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Please Welcome Michael to Madsheep Reading, show him some love as we interview him.
1. 5 words to perfectly describe you.
This is a tough one because we change throughout the years, but if I had to pick: compassionate, adaptable, organized, creative and Romantic (in the 19th Century sense of the word).
2. Any shout outs to people who have helped you along the way?
James Gunn, my creative writing professor at the University of Kansas. Sometimes, I’ve wanted to curse him for what he stirred up within me, but he opened the door to Oz. The journey has been fraught with difficulty – more than I would have ever imagined. But when I see a review from a new reader who loves my work, the hardships melt. It makes it all worthwhile.
3. Give us a sample of your work.
Here’s a snippet from Poe’s Mother. Setting the scene: Madeline and Edgar are in the greenhouse tending the poppies. Madeline is thinking about Sissy Baxter, who has come to visit their home.
Edgar was pensive as he watered the plants and tended to
their needs. I wondered if he could read my thoughts. Had he been able to, my
dear thoughtful Edgar would have heard:
“Sissy, your education is only beginning. Oh, what you will learn! How I envy
you – as the master envies the novice. Through the novice the master lives
again.”
Edgar. My dear lovely, Edgar. My dear
silent, Edgar.
He
stopped his watering and studied me, much as the portraitist absorbs the
personality of the sitter. If he could read my mind, I could not read his. He
walked to the bowl of raw opium and swiped his finger on the rim. He withdrew
his finger and rolled his tongue around it. Tasting the opiate, he managed a
gentle smile and went back to his work.
4. How do you build your character world?
I pretty much see the novel before I start writing. That doesn’t mean I know everything that’s going to happen or every detail. I’m a panster who has a decent scene outline in my head before I start. Upon revision, I start to fill in the world in greater detail.
5. Favorite character you have written and why.
That’s a tough one, too. I have a favorite per book, usually my protagonist. I love Madeline in Poe’s Mother because she is so sublimely evil. Yet, I hope I’ve also given her enough sympathetic qualities that the reader doesn’t see her as a cartoon figure. I genuinely feel sorry for her, as despicable as she is.
6. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Every writer would love to write full time, but with the changes publishing is experiencing, it’s hard to say where any career will be in five years. For now, I would say I’ll be happy to be healthy, writing new books, finding new readers and earning money from my fiction.
7. Will you ever stop creating art? and have you ever had a moment that you felt like quiting and why?
Of course, I’ve felt like quitting. We all do. However, if you are a writer, you pick up the shattered pieces and get back to work. Give yourself the pity party, let the anger and depression out and then start again with the work. The work is what keeps you sane, if you’re a writer. The true writer realizes that it’s more than money or fame that keeps the words flowing. Something drives us. No, I won’t stop, although I’ve been tempted several times. Every time that thought comes up, I honestly think I might as well sit back in my easy chair and wait for death to come.
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8. Do you think that the future is ebook or print?Both, with an emphasis on e-book. It is the publishing wave that will carry us into the future. I love paper books, but I also love e-books. Paper will continue, but only for certain work. My e-reader was a revelation to me, much like digital music was to vinyl. Technology will change the world’s reading and writing habits. Resistance is futile.
9. Where have you had the most success in selling your work?
Through Amazon without a doubt. I know that authors love it or hate it, but it’s kept my dog in dogfood and that’s good enough for me.
10. Do you use video to promote your work? Do you think that giving people a visual helps with sales?
I have two video trailers on my website at www.michaelmeeske.com. One is for Poe’s Mother and the other is for Frankenstein’s Daemon. Everyone wants to know if they increase your sales, and I would say I really don’t know. Unless you have a click through sales button on your video, no one knows. What I do know is they are a blast to make, relatively inexpensive to do yourself (there’s lots of good advice out there) and they add value to your own website and your social media venues. I love them as part of the creative process and will continue to produce them.
Book:
Poe’s Mother by Michael Meeske
Blurb:
1975. A 15-year-old young woman. A small,
dusty town. A family that worships the great American author Edgar Allan Poe,
and carries his surname.
Poe's Mother is a startling new novel of dark family secrets, the lure of the supernatural, the claustrophobic isolation of a dying town and a cautionary tale of the power of words.
This is the story of Sissy Baxter and her strange relationship with Edgar and Madeline Poe - two people who claim they love her. What Sissy discovers will change her life forever, and love will never be the same.
(This book is for mature readers.)
Poe's Mother is a startling new novel of dark family secrets, the lure of the supernatural, the claustrophobic isolation of a dying town and a cautionary tale of the power of words.
This is the story of Sissy Baxter and her strange relationship with Edgar and Madeline Poe - two people who claim they love her. What Sissy discovers will change her life forever, and love will never be the same.
(This book is for mature readers.)
Author Bio:
Michael Meeske
writes across genres, including romance, mystery, suspense, horror and gothic
fiction, a genre that blends horror and romance, and has its roots in some of
the earliest novels ever written. Poe’s
Mother is his latest release available exclusively on Amazon. com.
From 2008 to
2010, he served as Vice President of Florida Romance Writers (FRW). He has been
a member of FRW and the Romance Writers of America since 2002. He also was an
active member of the Writers’ Room of Boston, a non-profit working space for
novelists, poets and playwrights.
Michael’s
writing credits include Frankenstein’s
Daemon, a sequel to Frankenstein,
offered through Usher Books. He also is the co-author of His Weekend Proposal, a tender category romance published in August
2009 by The Wild Rose Press under the pen name of Alexa Grayson (soon to be
published in Greece); Zombieville, a
short story included in a 2011 anthology by FRW writers, available at
Amazon.com, and Tears, a short-story
published in the Fall 2000 issue of Space
& Time, a magazine of fantasy and science fiction. Usher Books will
publish additional works by Michael in 2012 and 2013.
Some of his
influences are Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Shirley Jackson, Oscar Wilde,
Daphne du Maurier, Richard Matheson, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and any work by the
exquisite Brontë sisters. You can contact Michael at michaelmeeske@live.com.
Author Links:
Website: www.michaelmeeske.com
Buy Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Poes-Mother-ebook/dp/B007TMQMG8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336691920&sr=8-1
Trailer:
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