Steve Stred's Blog, page 42

Book Review: Mandate: Thirteen by Joseph J. Dowling

Title: Mandate: Thirteen

Author: Joseph J. Dowling

Released date: January 10th, 2023

Since Tim McWhorter launched Manta Press, I’ve loved seeing the variety of phenomenal books that have been released. Spanning a wide scope of genres, Manta Press has quickly established themselves as a ‘must-read’ small press and one that you’re guaranteed to experience solid storytelling with lots of heart.

Case in point – Mandate: Thirteen. This one, while set in the very near future, has alarmingly real themes throughout and that alone pushed this into a truly uncomfortable reading experience.

I wasn’t totally sure what to expect going in, but this one packs a wallop.

What I liked: The story is set in a world where most women are now infertile and those who can have children are taken from their families and imprisoned in birthing facilities. Almost all of the ethnicities have been forced out of England and as the climate crisis worsens, prices rise, jobs become scarce and supplies limited.

Dowling does a solid job of teasing out these issues while also introducing us to the Randall family. The story really explodes when the fertility mandate changes to include girls aged thirteen. From here we follow father and daughter as they evade capture and attempt to make their way to the Scottish border and find a way to cross, hoping to get asylum.

The story is filled with emotions. We get a lot of secondary characters who are hard to trust, especially in such uncertain times and, as one would suspect, when trustworthy people are found, it’s only for a momentary reprieve, as those chasing quickly catch up.

There are plenty of twists and turns along the way, plenty of ‘hold-your-breath’ moments where you’re not sure what’s going to happen, and the ultimate climactic moment works really well to see how it relates back to decisions from the past.

What I didn’t like: Ultimately, for me, there were two things I wasn’t super keen on. The first was some of the dialogue was off. There were times where I read some of it and thought ‘nobody talks to each other like that.’ It might’ve been just me and for others it flows well, but specifically between dad and daughter, there were moments that I was pulled out of it by how the dialogue read between each other.

The second thing, which I can’t expand on too much as it would fall into major spoiler territory, was that I found there was simply too much extra stuff after the ‘ending.’ I do enjoy when we find out what happened after the finale and the final events have ended, but this kept going for a bit and was a bit much for me.

Why you should buy this: If you’re a fan of dystopian, all-too-real-feeling action based reads, look no further. This had shades of Nevill’s ‘Lost Girl’ throughout and was a thoroughly solid, great read that had me captivated the entire time.

Definitely one to bump up your TBR!

4/5

3Q’s Special – Cindy O’Quinn wants to control our minds!

HOLY! I am SUPER excited for today’s guest! Cindy O’Quinn has been BEYOND supportive of everything I have ever done and I’ve been humbled to appear on a few TOC’s with her. Her writing and poetry is pristine, powerful and conveys so many emotions. I’m so very happy and humbled to have her as today’s guest on 3Q’s!

Welcome Cindy!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do
you have a word count you attempt to hit?

Cindy: For years I wrote in the mornings from around 9:00 until noon. Life changes and sometimes schedules need to be altered. That’s happened with my writing routine multiple times. I’ve written at night, once everyone goes to bed. And there was a time when the children were young, I would get up at 3:00am and write until breakfast time. The key for me is flexibility and not a set word count.

Steve: You end up at an estate sale and discover an unpublished manuscript from an author you
love. Do you keep it just for yourself or do you share it with the world?

Cindy: I get a thrill out of being an early reader for writers. That leads to my answer, I would read that manuscript like it would self combust if I didn’t read fast enough. Afterwards I would give it to the estate’s
executor for the world to read.

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should
read it!

Cindy: Foundlings is a Found poetry collection I co-wrote with Stephanie Ellis. It’s from the
works of two of our favorite writers: Linda D. Addison and Alessandro Manzetti. They
were both so gracious with their Forewards for the collection. We are thankful for all the
blurbs and support from fellow writers. If you’re not familiar with Found poetry, what
better place to start with than the words of Linda and Alessandro? Foundlings, now
available on Amazon. I found out recently that my sonnet, “Unrepentant”, has been accepted for Shakespeare Unleashed, edited by James Aquilone. I’m quite pleased by the news.

Steve: Bonus Question! You wake up in a comic book. What is your comic book character and what is your superpower?

Cindy: My character name would be Brain-wave, and I would have the ability to control the minds of the most horrible criminals in the world. I would stop them before they hurt or killed anyone.
Thanks again, Steve. It’s been a pleasure.

Thank you, Cindy! The pleasure has been all mine!

To find more amazing work from Cindy, check the links!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Cindy-OQuinn/e/B01N0TN3TN/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/COQuinnWrites

3Q’S: Adam Light Dreams for the Dying!

What I love about 3Q’s – and I’ve said it before and will say it again – is that it has featured such a variety of authors, throughout so many different stages and levels of their writing career/time!

Today’s guest is an author whose work I greatly love! He’s been churning out stuff for a while now and every time he announces something new, I get super excited!

Please, do welcome Adam Light!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?

Adam: My writing schedule is about as seat of the pants as you can picture. I write when I can, and take notes wherever I may be. I don’t always end up using those notes, or even remembering them at all for that matter, but it does tend to help. I have notebooks piled everywhere. As far as word counts, I don’t like to get too hung up on that aspect of it, but I do, like everyone else, I’m sure. But at the end of the day, I like to think even if I have only saved a hundred good words, I can feel satisfied by that.

Steve: You end up at an estate sale and discover an unpublished manuscript from an author you love. Do you keep it just for yourself or do you share it with the world?

Adam: If I stumbled on this amazing unpublished work, and had to make that decision, I’d get it published the proper way so all of that author’s fans would benefit.

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!

Adam: I haven’t released anything new for about a year, and that was Dreams for the Dying, a collection of previously released short stories. I’m working on a bunch of new things right now, and I decided I wanted to try finishing a new batch of stories, and releasing it all at once this time. I love the short form, and feel I flourish in that realm, so it has been my main focus when writing. I do have a novel or two that are in various states of completion, and hope to wrap some of that material in the near future. For now, if you dig short horror and weird tales, you should totally check out Dreams for the Dying.

Steve: Bonus Question! You wake up in a comic book. What is your comic book character and what is your super power?

Adam: I would probably end up in a Simpson comic book, and discover that I am Grampa, and I have succumbed to Bonus Eruptus. My super power would be spitting my skeleton from my mouth to scare off my enemies!

Ha! That’s a really great one! Thank you again, Adam!

To find more of his work, definitely check the links!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Adam-Light/e/B0075WNUK8

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AdamDLight

Book Review: Episode Thirteen by Craig DiLouie

Title: Episode Thirteen

Author: Craig DiLouie

Release date: January 24th, 2023

Firstly, huge thanks to Craig, the publisher and Netgalley for approving me for a digital ARC!

I gotta admit – going into this one I was very very leery. Why? A few reasons. I’m a huge fan of DiLouie’s writing, but (and I say this with utmost respect) – his last novel ‘The Children of Red Peak’ frustrated me to some degree while reading it. Secondly – I really struggle with epistolary storytelling. BUT – and I do mean BUT – ‘Suffer the Children’ is one of THE best books I’ve ever read. So, I was right down the middle of road for what to expect. I knew I wanted to read this, I just knew I needed to have an open mind going in.

As a side note – and I usually hate mentioning my own writing in my reviews – but while reading this, I was working through writing/adapting my first screenplay, based on my own work. I think that exercise in processing my novella in screenplay format actually worked to my advantage for reading this.

What I liked: The story follows a team of ghost hunters, during their first season of filming their show ‘Fade to Black.’ Having now received permission to investigate a notable location that hasn’t been investigated before, the group heads to Foundation House and dives into their filming and investigation full-on.

DiLouie does a phenomenal job of letting each character breathe and get their footings before things begin to go sideways. We get to meet each of them and learn what makes them tick, as well as see what role they play within the dynamic of the group.

While normally this type of storytelling takes me away from the character development and I struggle to really stay engaged, this one rang different. And, as the story progresses, it worked well to give us different POV’s of events that happen, as well as working as a form so that each character gets to contribute instead of it being purely a singular main character tale.

I do have to say – this story goes to places you’ll never expect. It’s so hard when you have to remain spoiler free regarding what happens, but it was such a pleasure to see where this went as it’s so far away from the normal ‘haunted house’ trope.

What I didn’t like: While the different mediums of telling this story was really well done, I personally didn’t find much benefit or engagement from the text message convo’s between one character and their sister. The other pieces/forms used worked really well, but this particular one wasn’t one I enjoyed.

Why you should buy this: DiLouie doesn’t shy away from telling a story with dark subject matter and this one goes to some truly bleak places. Don’t let the epistolary aspect turn you away – it really does work in this particular case and the story hums along. I loved how this one started, where it went and how it ended. It was a perfect 1-2-3 punch and does leave a glimmer of potential for a further ‘investigative’ piece in this world.

Really well done!

5/5

Book Review: The Swarm by Sean O’Connor

Title: The Swarm

Author: Sean O’Connor

Release date: January 13, 2023

Over the last however many years, I’ve had the pleasure of discovering Sean O’Conner’s writing and the amazing world’s he creates.

Every time we get a new piece from him, two things are evident. A) It’s going to be a rollercoaster. 2) It’ll be a fantastic experience with lots of carnage.

And guess what? This is exactly what we get with his newest, ‘The Swarm.’

What I liked: ‘The Swarm’ is a story I describe as ‘The Thing’ meets ‘The Road.’ A father and his son are stranded in the artic, in the hollowed-out shell of their plane that crashed. The world has been overrun by crazy creatures that only come out at night and rip and shred all that moves and makes sound.

Sean fills this to the brim with emotions and the tug of the father-son relationship works so well to really elevate the environmental strife. He also brilliantly gives us the briefest glimmers of hope which pulls you along. The book doesn’t have much to offer in terms of bright-spots and that works so well and plays off the barren landscape to perfection, so these tiny, slivers work well.

The story goes in a few directions I didn’t really expect and as we learn a bit more about the ‘why’ we do get to see the layers of how things descended into chaos and what hopes they have of surviving.

The ending is powerful, poignant and O’Conner leaves the door open for the potential to have a follow up down the road.

What I didn’t like: While I liked the creature aspect and the human aspect of survival, what I didn’t think was expanded upon enough was the horrendous conditions they were living in and how hostile and brutal the cold truly is. With a shorter page count that’s understandable but I think a few expansions to detail about how inhospitable the surroundings are would’ve been great.

Why you should buy this: The novella as a form allows for truly great storytelling, in that, it is longer than a short story but often doesn’t suffer from the bloat of novels. O’Conner uses that to his advantage with this one. This is a fast-paced, claustrophobic, unnerving dose of frantic storytelling that can be devoured easily in a single sitting. Problem is, you’ll most likely take your time reading it in smaller bites, your body not able to handle it all at once.

Great stuff.

5/5

3Q’s – Chris Carolan kills time!

Another blast-o-rama today with fellow Canuck Chris Carolan joining me on this ridiculous adventure!

I connected with Chris a while back and funny enough, for some reason, I always thought he lived on the East Coast of Canada. Nope, turns out, he’s down in Calgary, just three hours from me. Good grief. One of these days I’ll need to arrange a get together for the Calgary and Edmonton and surrounding areas writers to meet up!

Please, do welcome Chris!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?

Chris: I wish I could say I write every day, but to be honest I’m lucky if I get time to write once a week lately. My day job has me on a very erratic schedule right now, I just wrapped up a marketing certificate program which soaked up a lot of hours, and I’ve got a two-year-old at home. My writing is done in stolen moments like lunch breaks, nap time, and those rare and random evenings when I’ve got a bit of steam left at the end of the day.

I don’t have a word count in mind when I sit down, as such, but I’m writing my current project by hand and aim for seven to ten pages of handscript in a sitting. I think that usually ends up somewhere around 1500 words, give or take. Writing by hand has really been a boon to my productivity. When I’m writing on a computer, I find I’m very inclined to edit and polish every sentence of that first draft as I go, and it really slows things down. But when you’re writing by hand the ink on the page is the ink on the page. You have to move on and – to borrow a line from my pals in the film industry – “fix it in post.” I just have to hope I can actually read my own writing when it comes time to transcribe.

Steve: You end up at an estate sale and discover an unpublished manuscript from an author you love. Do you keep it just for yourself or do you share it with the world?

Chris: Heck, I want to say I’d share it with the world, but let’s be honest… I have enough trouble getting people to read the books I love that are already in print!

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!

Chris: By the time this is posted my short story ‘The Envoy’s Blessing’ should be out in the world. You’ll find it in Terrace V: Penitent’s Gold, edited by Sarah L. Pratt and Rob Bose at The Seventh Terrace. It’s the second anthology of theirs I’ve been a part of, the first being Baby, It’s Cold Outside (Coffin Hop Press, 2018). They’re great folks to work with. ‘The Envoy’s Blessing’ is sort of my first stab at a cosmic horror story, or at least that’s what I was going for. It’s set in the same world as my novel The Nightshade Cabal, but at the opposite end of the country with totally different characters. The protagonist, Nathaniel Garaven, is an American Civil War veteran who has spent the last fifteen years traveling the continent searching for the root of evil in the world, the corruptive influence that compels men to commit atrocities upon one another. It’s very much its own thing; you don’t need to have read my novel to understand this story. I’ll definitely be writing about Garaven again, and I kind of grossed myself out writing one particularly gnarly scene in this piece!

https://the-seventh-terrace.com/upcoming-releases/

Steve: Bonus Question! You wake up in a comic book. What is your comic book character and what is your super power?

Chris: My greatest nemesis in life seems to be time itself, in that there simply aren’t enough hours in a day nor days in each week. My power would be the ability to slow or suspend time just to give me a chance to get caught up on… well, everything. I’ll borrow a superhero name from one of my favorite Project Pitchfork songs… I am the Timekiller.

Fantastic! Thank you so much for doing this Chris!

To find more of Chris’ work – check the links!

Website: http://www.cpcwrites.com

Twiter: twitter.com/cpcwrites

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15556775.Chris_Patrick_Carolan

3Q’s – Katherine Silva is ok, as long as there’s no lightning!

Heelllooooo!

Another fun one today with an author whom I constantly see trying to find new and fun ways to get readers to come and visit her worlds! Her Tik Tok content is fun and her work has been described as ‘must-read.’ Please, welcome Katherine today!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?

Katherine: My writing is sporadic at best. Trying to find time between a demanding full-time job, taking care of an 1890’s home, and spending time with friends and family means that I unfortunately don’t have a set schedule carved out. I do have one day per week (Thursday) that I try to dedicate to writerly things (whether it’s editing, writing, designing marketing materials, or scheduling events.
When I am writing, I tend to write best in the morning. Something about getting out of bed with a fresh cup of coffee and morning sun just puts me in the right mood. On a rare Sunday afternoon or evening, I can get work done, too. I don’t set word counts. I try to get as much done as humanly possible when I am able to sit down and write. My opportunities to do so are few and far between.

Steve: You decide to host a writer’s retreat. One weekend in a luxury house on an island. What three other authors do you invite to come along?
Katherine: I’d want whoever I invited to be comfortable with my method of writing as well as be able to make sure I didn’t disturb them for whatever their process is. But I also believe in the idea that some of that retreat should be spent with some like-minded people, people you can learn from and have a good time with when we’re not working. Also: I’m so shy I’d be terrified to even ask anyone to come. I think I’d be in good company with Gemma Amor, Nicole Eigener,, and Villimey Mist. All of them are phenomenal writers and good people.

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!
Katherine: In August and October, I released two short stories in the Wild Oblivion series called ORCHARDS and Hallowed Oblivion. ORCHARDS is a series of drabbles, poems, and prose set against stark black and white photography that chronicles the descent of Brody Aritza’s ghost after death.
Hallowed Oblivion is about a park ranger, Hank, who is sent to search for lost hikers on Halloween night in the White Mountains along with a volunteer, Gerard. When they find the campsite in ruins, Hank discovers they are not alone in the woods. There’s something else out there, something hungry for the souls of the lost and it’s got them in its sights.
Both of these are quick reads within the Wild Oblivion universe and serve as satisfying bite-sized horror stories for a reader looking for something short and harrowing.

Steve: Bonus Question! You receive an invitation in the mail from one of these two people. The invitation invites you to have dinner and spend the night in their home. Do you accept the invitation from Victor Frankenstein or Dracula and why?

Katherine: I’m going with Victor Frankenstein on this. Though I do love vampires, I have no desire to become one. And really the only danger posed from Frankenstein’s house is that somewhere he’s got a monster he’s creating that might come to life the night I’m staying there. Also: maybe not. He might just be sewing limbs together in his observatory, chilling and not bothering anyone. I could see having a decent evening there, learning a little bit about the human condition over some wine. As long as there’s no lightning storm, things should be A-okay.

Excellent choice!

Thanks again, Katherine for doing this!

To find more of her work – check the links!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Katherine-Silva/e/B004W4P690

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KatherineSilva_

3Q’s Special – Jessica McHugh offers up some more Gardening Tips!

Super fun one today! I’m a big fan of our 3Q’s guest. She delivers some fantastic dark poetry, some bleak fiction and makes me smile and laugh with her fun Tik Tok/IG videos!

Please do welcome Jessica McHugh!

Steve:  What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?
Jessica: It’s changed a lot over the years and varies depending on what project I’m focusing on. If I’m working on fiction, I’ll typically work in the evenings after I get off from my day job. If I have the day off, I’ll devote most of my day to creating. I especially love writing and making blackout poetry in bars, so I might head out for happy hour and allow the beer and boisterous surroundings to inspire me. I don’t tend to have a starting/ending time. It’s usually just writing ’til I can’t writes no more! And unless I’m doing something like nanowrimo, I don’t focus on word count. I’d rather focus on making my words count. If I’m working on blackout poetry, my productivity depends on what stage I’m in. If I’m finding/writing poems, I can do that anywhere, anytime, and will as much as possible. If I’m in the art portion, I need to have all my supplies, so it’s a little more difficult to carve out time. But if you live in my hometown, you know it’s not strange to see me stomping down the street with my big briefcase of art supplies to work on poetry at a pub.

Steve: You decide to host a writer’s retreat. One weekend in a luxury house on an island. What three other authors do you invite to come along?
Jessica: This is incredibly tough because there are so many amazing authors with whom I’d love to run away to a writing retreat. 3 just isn’t enough! But since the questionnaire is forcing me…Stephanie Wytovich, Gemma Amor, & Danger Slater. Then I’d break the rules and invite 12 more!

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!

Jessica: In September, Ghoulish Books released the start to my bonkers horror series, The Gardening Guidebooks Trilogy. The first book “Rabbits in the Garden” follows 13-year-old Avery Norton as she’s accused of murder and incarcerated in Taunton Asylum in the late 1950s. Grappling with her overbearing–and allegedly homicidal–mother Faye, and being separated from her first love, Paul, Avery is forced to question her own innocence at every turn, which leads to a familial showdown that continues in the 1975 cult horror sequel, “Hares in the Hedgerow” due to be released on November 15th. The sequel has some fun new characters as well, including the enigmatic Mother Agnes and her spiritual family, the Choir of the Lamb, as well as an intriguing new kind of therapist attuned to Avery’s specific malady.
If you dig intense, sometimes disturbing, stories of family drama/trauma with shocking twists and turns that span decades, you will probably dig the mad adventure that is the Gardening Guidebooks Trilogy.

Hares in the Hedgerow

Steve: Bonus Question! You receive an invitation in the mail from one of these two people. The invitation invites you to have dinner and spend the night in their home. Do you accept the invitation from Victor Frankenstein or Dracula and why?

Jessica: I’m going with Dracula, despite the many hot Victor Frankensteins that have been presented to me over the years, cuz I weirdly think I could handle an evening with a dude who turns living people into undead people, rather than a dude who dreams of turning pieces of dead people into one living person. But I might change my mind if Victor looks like James McAvoy. I’d overlook many icky things for a James McAvoy Frankenstein.

Ha! Great answer, and just for you, I found this fanart made over on Deviant Art by amywestern of James McAvoy as a vampire knight!

Thank you so much, Jessica! And best of luck with your launch!

To find more of her work – check the links!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Jessica-McHugh/e/B003NUKAA4/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/theJessMcHugh

Website: https://mchughniverse.com/

3Q’s – J-F. Dubeau is the absolute most Canadian of super heroes!

Fun one today friends! You may notice the green 3Q’s logo – cuz I like switching things up and don’t want a bajillion of the same color!

Also a fun one as we have an author whose work I really enjoy and he’s a fellow Canuck!

Please, do welcome J-F. Dubeau!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?
J-F: When I’m in the weeds of a project, trying to get that first draft down, I aim to write about 1500 words in a day. Often I’ll do more, depending on how interesting the scene I’m working on is. I have a rule of thumb that, if I didn’t enjoy writing a particular portion, I’ll revisit it later. Usually, if something wasn’t interesting to write, it won’t be interesting to read either.
As for ritual, I don’t have any worth speaking of. I’ve trained myself to write almost anywhere and anytime. I do have certain preferences – coffee shops, while a cliché, are great for writing. A constant carrousel of people, accessible food and drink, etc. – but the fewer obstacles and requirements between me and my writing, the better. Knowing how finicky I can get with rituals, if I were to need my favorite desk, and my favorite chair, and that one brand of tea I like, and exactly the right amount of rain, and only during the hours of twilight? I’d never get anything done.

Steve: You end up at an estate sale and discover an unpublished manuscript from an author you love. Do you keep it just for yourself or do you share it with the world?
J-F: That’s a tricky question. It depends on the author. I like to think that, under such circumstances, I would do my best to respect what that author would have wanted. Not everything I write is something I want the world to read. I know that there’s this thing about popular artists that the world is entitled to their work, but I disagree with that. Intent is everything in art, and if an author wrote something they did not intend to publish, I would want to abide by that intent. The same way if I concluded that this was work meant for an audience. In that case, I would gladly share it.

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!
J-F: I’ve got three things worth mentioning.
1. I have a short story titled The Ozymandias Crucible coming out this October as part of the Fear Forge anthology, published by Horrorsmith Publishing. Each story in the anthology is themed around the concept of a ‘forge’. What they are, what they create, etc. The book has a gorgeous cover by the talented Francois Vaillancourt.
2. Song of the Sandman is the latest book I’ve published, though that was a year ago if I’m not mistaken.
3. Anyone wanting a sample of my writing for free can go listen to Achewillow. It’s a fiction podcast I write and is narrated and produced by the astounding Amy Frost. It’s a cozy horror story about witches, coffee, demons and baking, in a small town on the border between Quebec and Vermont. We’ve got five seasons done so far and it’s available on any podcasting platform.

Steve: Bonus Question! You wake up in a comic book. What is your comic book character and what is your super power?
J-F: I’m not very skilled at fantasizing about myself that way. I’ve always healed pretty fast, so I guess I’d have a healing factor. Otherwise I’d probably just be known as Annoying Sasquatch Man. Tall, hairy, terrifying and likely fiction. I could see myself opening doors for people and helping old ladies cross the street. Just the absolute most Canadian of super heroes, but in the least glamorous way.

Ha! That’s a great choice and maybe a comic book you’ll need to write!

Thanks again, J-F!

To find more of his work;

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/J-F-Dubeau/e/B00PLWKQRY/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jfdubeau

Website: http://www.jfdubeau.com/

3Q’s Special – Michael Kelly and the big FREEZE!

Really fun 3Q’s today – and in a way – it’s a double bonus 3Q’s! You see, today’s guest is none other than Michael Kelly. Michael is not only a talented and revered writer, but he’s also one of the driving forces behind Undertow Publications! So, as a thanks to Undertow always being kind to me – I’ll also be sharing some of the Undertow books YOU MUST READ HERE!

Michael has always been kind, supportive and encouraging and I’m very excited to have him join me today! Please, welcome Michael!

(Photo by Carlos Osorio for The Globe and Mail)  

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?

Michael: Ah, alas, my writing has been mostly on the back-burner since I took Undertow Publications full-time in 2018. I have penned some stories in the interval, and this year I managed 5 new stories that all sold fairly quickly, and have already appeared, or soon will, this year. Even when I was writing more frequently I was always a slow writer. So, 5 stories in a year is a win for me.

When I’m writing, I have no set time each day. It’s mostly when I can fit it in between other daily activities, chores, and my publishing endeavours. 10 minutes here, 5 minutes there.

I do have a word count I try to achieve. And it’s a simple one – just 100 words. And I set it at 100 words because I can achieve that. More often than not, I can then do another 100 words, and so on. That’s the method that works for me. I’m also a huge proponent of Scott Meredith’s ‘make the first draft as good as you can’ method. So I edit as I go along. That is, before I start my next writing session I will read the whole draft and then edit and tweak. Then I do my words for the day. The next day I read the whole thing again and edit and then write. Generally, this produces a near-to-final draft, for me.

Steve: You end up at an estate sale and discover an unpublished manuscript from an author you love. Do you keep it just for yourself or do you share it with the world?

Michael: Well, of course, being a publisher I’d definitely share it – assuming that was the author’s intent. That’s why we all start, isn’t it? To share our creative endeavours. “Hey, I made this thing.” Or “Hey, I published this thing. Please have a look.” Readers complete the circle. You write the thing. You publish the thing. People read the thing. It never feels fully finished til it’s out there.

 

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!

Michael: Two things! That’s cheeky of me, I know. I just had two short stories published within a week of each other – “Swim the Darkness” at The Dark, and “Something Borrowed” at Three-Lobed Burning Eye. Why read them? Oh, that’s a tough one. I’m never good at plugging my own work. If you like your horror stories smaller, and quieter perhaps give one (or both) of them a read. I’ve had several lovely e-mails from readers about both stories.

Swim the Darkness

https://www.3lobedmag.com/issue36/3lbe36_story4.html

Steve: Bonus Question! You wake up in a comic book. What is your comic book character and what is your superpower?

Michael: Gah! What to choose? This is rather boring, perhaps, but I’d be “The Freeze,” with the ability to stop the flow of time. That way I’d be able to catch up on all the things I’m behind on.

Excellent choice, and its interesting to see how many people have chosen something to do with slowing down time! Thank you once again, Michael!

To find more of his work and the Undertow releases, check the links!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/UndertowPubs

Website: https://undertowpublications.com/