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Michael Ransom

Goodreads Author

Born

in Decatur, The United States

Website

http://www.michaelransombooks.com

Twitter

MRansomBooks

Genre

Mystery, Thriller, Crime

Influences

Michael Crichton Michael Palmer Robin Cook Tess Gerritsen Thomas ...more

Member Since

February 2014

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/michael_ransom

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MICHAEL RANSOM is an American author and poet (b. 1968) originally raised in rural Mississippi who now makes his home in northern New Jersey. He is a molecular pharmacologist and a recognized expert in the fields of pharmacogenetics and toxicogenomics. He is widely published in scientific journals and has edited multiple textbooks in biomedical research. He is currently a pharmaceutical scientist and an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

The Ripper Gene is his first novel.

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What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Michael Ransom As the famed death row inmate once intimated, and which was swiped and slightly modified by the CEO of Nike in the 70's: Just Do It.

I'm focusing mainl…moreAs the famed death row inmate once intimated, and which was swiped and slightly modified by the CEO of Nike in the 70's: Just Do It.

I'm focusing mainly on young aspiring writers in this Q&A. If you're older, like me (forties), then you probably already know that in theory, you can "just do it" anytime you want, but you may simultaneously be tied down with familial responsibilities, or any of a myriad of other commitments, that weigh you down as if you're standing in the middle of Times Square with a cruise ship's massive anchor chained to your ankle, angry lines of traffic and pedestrians honking at you to keep moving, trying to maneuver around you, as you look wildly around and beg to be released from the situation in which you find yourself... and you know that it's an impossibility, no one is coming with the key to save you, you have to figure this out on your own.

I'm not speaking to you. I'm speaking to the younger ones now, who haven't yet created those webs of networks and commitments and responsibilities to other people loved and for whom they care. The time is now. Go do it. Be a writer. Be a writer when the only thing you have to worry about is where your body will sleep and eat. Write like crazy during those days, and try to hit it big. Be motivated, write even when you don't feel like it, or when it would be just as easy to wake and bake with your good friend Mary Jane, or whatever you do, just write and then go beyond "writing" and don't just store up those manuscripts and let them fester- find a mentor, take classes, collaborate with friends, and learn HOW to Write and more importantly how to Revise. Why? Because you want other people to read what you write, and you therefore desperately need to learn Craft. And then, even though you're just a young one, barely a few days or weeks or months or years removed from being nudged out of the nest for the very first time and tumbling down to the ground while you flap those tiny little wings to no avail only to land in the soft pine straw below...

Submit that manuscript in its best possible form, find an agent, work with him/her to find a publisher...and try to become a writer early in life, and let it be your job until the day you die.(less)

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What’s the best thing about being a writer?

Michael Ransom For me, there are two equally amazing benefits of being a writer that transcend time and space, and a third that is more immediate.

First, I thoroughl…moreFor me, there are two equally amazing benefits of being a writer that transcend time and space, and a third that is more immediate.

First, I thoroughly enjoy that sense of finally feeling a bonafide, mysterious kinship with all other writers, living and dead. In essence, I've finally joined a very specific subset of humanity whom I've respected for decades, ever since my teachers began cracking open the little walnut of my mind and exposing it to new ideas, new characters, and even new worlds...all created by those mysterious people otherwise known as "writers".

I'm equally buoyed by the idea that I will now transcend my own death in a tiny sense. That someone, somewhere, will one day crack open the spine of one of my books and read it after I'm long gone from the face of the earth, and find a new way to think, or experience a sort of kinship with one of my own characters, or simply be thrilled by a mystery. That is a powerful, exciting feeling and it's definitely another reason I love being a writer.

There is one more immediate benefit of being a (published) writer. I cannot begin to describe how many people whom I have never met nor will I ever meet, who have written reviews or in some cases even written to me, about how much they loved my book. That, too, is a powerful aphrodisiac for an author- to sense that you have now, finally, literally transformed into a very different kind of person than you were before. Previously, you could only impact people who came into contact with you or were within the range of your voice. And now? Now you can impact people thousands of miles away across the face of the globe... and if you're really tuned into it, you'll realize how important that is...you'll envision the tenuous, silvery web of your own creation surrounding the globe... and realize that for now and forever, each time you plink the string of your writing in one way or another, all those people will hear it. (less)

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Michael Ransom’s books

Average rating: 3.83 · 332 ratings · 84 reviews · 20 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Ripper Gene 3.83 avg rating — 332 ratings — published 2015 — 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
	"Pulitzer!": A collection of my Generations of Today articles 2003 - 2019 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	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
	Loving What Death Can Touch: A father endures the loss of his son 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	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
	The Best I Can Do 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	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
	HOW TO TURN YOUR BLOG INTO A BOOK: 12 steps to turn your blog posts into a book 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	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
	I Spy happy Easter coloring Book For Kids: Bunny, Easter Eggs, Rainbow and More! Coloring, Activity and Guessing Game For Little Kids, Toddlers and Preschoolers 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	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
	I Spy happy Easter coloring Book For Kids: Bunny, Easter Eggs, Rainbow and More! Coloring, Activity and Guessing Game For Little Kids, Toddlers and Preschoolers 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	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
	Ransom's Island: How it came to be 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	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
	12 WAYS TO BE A BETTER MAN IN A RELATIONSHIP: How to Be a Good Husband 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 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
	HOW TO MAINTAIN A BALANCED DIET: Maintain a Healthy Eating Lifestyle 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 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

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Michael Ransom's Blog

Michael Ransom Book Review: Deal-Breaker by Harlan Coben

Deal Breaker by Harlan Coben

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Harlan Coben introduces a new character and cast of supporting characters in Deal-Breaker. Myron Bolitar is not your normal mystery-solving protagonist...he's a sports agent! More specifically, he's a northern NJ-based sports agent, working in the city and around the Meadowlands Read More Read more of this blog post »

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Published on April 15, 2017 22:00

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Michael is Currently Reading

Michael Ransom is currently reading

Relic (Pendergast, #1)

by Douglas Preston (Goodreads Author)

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Oct 12, 2020 01:02AM

Michael Ransom is currently reading

Travels

by Michael Crichton

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Jun 10, 2020 04:44PM

Michael Ransom is currently reading

The Reckoning

by John Grisham (Goodreads Author)

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May 12, 2020 09:30PM

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