Interveiw with Michael Brookes

This is the first interview I have put on my site and I am very happy to do it for a very talented you man named Michael Brooks. Please read and enjoy.
Please introduce yourself, who are you and what do you do?

My name is Michael Brookes, I'm an Executive Producer for one of the leading independent UK game developers. As well as being an avid reader I enjoy writing stories of a dark nature. I also volunteer at a local community magazine as a Technical Editor. Occasionally I manage to squeeze in some sleep :-)

2. What first inspired you to start writing?

Reading is the simple answer. I've loved reading since a very young age and reading other people's stories inspired me to tell stories of my own.

3. And what attracted you to writing horror?

Horror as a genre covers a wide range of possibilities. I'm especially interested in exploring interactions between technology and darker emotions like fear. In my latest novel Faust 2.0 I had fun looking at how an emergent artificial intelligence would view humanity.

It's the diversity that genres like horror and science fiction that make them attractive. To be honest I write stories and then worry about what genre when I start marketing.

4. Does your day job complement your writing?

Very much so. I'm currently working on a game called Elite: Dangerous, the sequel to the game that got me into gaming in the first place! As well as the executive producer I'm also the head of fiction for the game which means I'm responsible for working the background fiction for the game and working with a number of authors who are writing their own book within the game's fiction. I'll also be writing the official tie-in novel for the game - which is great!

5. Where do your best ideas come from?

Usually when I'm driving. I don't know why, but my best ideas just pop up as I'm driving.

6. What is your favourite song lyric?

A tough question this, there's a couple of verses that I love from a song called Mythhistory by a thrash band called Sabbat.

Mother sister, virgin, whore,
She is all these and yet still more
That I could hope to understand
She takes my heart, I take her hand.

And can you blame me?
Is it such a crime?
To crave for one small piece of Heaven,
That I can call mine.

I love the poetic nature of the song.

7. What is the best piece of writing advice you have received?

Finish what you start. For most of my life I've dabbled with writing. Working up small pieces, starting longer ones, but never actually finishing them. Once I'd finally finished a novel I then took the next step of editing and releasing, but you need to finish that first draft before you start fixing what is broken or you will never finish it.

8. What are you working on at the moment?

I'm in the final editing phase for my next short story collection called 'An Odder Quintet'. I'm aiming for a release in September.

9. Tell us about your latest work and how we can find out more.

My latest release is 'Faust 2.0':

A new entity is born into the internet.

Is it the rebirth of an ancient evil in a new realm? Or something much worse?

A sexy looking avatar grants wishes for people across the web, but nothing is truly free, and for those who accept, what price must be paid?

Sarah Mitchell must discover the truth of this creature and stop it while it can still be stopped, but why is a mysterious lawyer dogging her every step?

Faust 2.0 is the first book in the new Mitchell & Morton series.

It's available from Amazon:

UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Faust-2-0-Mor...
US: http://www.amazon.com/Faust-2-0-Morto...

Thanks for the interview!

Michael