Author Interview: Michael Meyer

Please welcome to A Three Way Tie, Michael Meyer!

Mike Meyer recently retired from a 40-year career as a professor of writing, amassing numerous teaching awards along the way from both his students and his colleagues. He lives in the Southern California wine country with his wife, Kitty, and their two other cats.
This biography was provided by the author or their representative.


When and why did you begin writing?

I began writing at the age of ten, when I self-published my first book, a short synopsis of California history. My parents bought the only copy I printed, and I was delighted. My parents were both teachers, so books were an important part of my childhood. 

I have always been fascinated by language. Creating human beings and plots very much appeals to me. I love to read what others have created, and I thoroughly enjoy my own writing. I still get a kick out of reading my own published works.


What was the hardest part of writing your book? What is the easiest?

The hardest part to me is finishing it. First of all, there are so many ways to end a piece of writing, so coming up with the best is quite difficult. In addition, I am a reader as I write, not knowing for sure where things are heading. If you have ever felt sad when you have completed a book that completely thrilled you, then that’s how I feel when I finally finish a book. 

The easiest for me is…well, none of it really comes easy. Writing, very simply, is hard work.


 What music do you listen to while you write?

I listen to the verbal sounds of the words in my mind, trying to string my sentences together in the most creative fashion. The words that dance around my mind as I create are the only music I hear as I write.


What inspires you?

Everything inspires me. I am a great observer of life and of the people around me. A bird’s nest on a boulder in the midst of a rushing stream inspires me. The first growth sticking its head up after a terrible forest fire inspires me. I walk for exercise early each morning, and as I walk I am thinking. It is a rare day that I do not run upstairs and begin writing something that popped into my head while exercising.


Do you have any hidden talents?

I can eat the hottest food on earth. I love spicy food. In Thailand a few years back, people surrounded my table in a restaurant and marveled at how I could eat food as hot, if not hotter, than they. And, of course, my talent as a writer is not hidden, so that doesn’t count, does it?


What are your current projects?

I am two-thirds of the way through a murder mystery set on the island of St. Croix, where I was a professor at the University of the Virgin Islands. It is entitled THE DEADLY EYES OF ST. CROIX. I hope to have it published by Amazon Kindle by this summer.

    

What book are you reading now?

Actually, I am rereading the most recent scenes of THE DEADLY EYES OF ST. CROIX, adding, deleting, and revising as I go along.


Quick: Vampires or Shapeshifter? Why?

Shapeshifter. This allows so much for the imagination. I can be catlike and prowl during the night. There are just so many possibilities. Besides, I really don’t care much for the taste of blood, though I must admit that I am partial to Bloody Marys.


Do you have any advice for other writers?

Write, write, and write. It’s hard, but that’s what needs to be done. It is very easy to think of other things that need your attention, but you must remember: a writer is a person who writes.


Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

Please check out my Amazon author’s website. You might just see a book there you like. If you do, I would love to hear what you think about it. As an Indie writer, I depend upon word-of-mouth advertising, and honest reviews are absolutely wonderful.

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005E7M8CW