January 2018 Group Read Author Interview: Michel Poulin

[Quantum]

Thank you, Michel, for taking the time to participate in our interview and help people get to know you better.

Members: If you have any follow-up questions for Michel, please feel free to post them.

Tell us about your writing.

Why do you write?
Writing is a hobby for me, especially now that I have retired and no longer work. I enjoy writing and the way it stimulates one's imagination.

When did you decide to become a writer?
I started to write novels about twenty years ago, writing in French at first. However, the market for French books is very limited and I decided to concentrate instead on writing novels in English.

What are your ambitions for your writing career?
My ambitions are simple: to be able to entertain as many people as I can around the World with my stories. I have been offering my ebooks for free online from the start and will continue to do so. Making money with writing is not my goal: entertaining myself and others are.

What books have you written?
I have by now published online a total of eighteen ebooks and am presently working on number nineteen, with plenty more projects in my mind.

What genre(s) are your books in?
I write mostly science-fiction, fiction and alternate history novels. I particularly enjoy writing time travel stories, as it is a good excuse for me to study and research history, a subject I love a lot.

Are there any correlations between the books you write and your life experiences?
Yes! I served 32 years in the Canadian Forces and spent a total of five and a half years overseas, first as an infantryman and then as a military intelligence operator and analyst. I used extensively my life experiences and military knowledge to shape and fill my stories.

Do you adhere to an outline or go wherever your imagination takes you?
I start with a basic idea and plot, then go wherever my imagination takes me. I rarely if ever decide in advance how my books will end and have a few times taken a story around with a new twist halfway in my drafts.

How do you withstand critiques of your masterpiece?
If the critique is valid, I will learn from it and adapt. However, critiques based solely on political/religious/social prejudices will be ignored by me.

Do you put messages in the books you write and, if yes, what are they?
I don't put messages as such in my books. Rather, I try to write stories that will encourage and emphasize the good traits in humans, while staying realistic about human nature.

You know sales can be a little tough until you make it big time. If I told you now, that you'd sell up to 1,000 books within the next 30 years, would you still write?
Again, making money from my books is not my goal. Instead, what interests me is to touch as many people around the World as I can with my stories and then to exchange ideas with my readers.

Put yourself in the place of a reader (not easy, I know). Why would s/he want to read or have to read your book?
If the reader likes history, time travel stories, geo-political thrillers or military fiction stories, then I believe that my books will interest him/her. I also count on my past experience and special knowledge of history and the military to make my stories feel more authentic to the readers.

Who are your bestselling competitors in the genre and what can you offer that they can't?
I never thought of writing as a competition, but I believe that my life experience and knowledge will add an extra to my books compared to writers who didn't live what I lived.

Does writing interfere with reading?
Actually, yes, in a way: much of my time is now taken by writing, with most of my reading done to research my books.

If you needed to make a choice in your literary career what would it be: glory and literary recognition or lots of sales and steady income?
Literary recognition and to make many friends around the World through my books.

The visual is encroaching on the written word. Do you think the written word will retreat and disappear or remain steady?
The written word will always be important, in my mind.

Any valuable marketing tip(s) for fellow authors?
Uh, since I don't actually 'market' my books, I am not well placed to give tips on the subject.

Do you have a WIP and what’s exciting about it?
Sorry, but what is a WIP? (That's my francophone side confusing me).

What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Write what pleases you. Don't write according to what readers supposedly want. Present them with something fresh and personal.

Which writers inspire you?
Isaac Asimov, Poul Anderson, Arthur C. Clark.

What are your recommendations for reading and why? For example, which book do you consider a must-read (apart from your own, as it's a must-must, of course -:))?
Frankly, each reader has its own tastes/interests and I would be loathe to say 'read this or that'.

What non-writing-related things would you like to say about yourself?

Hobbies:
Writing and reading, cooking.

Things to do where you live:
Cooking at home, swim at municipal pool, go visit restaurants and shops in downtown Montreal.

Places you've visited:
Europe (2.5 years all over Germany and Western Europe); Lebanon and Syria (2 years working in Canadian embassy in Beirut in 1982-84); Bosnia and Croatia (served six months there in 2000); Mexico (vacation); Dominican Republic (vacation, married there); New York (tourism); Cyprus (served six months there in 1975).

Achievements and triumphs:
Earned the Canadian Chief of Staff Commendation for service under fire in Lebanon during civil war and Israeli invasion of 1982. Raised two good sons.

Where can readers connect with you?
I am a bit of a dinosaur when it comes to electronic social medias (also don't like idea of putting personal info openly on the Internet).
* Goodreads: probably the best way to contact me is via my author's page.
* Free-Ebooks.net: that is the other site where I publish my books online.
* My email: natai@videotron.ca

[Quantum]

WIP = Work in progress. ^_^

[Matthew]

May I just say, that's one impressive travel dossier! Oh, and this: "much of my time is now taken by writing, with most of my reading done to research my books." I know EXACTLY how you feel!

[Nik]

Excellent interview, Michel, and a good example of non-commercial art

[[deleted user]]

Thank you all, my friends.

[Jen Pattison]

Thanks for your very interesting interview Michel. Those are some fascinating places that you have visited!

[[deleted user]]

I can say that my hope for travelling while being part of the Canadian Forces was quite fulfilled. My two years in Lebanon, during the civil war there and the Israeli invasion of 1982 was traumatic, but it was professionally an important experience. I also met lots of good people and learned to love the Lebanese cuisine. When I will have finished paying my house mortgage in two years, me and my wife promised ourselves to use the extra money available then to travel a bit around the World. First stop in two years : Venice and Florence!

[Scout]

Thanks for the interview, Michel. You certainly have a wide range of experience to draw on for your novels. I look forward to reading your work. Why have you chosen Venice and Florence to visit?

[[deleted user]]

The reason is simple, Scout. My wife wants to see Venice and I had the last word: yes dear!

[Scout]

You've been married for a while, I'd guess. Her choices should be easy to accommodate. I'd like to go there, also.

[[deleted user]]

We have been married for 33 years now. Venice and Northern Italy quite agrees with me as well, but there are plenty of other places I would also love to visit in the future...once I put aside enough money for those trips. For one, I would love to visit Vietnam. As a fan of military history and also as a food lover, Vietnam has a lot to attract me. I also never visited Asia and Vietnam would be a good start in my mind, but after Venice and Florence.

Even though I am now retired and piling on years, I do promise the following to my readers: I will continue writing novels to the end and will die in front of my laptop!

[Nik]

ME and Lebanon are Asia, although very different from the Far East -:)

[[deleted user]]

Well, you are technically right, Nik, but I always differentiated Middle East from Asia proper. Hell, we even have 'South Asia' to describe the Indian sub-continent! And Russia is part of both Europe and Asia.