert and Lolita, Ron and Hermione, Scott Pilgrim and Ramona Flowers, Harry Dresden and Karrin Murphy, Eddie and Susannah Dean, Troy and Abed, or any of the countless breathtaking relationships I've wished I could experience. I'd love to say they even came close to my true favorite. But there is one couple above all others I love the most...

Orpheus and Eurydice.

He was the world's greatest musician. She was his muse and greatest fan.

They swore their love was eternal. But before they could consummate their wedding night, a snake bit Eurydice and she died. Orpheus couldn't bear life with Eurydice. So he went down into the underworld with his lyre to bring her back.

There, Orpheus played Hades a song and Hades wept. The old god said if Orpheus's love for Eurydice was as pure as his song, he could take her back to the world of the living. The conditions were simple. Orpheus had only to trust that Eurydice walked behind him without ever turning back to check.

Orpheus agreed and travelled all the way back to the very mouth of the underworld. But there at the threshold, the musician's faith wavered. He needed to know if his muse was truly there behind him.

So Orpheus turned and found Eurydice there. He grabbed for her, but it was too late. Orpheus proved his unconsummated love was not as strong as his art. Eurydice was forced to stay. Artist and muse were doomed to be forever apart.

Why these lovers?

There are a lot of ways to tell the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. In this telling, I focused on the relationship between artist, inspiration, and audience. On how the key ingredient of such relationships is trust. On how the unconditional love (agape) of art is stronger than the lust-bound love (eros) of two bodies.

But embedded within this simple story are so many other things. There's the story of mortal love's limits. In this telling, Orpheus caves, proving their love impure. But in others, Eurydice cries for Orpheus to turn, fearing that his love for her has grown stale. Orpheus is then trapped. Either he saves Eurydice's life, but loses her love, or he turns and saves her love, but forfeits her life.

We can also look at the story as a metaphor for memory. Our loved ones are always alive in our minds. And they can continue to live with us so long as we don't turn to them and realize that they're gone. You might have heard every time we reflect on a memory, we change it. In that sense too, every time we look back, we drive our dearly departed further and further away.

Could we apply this same moral to those in our waking life? Might our relationships be stronger if we never scrutinize them? If we never allow our trust to waver? If we never reflect on the past, and if we live forever in the moment?

Perhaps Orpheus and Eurydice teach us ultimately that all we have is now. That our loved ones change and die. That we should be grateful for the every moment, for there's no recovering what we had before, and there's no telling what comes next.(less)

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Why does music play such a strong role in your work?

Mike Stop Continues In so many parallel worlds, I'm a composer rather than a writer. There was a point in my mid-twenties where I could have gone either way, but I knew t…moreIn so many parallel worlds, I'm a composer rather than a writer. There was a point in my mid-twenties where I could have gone either way, but I knew that neither of my arts could live while the other survived. So I looked at my possible futures and thought about how I could offer the world the most good. The wind blew from the east that day, and I chose writing.

That said, my passion for music hasn't diminished. You can see it in characters like Taylor and Marty and Jude. I give them that part of me that I can no longer express. The will to create pure emotions, as music alone can do.

I sing constantly while at work, often unconsciously. A day doesn't pass without my husband calling through the rooms because I'm inventing parts for whatever music is on at the time. I dream of music almost as often, and of the lives I might have lead had I chosen differently.

So I guess I allow music to come up so often in my writing because, if for some reason I never get back to it, at least I'll know that much of that passion lives on.(less)

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Combine Editions
Mike Stop Continues’s books

Average rating: 4.28 · 58 ratings · 27 reviews · 4 distinct works

	King Cage and the Worth Street Djinni (King Cage #1) 4.26 avg rating — 34 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Underworld: Sex, Drugs, and a Loaded Gun 4.07 avg rating — 15 ratings — published 2016 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	King Cage and the Slaughterhouse Blues (King Cage #2) 4.63 avg rating — 8 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	King Cage and the War of Rikers Island (King Cage #3) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

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Mike Stop Continues's Blog

Listen to WarpDrives podcast for an interview with me, on King Cage!

The Warp Drives podcast is literally my favorite nerdy podcast. TJ and Dave dig into everything sci-fi and fantasy, and they’re hysterical. This week, they interviewed me about King Cage, having anosmia, the real New York City, and more. Check it out!

Series by Mike Stop Continues

King Cage (3 books)
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Mike Stop Continues (Goodreads Author)

4.35 avg rating — 43 ratings

Mike is Currently Reading

Mike Stop Continues is currently reading

Discipline Is Destiny: The Power of Self-Control (The Stoic Virtues Series)

by Ryan Holiday (Goodreads Author)

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Mike Stop Continues rated a book it was amazing Breakfast at the Victory by James P. Carse	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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