The book Barnum’s Angel was a mixture of history, fiction, and fantasy. I would say that he delivered more than I expected, and I am looking forward to reading book two in the Pale Chronicles.I hope to see more in this Chronicle.
It varies a bit by book. Each book in my Simon Grave Mysteries takes three months for a first draft and an additional 30 days of editing and rewriting. My historical fantasy series, The Pale Chronicles, on the other hand, requires a lot more research than a mystery. The first book in the series, Barnum’s Angel, required six months of research before I was able to put pen to paper and another six months to write.
What is your work schedule like when you’re writing?
I begin writing at 6:00 a.m. every day, seven days a week and finish up around 8:30 a.m. each day. My goal is to write an average of 1,000 words a day. Then the next day, I review the previous day’s writing and then write another thousand words. Limiting my word count has helped me write richer text. When I try to write more, I tend to rush through it, focusing only on the plot. Slowing down helps me “smell the roses” and describe them.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
When I’m working on a writing project, I don’t read the books of other authors. I’ve found that when I read another author’s book, I tend to take on their voice in my own writing, at least partially corrupting my own voice.
Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
New ideas usually come to me as I’m reading other books or watching television. For example, I was watching a locked room mystery on television and suddenly had a funny thought to write a book that would stand that trope on its head. Instead of the victim being locked in a room with no apparent entry or exit, I put all the likely suspects in the locked room and had the victim outside the room. That idea became A Grave Misunderstanding, the first book in my Simon Grave Mystery series.
What does your family think of your writing?
For the most part, they don’t tell me whether they like my books or not. And I think that on the whole, they’re reluctant to even read them, fearing that they might not like them and then would be faced with possibly offending me with their criticisms. My wife has only read one of my books. I don’t write in her favorite genres, she says.
How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?
I’ve written twenty books, including eighteen in print and two more in production. All have been written since I retired eight years ago at age 72. I like all of my books (of course), but the one that’s my current favorite is Barnum’s Angel, the first book in my historical fantasy series, The Pale Chronicles. It was the most challenging book to write. Historical fiction requires that everything be just right. You have to know what people wore, what they ate, what they thought about things back then, and so on. The book is getting great reviews, and the reviews I like best are the ones that laud my historical accuracy.
Do you have any suggestions to help me become a better writer? If so, what are they?
Writers telling other writers what to do usually comes down to dogma, if you ask me. They’ve had success writing one way and think other writers should follow their lead. Never do this and always do that; it just doesn’t work for me. I do what works best for me, and I think you should do the same. Find your voice and keep at it.
As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?
I wanted to be Flash Gordon and spend my days fighting bad guys in space. Now I write about such characters and fight adverbs in my manuscript.
I hope to read more of Len Boswell’s books in his mystery section. I read another one of his, which has a paranormal slant. The reasoning for the conclusion I did not see coming – which is a delight to me because I have always taken on authors and read their outputs and found I knew where they were heading. I refer more to the conventional house outputs in the past, but I still find some mavericks in the big time. However, I look for the jewels in the Indies – just like the movies of the Indies are outstanding, so are the books.
Flicker is another story that held my interest and curiosity up to the end. Yes, you get that the storyline is not just an on-the-ground tale. Yes, the secret ingredient is magic; it is more, but how. And why the distraction of the sign. Sort of a Rod Sterling story, but not. Both these books earned an Above the Cut 5-star rating from me.
Below are two links to his page – he has won numerous awards in the eight years he has been writing. All of his social links are on Amazon under the About the Author. Just keep clicking.
genres have a fair shake in my e-book library. I am also a book nerd.
Mike Faricy is in several of my author groups, and if there is an offer of a free read, I take it. Not all books make it to review, but the ones that do are the ones I forget everything and am dragged into eating or sleeping when needed.
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I always enjoyed storytelling and, by extension, writing. I wrote maybe fifty different first chapters and finally looked at the stack of paper and told myself to either fish or cut bait.
At that time, my kids were young so I wrote in the dark, either before sunrise or after they went to bed. I eventually wrote what I thought was a great mystery and somehow wrangled lunch with a prominent local author. He told me about the book business and writing, and at the end, I brought out my manuscript and asked if he’d like to read it. He shook his head, raised his hands in surrender, and said, “No. We all have a work that should remain under the bed.” I went home and reread my manuscript and decided that under the bed would be the best place for it. Then I started my next book.
How long does it take you to write a book?
I’m down to a process, so it takes me about sixty days to write a book. I aim for 60,000 words, and my work usually ends up being 65-70,000 words. I publish 5-6 books annually. I’m currently working on two series, so that’s three books per series over the course of a year.
What is your work schedule like when you’re writing?
I write full-time, every day, seven days per week. That said, it took me the better part of twenty years to get to this point. My children are grown and have families of their own. I make my living writing, so that serves as an incentive for me to keep at it. I’m up by 6:00 every morning and posting ads on 30-40 sites on Facebook. Invariably there are emails I have to answer, corrections from my editors, or ads I have to schedule, which is all ‘book work’ but not specifically writing. I actually begin writing around the end of the morning. My first task is to read what I wrote the day before, make some minor corrections or adjustments, and then begin writing. I insist on writing a minimum of 2000 words per day and often times write 3000+. The next day, I begin the process all over.
Now describing my schedule, I should add that I don’t have children living with me. My wife and I have a long-distance marriage. I’m in the US, she is in Dublin, Ireland, so I’m often living solo. As I mentioned earlier, books are how I make my living, so that is a strong incentive to keep writing.
How do books get published?
I’m an independent author, so I publish my books on Amazon. I have a 30-day preorder period with my e-book, and once the ebook is released, I follow up with a printed version on Amazon. After a period of time, I create a second edition of the book and place it on Ingram where my books are picked up by bookstores and libraries. That second edition process requires a new book cover, layout, ISBN, and a Library of Congress Control Number, which all takes time and money.
Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
I have ideas popping into my thick skull all the time. I always carry a pocket notebook with me. I might take note of a building, an outfit, or something someone has said or done. Occasionally someone tells me something they or a friend were involved in, and some version of that may end up in a book. I began writing my books for crabby old guys like myself, but very quickly, it was obvious that the majority of my readers were women. In my Dev Haskell series, Dev, my protagonist, is involved in a relationship with a different woman in each book. By the end of the book, she tells him, “Please, don’t ever call or contact me again, ever!” My female readers just love that. Of course, throughout the book, he’s doing things guys do, wearing a mismatched outfit, saying something stupid, forgetting a date, the list goes on.
When did you write your first book, and how old were you?
I wrote my first book, not the one I keep under the bed, but the first book I wanted to have published twenty-five or thirty years ago. I would send out sixty or seventy query letters with a stamped self-addressed envelope enclosed so I could get my rejection in a timely manner. I was still working full-time and wrote a total of six books over the course of four or five years. Then with the sixth book. I had one of my query letters returned. On the front of the envelope was a large purple stamp that said ‘Return to Sender.’ The envelope had been addressed to, in those days, one of the big six publishers in New York. I turned the envelope over, and it was unopened. On the back of the envelope was a handwritten note that read:”This does not fit our needs at this time.” They never even opened the envelope. I decided right then and there that Mike Faricy, from St. Paul, Minnesota, didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell with these people. The good news was there was a side gate, into the playground. Amazon had started eBooks, and I haven’t looked back. I’m contacted by a publisher or an agent a couple of times a year, but I’m making more money as an indie writer. and I’m able to keep the rights to all my work, so I can’t see myself changing.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing? I have a great social life with friends and family. I have twelve grandchildren from age twenty-four down to five years old, so there’s always something going on there.
I’ve played bagpipes in the Brian Boru Irish Pipe Band for over thirty years and have great friends in that group. We play gigs in a four-state area, so that keeps me busy.
And, as I mentioned, I have a long-distance marriage, so I’m in Dublin, Ireland, a number of times a year or my wife comes over to the US for a visit. My television is off for three or four weeks at a time. I’m always reading a book in the late evening, usually crime fiction. I find it very enjoyable to read books that, on some level, could be viewed as competition with my work, but oftentimes I’m friends with the authors, and I simply enjoy the read. In the crime fiction genre virtually all the authors I’ve met are more than willing to pass on information as to what has or hasn’t worked for them in the marketing aspect of the biz. They are all encouraging, have great ideas, and tons of stories that we share. I’m truly blessed to work in a business like that.
What does your family think of your writing?
From day one, they have been nothing but supportive. Occasionally they have a suggestion, a story they heard, or even pointing out something that I got wrong.
When I was a grade school ‘student, I think I spent most of those years standing out in the hall. I was the goofball in the classroom. I spent a number of hours in the principal’s office, and my folks, on more than one occasion, had to meet with a teacher. I remember one teacher, a nun, telling the classroom, “We will not have any Michael Faricy’s in this class.” Unfortunately, most, if not all, of those teachers have passed away. I’d like to see them and tell them, “I write books for a living.” Having said that, the only reason I can write books is because, at the end of the day, they were patient enough to hang in there and teach the screwball in the class to read and write.
How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?
Between books and novellas, I’ve written eighty books, and I’m working on number eighty-one at the moment. Add to that thirty box sets, and I’ve been a pretty busy guy. I’m blessed to work at something I love to do. I don’t have a favorite book, I enjoy all of them.
Do you have any suggestions to help me become a better writer? If so, what are they?
My suggestions are pretty simple. Stick to the task. That said, if you are working full time, raising children, maybe you’re pregnant, or caring for an older person, all of that comes into play. Stay at it, even if it’s just thirty minutes a day. We’re all different, so what you hear from others may not fit into your life. That’s okay. Stick to the task. Do not write only when you’re in the mood. You need to work through your mood and work daily, even if it’s just thirty minutes. Write what you enjoy, romance, horror, crime, science fiction, historical, whatever. Once you complete your work, get an editor, preferably more than one. Not family members or friends, although they can help, but get a professional editor. Last but not least, never give up.
Do you hear from your readers much?
What kinds of things do they say? I hear from readers every day. Hopefully, they tell me they like my work. Occasionally, they’ll point out a mistake, which I really appreciate. I can correct the error and upload it in minutes. It might be a misspelling, the color of a car, or anything, but I can fix it.
Once in a while, I’ll get an email from an unhappy individual. I don’t need it. I’m not going to make them happy. I don’t respond, but I will block them.
Ninety-nine percent of the emails or messages I receive are very positive. Occasionally, someone mentions an event or story I’ll consider using. Once every few years, I’ll hear from someone I haven’t seen since we were kids, and they’re always amazed. I’m still here telling stories.
Thank you for your questions. I hope my responses shed some light on the crazy book biz. I offer three or four books for free every couple of weeks in an email.
If anyone is interested, they can subscribe to my mailing list, and I will send them five free books just for subscribing.
Wishing everyone, all the best, and hope you have a wonderful holiday season. Here’s the link to subscribe to my mailing list and get the free books.
https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/tgdmme6/mikefaricy Mike’s link to Amazon follows the disclaimer by Amazon – just scroll – I appreciate all the lassitude you give me until my travels through the daily updates in Techno Land stops making changes and stops throwing sand at one another in the playground. Please scroll down – you won’t be disappointed if you visit his author page.
I opened the book HUNT FOR THE KEEPER and finished it off in one sitting- I loved the story – loved the fast action, and best of all, it was more like being in the midst of things, not just sitting and reading about it.
Anita Rodgers is to me a Mystery and Suspense writer with a psychological thread but looking at her author’s page on Amazon, she has more spokes in her wheel – I’ve been friends with her for quite a while but it is only recently I realized she was also an author. I read the prequel book, Hunt for the Keeper to her Dead Dog Trilogy and begged to be one of her Beta readers.
The party scene brought back one of my nieces’ gatherings and the undertones that make people walk on eggshells.
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I don’t know that there was a particular time. I was always writing something – poems, stories, random thoughts. Writing was the way I processed the world around me. The tool I used to logic things out that didn’t make sense to me. The way I discovered what I really thought about things. Although, I was first encouraged to be a writer by my 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Kessler. She told me I had talent and I should grow up to be a writer. She even took out books for me, from the library on writing and encouraged me every way she could to take it seriously.
How long does it take you to write a book?
Ha! Depends on the book. My current WIP, I’ve been working on forever and it’s changed so many times, that I wonder if it is telling me it doesn’t want to be written. Still…
What is your work schedule like when you’re writing?
I don’t have a set schedule. Sometimes it depends on the season, like if it is summer I may write early in the morning or late at night. Even with AC it can be too hot to concentrate. When I’m in the final stages of a book, I can sometimes write 10 hours a day. Or if I’m ‘in the flow’ (which doesn’t happen often) I can write until I drop. Generally, I try to write every day. Sometimes just a paragraph, sometimes a few pages, sometimes a few chapters.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
Hmm. Sometimes, I’ll act out scenes – whether physically or in my head. Especially fight scenes or scenes that require some type of choreography. Or scenes where you have to be sure it would/could play out the way you envision it. For example, in Murder Ready to Eat, there was a scene when the MC was bound with duct tape and wriggled her way to her feet. I had to be sure someone could actually do it. So, I tested my theory.
How do books get published?
I self publish through Amazon and KOBO. Other authors may use other platforms to self publish like Book Baby or Smashwords or Draft to Digital. Other authors go the traditional route, get an agent, who approaches publishers. Or they may approach small presses directly and gain a publishing contract.
Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
I write crime fiction, so I read a lot of true crime, and books about criminal behavior, as well as police procedure, etc. I also belong to a couple of groups with law enforcement, medical, arson, and legal experts who answer fiction writer’s questions. I also use the Internet to research topics, procedures, and data, such as the FBI website, crime statistics sites, cold case files and so forth.
My ideas usually come from my own head. Most of my stories start with a character that pops into my head. I think about them, make notes put them in various situations to see how they’ll react in scenes I use. Once one really sticks with me I start to consider what their story is and then we are off to the races.
When did you write your first book, and how old were you?
When I was 8 years old. It was a handwritten, 30 page saga called The Addict. I wrote it for my dad who was a mystery/suspense/true crime fan. I think he liked it.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
I love to read and watch movies. I love to garden. I love to cook and watch cooking shows. I live in the foothills, so there is lots of places to walk and explore nature. Laundry, sleep, hanging out with friends.
What does your family think of your writing?
My mother was my biggest fan. She read everything I ever wrote. And I have a cousin who reads my books. Beyond that, I don’t think they think anything about it.
What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?
How hard it was. The writing itself is not a cake walk but the real difficulty is in managing the business side of it. Setting up platforms, figuring out formatting, proofreading, editing, marketing, mailing lists, ISBNs, copyrights. There is an enormous amount of work that goes into every book. Hundreds of decisions to be made from creation to publication and beyond.
How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?
Nine. And a box set of the Dead Dog Trilogy books from the Lottie Stark series. I don’t know that I have a favorite. Each book means something to me for different reasons. The book that was the most fun for me to write was Coffee & Crime, the one I am most proud of is The Dead Dog Trilogy (thought that is technical 3 books). Each book is a milestone for me in one way or another.
Do you have any suggestions to help me become a better writer? If so, what are they?
There is a lot of writing advice out there but I think it’s hard for anyone to take the view that they could make someone else a better writer. But I will say that what helps me is to study craft in all its forms, from essays to books to finished products. Also, I believe any writer who wants to become better will try to challenge themselves by writing things they are afraid to write, covering topics that might intimidate them, writing characters that aren’t easy. And of course, the more you write, the better you become. The old adage that practice makes perfect is true.
Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
Sometimes. Most often when a new book is released. Their comments range from thank you’s, to encouragement, to praising the stories. All have been very kind and I appreciate that anyone would take time out their day to write to me. It’s very touching and humbling.
Do you like to create books for adults?
I’ve never really written stories for children, so I suppose all my books are for adults.
What do you think makes a good story?
Compelling characters, great dialogue, a pace that doesn’t exhaust the reader but keeps them turning pages, a surprise the reader doesn’t expect (not necessarily a twist but a character doing the unexpected, a situation turning in a way you don’t see coming, things like that), and a solid premise.
As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?
A ballerina, a fireman, a police officer. Not what you’d expect, eh?
Paul and Paula’s Book WordPress site has been going for years – through fruitful, dire, and tragic years. My ups and downs were reflected in my absence or being frenzied.
I finally got a stable internet that was majorly rebuilt, as a cyclonic flood and wind storm decimated the old service.
I was tethered for several months to a son’s mobile, and when he left for work, so did my ability to write.
I am old school but no longer can write by hand due to strokes in my thirties and fifties. Early in my life, my first purchase from wages at an after-school job was a secondhand but totally functional Underwood typewriter. So, I have always preferred a tool to help my hands. They are tech hands, not piano hands.
All my business courses were geared toward office secretarial, where I always ended up being elevated into an administrator role unless I was doing my own business, which had the majority as typing. I was given a Secretarial Award as Secretary of the year with a small scholarship and a scholarship by my home town merchants followed by another scholarship that was a yearly gift to the college from one of my bosses with the stipulation I received the first year’s donation.
My keyboard skills are no where they were when i graduated at typing from live dictation or at a steady pace – even looking up word spellings – of 110 to 130 and if taking shorthand also at that pace.
But even after I graduated to a Selectric typewriter and my scores were closer to 200 – those days are behind, they were replaced with creativity and my pace is when I get sidestep needs finished, and sit with doors closed, and ignore interruptions as best I can… or at least hold onto the thought I was typing next.
I have been reading authors that I’ve had the books for years or saw them as co-authors in groups I’ve also been in for years. My only regret is I have not read them in previous years. I am back to doing interviews of authors that peaked my interest and kept me reading into the night.
My Above the Cut in reviews are back – I was able to eke out one on Holly Jacobs an all favorite author of diverse fiction. I am truly hooked on her joyful romances that cover ordinary people seemingly with problems that are tough but solved by the character overcoming. They are family oriented
Coming up this month and into the Christmas holidays are an eclectic cast of authors –
Anita Rodgers – mystery, suspense, series I just found her books
Len Boswell, Fantasy using casts of historical characters and situations and seeing it completely out of this world.
Mike Faricy – I fell into his gangster series and did not come up for air until done, – his stuff is quirky
I have been friends with Holly Jacobs before I connected with her on Facebook. I was there reading her books full of love, humor, laughter, and reality. I joined in her observations, loved her characters, and still do, and I am sure if her path stays filled with joy – glee, she calls it, I will be there to cheer her on. But knowing her character, even if she should be sad, I would gladly help lift her back to gladness.
I just finished book one in her series of four, Around the Square – Signs of the Time.
I do not like reviews that give away plots, so I hope my reviews, while skimpy, is enough enticement to read the story for yourself.
The Heroine is a once-burned, twice-shy type, totally reasonable today.
She loves her daughter but is filled with dubiety except for those in her close circle.
The new man in her area also has doubts but not about the child, a normal ten-year-old, except for her lack which the world says is a disability.
Hearts are won but is mutual love enough? Can their hurts be healed? Can they overcome all doubts?
Beautiful – woven in absolute reality sealed with humor and love.
My thought as I wrote today’s post was God how do I reach their hearts?
We have babies dying in the streets of Africa, and people starving to death in all the countries in those and surrounding areas. They are Christians, they are Muslims, they are atheists, They are Indians of many different faiths, and they are poor.
Day laborers that work and eat or do not work and do not eat. We have pleas from India and pleas from Liberia and we already made a pact on day two of asking to share all we take in.
Waqar from his provisions was sharing but as of today, there is a total in house lockdown.
The sins of the father stopped at the age of Grace, with two commandments 1. Love God with all your heart and 2. Love your neighbor as yourself (mankind)
The link is a secure link to a Facebook fundraiser entitled Feeding Pakistan
Today day seven of a Facebook fundraiser, I come with a picture of a mother in anguish holding up her baby with visible signs of starvation, The bloated and distended belly indicates – Kwashiorkor
Kwashiorkor is a severe form of malnutrition associated with a deficiency in dietary protein. The extreme lack of protein causes an osmotic imbalance in the gastro-intestinal system causing swelling of the gut diagnosed as an edema or retention of water.
This picture today is from Lahore, Pakistan, the area my adopted son lives. He chose to go among the day laborers who rely on their daily tasks to supply their daily food – except they are not considered essential workers and told to stay away in place, not needed.
Here in the United States, we are being given a reprieve on some of our debts until this is over and it is safe to go back into public areas. While we as a society do not like to be kept locked down, we are not in danger of starvation while waiting to leave the house or apartment.
Some of us get sick if we go out, so we are sheltering in place without complaining.
These people do not have that choice. No work, no eat. So they are slowly dying as a by-product of the coronavirus.
On day two of the fundraiser, we decided it was not just to feed Pakistan but other countries that also had deserted willing or unwillingly their daily workers who had no income because they were told they were not essential to the economy.
We have had so few donations but they will be shared with the ones that asked. India and Liberia
Please I ask that you go to this link on Facebook and securely donate what you are able, then share this blog and also share the donation link on Facebook.
I was given the opportunity to read and to first edit this novel, Syriacide that in my opinion was more real to a reporting of the horror of not just a war but one threaded and laced with terrorism.
This story has a gut-wrenching fire of a journalist trapped in an evolving series of atrocities that could and would shatter the soul of anyone caught in this abyss of the killing of a country.
Syriacide is in its final editing stages soon to hit the major online sellers.
For now, I urge you to follow Michael Patrick Mulvihill, then go next with a read that should have been reported in the news as such for this genocidal horror truly was and in pockets of Syria still is.
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