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90 ratings | 17 reviews | avg rating:3.68

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Mike Downs

Goodreads Author

Born

Washington, D.C., The United States

Website

http://www.mikedownsmysteries.com

Twitter

mikedownsauthor

Genre

Mystery, Thriller, History

Member Since

December 2011

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/mikecdowns

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Writing is a new passion, and for me, life without passion is dull indeed. Fast sports cars, and racing, have been my life. Writing is a new dimension. Creating characters and stories to showcase them is hard work but very satisfying, passionate work.

I began my working career and love of sports cars at age 10 by sweeping floors at a foreign car parts store in Northern Virginia. At 16, I became a partner in a good little foreign car repair shop in Falls Church Virginia.It was there a few years later I met Bob Tullius from Group44. I did some work on the Group's cars and later joined his famous team as a racing driver. During my tenure with Group 44, the immaculately prepared cars allowed me to win many races and a National Championship.

Movin Writing is a new passion, and for me, life without passion is dull indeed. Fast sports cars, and racing, have been my life. Writing is a new dimension. Creating characters and stories to showcase them is hard work but very satisfying, passionate work.

I began my working career and love of sports cars at age 10 by sweeping floors at a foreign car parts store in Northern Virginia. At 16, I became a partner in a good little foreign car repair shop in Falls Church Virginia.It was there a few years later I met Bob Tullius from Group44. I did some work on the Group's cars and later joined his famous team as a racing driver. During my tenure with Group 44, the immaculately prepared cars allowed me to win many races and a National Championship.

Moving to California the Mecca of American racing, I was hired to race the new Titan Formula Ford for their West Coast distributor. From there I raced for BRE in the Datsun Trans Am car. Other ventures included Porsche of America Racing Team in the big three American endurance events, Daytona, Sebring, and Watkins Glen.
In the mid seventies I headed up Silverstone Enterprises in Maryland to prepare and drive the Porsche Carreras for IMSA racing, culminating in a class win at the Daytona 24 hour race.

In the late seventies I moved back to California to open Downs Engineering. During the next twenty odd years I raced Formula Atlantic, Trans Am and IMSA GTO. In the new century I won a championship driving my own designed and built Sports Racing Car.

I have worked with the film industry and developed a remote camera mount for car chases and commercials. I've met some interesting blokes there, and there could be the makings of some future novels.

I have written five novels so far dealing with early American racing in the 1920s and 30s. Tales of fabulous cars, Nazi intrigue, and lovely ladies keeps me poking at the keyboard, and hopefully entertaining my readers. I have tons of ideas for future novels and am bursting to get them in ink. Writing is a passion as is racing, a burning desire to do things well.
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Popular Answered Questions

If you could travel to any fictional book world, where would you go and what would you do there?

Mike Downs I'm not sure if your question is genre specific or novel specific. However, the following is the answer as I see it.
As I have been involved in auto ra…moreI'm not sure if your question is genre specific or novel specific. However, the following is the answer as I see it.
As I have been involved in auto racing most of my life, the question of travel to a fictional book world quickly comes to mind.
The books to inspire me would come from Hemingway, Faulkner, Fitzgerald, and Chandler. I would be racing in America's golden era of the 1920' to the 1940's. My cars and airplanes would be the fastest in the world, and life would be lived in the fast paced company depicted in those novels.
I enjoy writing novels in this same era, and love conjuring characters and scenes that use the spirit of that time. Faulkner's and Chandler's wonderful use of dialog make me want to produce a product I feel that shows I have learned something from them.(less)

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Who is your favorite fictional couple, and why?

Mike Downs It's a toss up between Jack and Maddy Novac and Barry and Mary Keys. The reason is because I enjoy writing their adventures. The guys are always in so…moreIt's a toss up between Jack and Maddy Novac and Barry and Mary Keys. The reason is because I enjoy writing their adventures. The guys are always in some trouble and the ladies are always there to support them.(less)

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Combine Editions
Mike Downs’s books

Average rating: 4.46 · 13 ratings · 1 review · 7 distinct works

	Sounds of Deception 4.75 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2015 — 3 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
	The Artimus Box 4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2011 — 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
	Novac's Race (An Historical Auto Racing Action Adventure Series Book 1) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2012 — 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
	Novac's Run (An Historical Auto Racing Action Adventure Series) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2012 — 3 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
	Bobo's Raid really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2013 — 3 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
	Agent Keys Steps Out: A Barry Keys Mare Island Mystery (Barry Keys Mysteries, #2) 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
	The Artimus Box by Mike Downs (2012-01-24) 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

More books by Mike Downs…

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Mike Downs's Blog

Mare Island scene of novels

Mare Island is a special place for me. Just a few miles away, it evokes in me WWII stories of brave men and women fighting for our country. I based two of my novels around the shipyard using the Navy base as the backdrop. Before the yard was abandoned by the Navy in 1996, it had a very rich history.

Commissioned in 1854, Mare Island was the first US Navy shipyard on the West Coast. Commander Farrag Read more of this blog post »

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Published on February 19, 2018 11:29 • Tags: naval-shipyard, novels, submarines