Author Interview with Michael Brookes

Name or pen name: Michael Brookes Author of: Faust 2.0*Interviewer's comments are in bold. 1. What inspired you to write your first book? I’ve always enjoyed reading and that inspired stories, for most of my life I’ve sketched out ideas for books and written short stories. A few years ago I finally wrote a novel and people that read it told me that it was pretty good. I then decided to take that rough first draft and turn it into something presentable. I’ve been fortunate so far that my books have been well received and there is something very satisfying to see my skills as a writer improve with each book.

2. How did you come up with the title? I have a deep interest in the classics and the idea for Faust 2.0 came from the various Faust stories of a pact with the Devil. My book takes a different angle on the story with the Devil replaced with something more modern.


3. What genre do you consider your book(s)?I write stories that tend to cross genres, Faust 2.0 for example has elements of horror and science fiction, although both of those genres are quite broad in their scope.


4. Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life? Elements from the story have come from my own experiences, or events that I have heard of, but in the main the story comes from the imagination. I pose questions and the story is a way of answering those questions.

5. What books have most influenced your life most? A tough question! There are so many, I am a prolific reader and I manage to extract something from most books I have read. I consider John Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’ the greatest story ever told and as well as being a great work of literature it’s also had a profound influence on my own writing.

6. If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor? I think I’ll cheat with this question and pick two authors, the first is Ian Banks, he has written many fine books and I’m a huge fan of his work, especially his science fiction stories, in fact Excession is my favorite novel ever written. What he does well as an author is take a big idea and make it comprehensible.
Clive Barker is the second author I would choose. He is a talented writer who has written some of the finest modern horror stories, but like my own stories he takes into some interesting directions. He writes with a clear visual style that has aided me in the development of my own writing.
Clearly, I do not read enough science fiction or horror. My experience science fiction has been pretty limited to Tom Clancy and other popular YA science fiction authors within the last ten years.
7. What book are you reading now?
I’ve just finished ‘The Reconstruction Descending’ which was a wonderfully bizarre collection of short stories, it’s a very quick read but contains some very odd stories. Highly recommended.
8. Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest and why? Oh yes, since publishing as an Indie author I’ve discovered many excellent authors. It might be true that the self publishing revolution has flooded the market with variable quality work, there are many gems amongst the crowd. For horror writers I’d like to shout out for David Haynes, his Victorian themed horror stories are some of the best horror you’ll ever read.
I’ve also widened my reading tastes thanks to be involved in the indie scene, I know read more self published work than authors from the big publishing houses. It’s a great time to be a reader!

9. If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book? I don’t think that I would, one of the aspects I enjoy as a writer is developing my craft, however I am satisfied with Faust 2.0 and I’m looking forward to writing the next book in the series.
10. Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing? Like many writers I find editing a difficult part of the process, I actually enjoy working through the draft, but it is difficult to get it done and reading right.

This is something I hear from authors over and over, editing is difficult. I copletely agree with the statement. I haven't talked to one author that does enjoy the editing process.
11. Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work? As mentioned earlier Ian M Banks is the author of Excession, which is my favourite novel. Like all great science fiction it tackles some big questions, but one of the aspects I enjoyed the most it the alien quality of the ship minds (they are essentially very powerful artificial intelligences) communicate. I also appreciate the world he creates, it’s a fantastic vision of the galaxy and the life it contains.

12. What was the hardest part of writing your book? The hardest part to writing any book is completing the process, the various steps on their own aren’t too bad, for example I love planning the story, I enjoy writing the first draft, I even find satisfaction in the editing process. But to complete it all is hard work and then once it’s done, you have to publish and promote the book. I’m not the world’s best marketer, but I keep at it because I want as many people as possible to read my work.

13. Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it? My books tend be explorations of ideas and I get to do some fun research for them. For Faust 2.0 in particular I researched a concept know as the technological singularity. This is an idea that technology will reach a stage that it will evolve beyond our control and beyond our understanding. The fear of losing control is one of our most basic fears, it spawned our belief in the supernatural, in many ways technology like computers and the internet share that threat of the unknown that primitive man had in the dark.

14. Do you have any advice for other writers? Stick with it and write want you want to write, listen to the advice of others but make your own decisions.

15. Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers? Thank you for reading and I hope you’ll continue to enjoy my stories. If you haven’t read any of my books yet then I invite you to do so, in fact if you sign up for my mailing list on my blog you can receive one of my e-books for free.


16. What books/authors have influenced your writing? As I mentioned earlier John Milton’s Paradise Lost has been a huge influence on my writing. It’s not simply the story but the ambition of what Milton created, I don’t pretend to be in the same league as Milton, but I do have the same ambition to share my thoughts.

17. Do you ever experience writer's block? All the time!
18. What do you do to overcome writer’s block?I believe in planning a book before I start writing the first draft so when I get stuck I can refer to the plan and move onto the next part and go back the bit I’ve missed when something comes to me.
Here is where I differ in the process. I personally will only write a very rough draft, often out on note cards. As I go I find I need to change events or their order within my novel(s). This is mostly because my books are more character driven than plot driven.
19. Do you write an outline before every book you write? Yes, I always plan a book out in advance, of course that plan often changes when I start writing, but that’s part of the fun.

20. Have you ever hated something you wrote? Yes, it happens all too often. There have been a few first drafts that have been put to one side never to see the light of day again, although sometimes they are resurrected in a different form.
21. What was you favorite book or series as a child?As a very young boy I loved the Thomas the Tank Engine books, there’s something cool about steam trains and especially talking ones.
22. What is your favorite television series?Millennium is my favourite TV show, I love the darkness of it and Lance Henrikson does an excellent job as the lead.

23. Do you have any unique talents or hobbies?Most of my time is spent writing, but I also volunteer for a local community magazine which I enjoy.

24. How can we contact you or find out more about your books?You can visit my blog at http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/, as well as my writing and thoughts you’ll also discover other indie authors and a monthly short fiction contest.
Michael is probably not going to like what I'm about to write here. When I read the title of his blog, "The Cult of Me," I was very put-off. The title seemed so self-centered. I don't know if he picked it because it causes a reaction in people, but it sure got one out of me.

25. What can we expect from you in the future?I’m currently working on the final book in my Third Path trilogy, I’ll then be working on the follow up to Faust 2.0. I also have an audio short in production for one of my short stories which I’m quite excited about.