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Subhuman
Group Reads: Guest Author Invite
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November 2017 Group Read # 1 with Guest Author, Michael McBride
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yet, it was released on 10/31.https://www.amazon.com/Subhuman-Unit-...
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Ken wrote: "This is the thread for our November Group Read. This month, I am ecstatic to announce that we have longtime horror stalwart, Michael McBride, to join as a Guest Author. As many of y..."Just ordered mine today. This will be my first time reading any of this authors work. However, I am looking forward to it.
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He's had some incredible novels and novellas out there..
was one of my favorite novels. :)
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Sure thing. I wrote my first book (about breeding hamsters) in 8th grade, made my first professional sale (a poem for Crossroads Magazine) in high school, and went through the creative writing program at the University of Colorado. I started a family early, so I had three kids by the time I wrote my first novel at 27 in 2000. It didn't sell. Nor did the next eight. The first novel I sold was Species, my tenth, and it was released in 2004 by Black Death Books. I entered the limited-edition collector's market with Zero from Necessary Evil Press in 2005 and started a long-term relationship with Delirium Books in 2006. During the next decade, Delirium/DarkFuse published something like eight novels and 6 novellas (it was a lot, anyway). I had the pleasure of working with Thunderstorm Books for five or six novels and a couple novellas, one of which, Burial Ground, because my first bestseller on Amazon, but it wasn't until late 2015 and the release of Subterrestrial from Kindle Press when things really took off. The book was a bestseller and made a lot of money, which caught the attention of an editor at Kensington, who offered me a two-book deal for what turned out to be Subterrestrial and Forsaken, my first mass market releases after nearly twenty years of trying.
Wow. That’s certainly inspiring. Congratulations on all that hard work paying off. I imagine a lot of aspiring authors give up after even just a few novels not getting picked up. How did you keep yourself motivated? Where did you find the time to keep writing with three kids and, I assume, a job for steady income?
(Thanks btw for sharing that)
Heh. Time's always been tricky. My wife and I both went back to school and we had two more kids. I woke up at 4 am and wrote before work and on weekends. I worked in medical imaging, so I could write between patients and then again when I got home. It's always been a struggle to make time. Even now that I'm fortunate enough to write full-time, time is at a premium. I never thought about quitting. Writers write. That's the gig, whether you're successful or not. It's in your blood. I always challenge myself to make the next book better than the last (in some way, anyway). Logic dictates that if you follow that course of action indefinitely, no matter where you start, you'll eventually get good, right?
Hell yeah it is. Gotta say I’m especially excited to read your work now. Stories seem to be much more enjoyable when I like the person who wrote them.
Michael - It obvious from reading a lot of your work that you are kind of a "smarty" and do a lot of research for your books. The thing I really appreciate is that no matter how complex or science heavy, you have the ability to convey the message and still not alienate or lose the "simple reader" like myself. Is this something that you have to do consciously? Also, how much research do you do when putting together a story?
I don't have any simple readers. I approach every story with the assumption that all of my readers know the subject matter better than I do, so if I'm going to try to create an illusion, it had better be pretty convincing. I need to have a thorough grasp on the theories and the science needs to be sound, which means I have to invest months into every aspect of the research. I don't always do the best job making that material accessible to all readers (as plenty of reviewers will attest), but I'll be damned if I'm going to sell my readership short.
That was a great answer. I have read more than one author who just wanted to flex their brainpower at the expense of the reader. I just want to read a well thought out and put together story that I can relate to, understand and enjoy. P.S. My previous question was in no way a dig on you or your readers. It is a compliment that you can write such detailed, researched stories that are still relatable and extremely readable. And you have at least one simple reader :) And proud of it ;)
No worries, Bill. I totally took your comment as a compliment and appreciate it. It's hugely validating to hear when things work for readers. The last thing I want to do is alienate anyone. I just want to open people's eyes to the crazy world around us and explore the fantastic possibilities. :)
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Wendy: Well...that's kind of where things go from where you are. ;)
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It all starts with the seed of an idea. Maybe I come up with it while I'm doing the research for a different book or in some other way. It kicks around for a while until it starts to take root in my head. At that point, I start poking around on the internet to see if there's anything to it. If there is, I'll order a stack of books so I'm ready to get into the research when the time comes.I generally have a number of ideas I think might be decent at any given time. The one I use is basically determined by which publisher's deadline comes first. DarkFuse and now Kensington want exclusively creature stuff. The publisher for my pseudonym stuff only wants thrillers. Some ideas work better in different genres. Some don't work at all. Whatever the case, that's when I begin researching in earnest. If the idea's solid enough to write a book, the story takes shape on its own.
I use a very simple outline to start, but it never resembles the finished product. The characters need to have the flexibility to make their own decisions, some of which surprise even me.
It seems like a lot of authors use pseudonyms. Why is that?
To pick cooler names or so we can’t be creepy and google map their homes.If I ever write erotica my nom de plume will be Deep Blue Balzac.
Ah that makes sense. I’ve seen a lot of selfies online of people in front of Stephen King’s house. That’s gotta get annoying.
Balzac. That’s good haha.
I've always thought it would be funny to write as Mike Hawk and only speak of myself in the third person.
In all seriousness...I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm using a pseudonym for my traditional thrillers at the publisher's request. It allows them to release books on their own schedule and build an author's publishing history from scratch. For what they intend to invest into the name and the books, it makes sense that they want to be the only ones capitalizing on it.
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Winter 2019 (early in the year). I'm neck-deep in the edits. You'll hardly recognize it when we're done.
How much editing beyond proof reading changes are against your wishes? I mean do publishers try to get in there and rewrite the thing or does this actually not happen too much? I guess it obviously depends on the publisher and the author but I’ve always wondered how much context gets changed by publishers.
Bill wrote: "Michael - It obvious from reading a lot of your work that you are kind of a "smarty" and do a lot of research for your books. The thing I really appreciate is that no matter how complex or science ..."- Currently at 32% -
I feel exactly the same way! Had to use my Kindle's dictionary on several occasions, which reminded me that despite the huge amount of English books I've read so far there will always be new vocabulary and terms to learn.
Being a third into the book, I love the time and effort you took to make the reader familiar with the characters and their line of work. While I still tend to confuse which name belongs to which character (the females are easy, but I still have to be careful not to mix up the male protagonists).
I would like to know how you organize your writing: do you keep charts/lists of all the characters and places as a mnemonic (is that the right translation for 'Gedächtnisstütze'?! - this will be my one new word to learn today...)? Or do you have it all stored in your head? I envision a workplace plastered with tables, post-its etc. ;)
Adam: Publishers don't actually make any changes. Editors may request that changes be made, sometimes forcefully, but ultimately it's the author's decision. I have yet to make a change I don't feel was in the best interests of the book.Some editors are more hands-on than others, too. I'd imagine it depends upon their workload and the price they paid to acquire the book (i.e. how much is riding on the book's success). Editors at small presses, for the most part, focus on copy editing, which editors at larger presses worry less about the copy editing (they have people for that) than content.
Elke: I can generally keep the characters straight. (Think of it like acting. Each person has a different look and personality, but ultimately they're still an extension of your own.) I build workbooks of their specialties so I can refer back to them whenever I need to, but the majority of my notes involve their individual and group plot lines (loosely, anyway). I need to make sure that the right threads converge at the right time and from the right character's perspective. Outside of that, I try to give the characters as much freedom as I can so they can grow within the story.
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Michael wrote: "Elke: I can generally keep the characters straight. (Think of it like acting. Each person has a different look and personality, but ultimately they're still an extension of your own.) I build workb..."How do you visualize your characters in your mind? Do you think of people you know?
And I agree with Kimberly, the characters feel real and believable, which makes me care for them, though of course some get more sympathies than others.
Awesome! Thanks, Kimberly! :)Probably most of my characters are amalgams of people I know. I see them more as what they do than what they look like, if that makes sense. Sorry I can't give a better answer.
So far I'm really digging it. I haven't gotten too far because I'm crushed with work right now but it's definitely something to look forward to during the day.Bill and Elke, I'm in the same boat. My Kindle's vocabulary builder list has grown quite a bit with this book! Not complaining, Michael. I love learning new words.
Thanks for explaining that about publishers and edit, Michael. This group read has been the most informative and fun one yet for me.
I'm glad you're enjoying it so far, Adam, and I'm happy to answer any questions you have about the business.
There’s a wild thread on Sword & Laser about “them” (I may have mentioned this book) - what did you use as material for Roche and his circles?https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Do you read more often than you write?
Lena wrote: "There’s a wild thread on Sword & Laser about “them” (I may have mentioned this book) - what did you use as material for Roche and his circles?https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/......"
Thanks, Lena! I thought a picture post might be fun: https://wordpress.com/post/author.mic...
Adam wrote: "Do you read more often than you write?"Adam: It depends upon when you ask. I would say I generally write a little more than I read. Deadlines will tilt the ratio in the favor of writing, while I'll often after finishing a book, I'll just take some time exclusively read. The best advice I received in regard to reading is always read authors better than you are and invest time into figuring out why.
I finished it Michael! I really enjoyed it! The "creatures" in the book sort of reminded me of the movie "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and as I was reading the book those creatures from the movie kept popping in my head. It made my imagination go wild which I loved! Looking forward to reading the rest of your books! :)
Marie wrote: "I finished it Michael! I really enjoyed it! The "creatures" in the book sort of reminded me of the movie "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and as I was reading the book those creatures from the movi..."Excellent! Thanks, Marie! I'm thrilled it worked for you! :)
I really wish I had more time right now. About halfway through and I stopped reading everything else to focus on this story alone. Kelly just got on my nerves big time! I was really liking her until about a few pages ago when she was so cold to Roche. I was legitimately angry. I’d tell you the line that did it but I’m not sure how to hide spoilers...if what I wrote here is too much on the spoiler side please delete my comment.
So glad this is a series.
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Kelly and Roche will come to an understanding.
Glad to hear that, Lena. They’re my two favorite characters at this point. :)
Me too. I’m hoping for more between them as the Books progress ;)
Lena wrote: "Me too. I’m hoping for more between them as the Books progress ;)"Ask and ye shall receive. ;)
Finished! And reviewed here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...This was such a great book, and while I was skeptical at the beginning because of all the scientific stuff dumped on me, the more I read on the more I felt glad for the detailed input, which made it easier to understand what was going on throughout the book. I really felt like 'part of the team' at times, and therefore cared deeply for (most of) the characters.
The only moment I got really annoyed was when they continued their first important experiment, willingly accepting to endanger one of their team members. While I understood the almost maniacal enthusiasm that lead to this action, it seemed totally out of place in this otherwise perfectly controlled and secured environment.
Other than that, I was totally thrilled by the story - I can't wait for April to come :)
Horror Aficionados
Books mentioned in this topic
Unidentified (other topics)Subhuman (other topics)
Sunblind (other topics)
Subhuman (other topics)
Subhuman (other topics)
Authors mentioned in this topic
Michael McBride (other topics)Michael McBride (other topics)
Michael McBride (other topics)
Considering I have yet to read any of your books I didn't love, I don't think that's going to be a concern. 😆 The subject matter of this one is right up my alley...