Michael Poeltl's Blog, page 8

New Sci-fi Coming Soon

"He speaks for those who have no voice in this escalating war, and in doing so, gives them power." - Quinn of House Quinn of the A.I. Host uprising - A.I. Insurrection. Coming soon.

FREE Ebook Contest for your Kindle!

This is a contest everyone wins! Visit https://www.amazon.com/Waning-Metaphorically-Stories-Fiction-Collection-ebook/dp/B0100Q4Q5S/ and you'll win just by clicking the Download button.
Free from August 10-12th is the multi-genre anthology of short stories Waning Metaphorically.
Imagine the number of stories a writer has inside them. Never mind the editor’s slush pile; author’s each suffer their own. I don’t mean to suggest we’re a bunch of word hoarders, but once a sentence or scene has been wr...

MEME's and your book

MEME's - An idea that spreads like a virus by word of mouth, email, blogs etc. are important visualizations of key scenes or quotes from your new book. They are essential in offering your potential reader a glimpse inside the book. Not unlike writing a summary or your back cover description; MEME's allow your intended audience a look inside, in order to determine whether or not they'd enjoy your new work of fiction.

I've been using MEME's for years and have seen greater interactions via s...

Visualizing Your Sci-Fi Universe

I've been quietly working on a Sci-Fi novel after having pulled so much enjoyment out of writing a short science fiction piece for an anthology I released in 2015.

Sci-Fi has always been a go-to genre for me in my personal reading and films, so I decided to write a novel. This of course did not happen overnight. I was writing what I thought would be another short story, but after putting it past my brother, who is a big Sci-Fi fan, we decided I could go the distance and make it a novel.

Happily...

Trump in the Whitehouse and Indie Authors

So what's it mean to have tyrannical Trump in the Whitehouse for all of us indie authors trying to push our books north and south of the borders? Will he really follow through with his threats and break down NAFTA? Does that even matter to an indie author? Could it? What does Free Trade mean for an indie or self-published author? Let's lay it out. I'm Canadian, but I use Createspace to build out my books, print them, and it's where I order them from. Createspace is an American company. S...

Should a Picture Book Teach About the Apocalypse?

Books have a responsibility to teach. That's all this is. It's a tool.
Is the dichotomy too much? A picture book.... about the end of the world... it's teaching consequence...

There are consequences to mistreating the environment, and children need to be taught that. I know they hear about it at school and learn which leaves are which, and that frogs eat bugs, and bees are important pollinators, but that's just stating the obvious. What about opening the class with - What if there wer...

Writing with metaphor - Writing Style

Writing metaphorically is a style of story-telling which resonates with people. From the ancient world turtle story right through to modern day narratives, the metaphor has contributed deeper meaning and depth to our stories.

Many metaphorical tales have been borrowed from one generation to the next – updating the content - but maintaining the metaphor, in order to tell a similar story. The world turtle, for example, can be seen today in the new picture book, *An Angry Earth. The world turtl...

Goodreads Contest for Environmental Picture Book

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The World Turtle is Dying - A New Take on an Old Myth - Writing Life

An Angry Earth, the latest book by author and illustrator Michael Poeltl (pronounced pur-tel – Yes, sounds just like: turtle) is a picture book which borrows from the myth of the world turtle. This story has several origins, touching multiple continents, but perhaps the best known is the Hindu telling of the gigantic turtle who supports the world on its shell.

Poeltl borrows the myth in order to get his point across – that the world is alive. Just as a living, breathing turtle carrying the wo...

An Environmentally Charged Picture Book for the Apocalypse?

Is it okay to talk about the environment? Are we all on the same side on this issue? Do we all accept that humanity’s’ role in climate change is indisputable? The truth is we’re not all on the same page and that can be attributed to lack of education or ignorance or both. Whatever the reason, whichever argument you support, it won’t change the end we’re spiraling towards. Not if you don’t change.A journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. That logic applies to climate change as well....