We’re a lucky bunch, Curiosity Quills crew. This time, fortuitously tumbling into our laps is one Michael Shean, a talented spinner of tales whose cyberpunk saga’s first enty - Shadow of a Dead Star - has made a splash among both hardcore Gibson groupies and more casual dabblers in the genre.
Welcoming Michael with open arms, we put forward ten questions that we hope will shed some light on this captivating author’s creative process, inspirations, and challenges – not to mention his book’s fascinating peek at a possibly-not-so-unlikely future.
Without further ado…
CQ: Tell us about your twist-filled cyberpunk noire, “Shadow of a Dead Star“, first novel of the Wonderland Cycle. What personal message do you hope your readers will take away?
MS: Shadow of a Dead Star is a work of future noir and horror with a humanist slant, as all the books of the Wonderland Cycle will be. At its core the story is about a man who finds himself caught in a threefold world: what it appears, what he wishes it to be, and what it truly is. Thomas Walken is an agent of the Industrial Security Bureau in late 21st century Seattle; his job is to keep illegal technology out of the hands of American citizens. Most of that technology comes out of Wonderland, the nickname of a future Thailand who allows criminal laboratories to operate within its borders.
Walken’s assignment at the beginning of the book is to intercept a trio of ‘Princess Dolls’, which are little girls who have been kidnapped and transformed into sexual toys for the wealthy and corrupt. When they’re snatched from federal custody, Walken gives chase – but as everyone connected to the girls starts coming up dead he finds himself on the defense very quickly. As Walken attempts to find the truth, however, he will find not only his career in jeopardy but his mind and even his soul as well.
CQ: On your blog, you wrote about how a difficult period in your life, filled with pain and negative feelings, inspired you to create “Shadow of a Dead Star”. How did you channel the negativity to create something wonderful? What advice can you give to other creative folks going through a rough patch?
MS: Write about it. Channel it. The only way I think I managed not to take up residence in a clock tower with a rifle some days is the ability to pour what I was feeling into the story. I’m a very passionate person, and that can be to my detriment if I don’t have a vessel for it – my fiancée will tell you how absolutely dark and exasperating I get after a while if I don’t write something down. Don’t let it distract you; these bad times are the most fertile where writing is concerned.
CQ: What it is it about the Cyberpunk genre that made you want to write in it? Have you ever entertained other genres or styles of writing?
MS: I never intended Shadow to be a cyberpunk story, really; it’s just turned out to be interpreted that way. That’s not a problem for me, but it’s certainly not the only genre or style I intend to pursue – I have several horror novels on the horizon, for example, as well as a work of comedic modern fantasy that I intend to publish in parallel with the Wonderland books. I’ve got a space opera in there as well. I am going to have a very full shelf for a long, long time!
CQ: What books, movies, music, or art inspired your creation? For that matter, what do you turn to when you just want to take a break from it all?
MS: My writing tastes are like my tastes in fiction – they tend to swing in extremes. Yesterday was an irritable day, so I was reading
H.P. Lovecraft (AKA Overeducated White Men In Peril) but this morning I was reading
Terry Pratchett to cheer myself up. When I was younger I used to read a lot of classical literature and philosophy, so on occasion I’ll break that out.
CQ: Are there any parallels in real life, or glimpses on the horizon of technological development today, that evoke thoughts of your imaginary universe?
MS: Oh, lots. A great deal of technological and cultural phenomena in the Wonderland universe are nightmare extensions of what already exists – augmentation technology and biological computing, the decline of belief in some quarters (religious or otherwise), the financial woes of the European Union, the wars in the Middle East, etc. If there’s an aspect of a cyberpunk author I wanted to emulate, it would be
William Gibson’s focus not on the technology itself but how society and culture are affected by it.
CQ: Clearly not all literary escapism is for reasons of missing or desiring something that doesn’t exist in the real world. What aspects of the universe you created frighten you the most, and why?
MS: Well, it’s a bit of an old chestnut, but for me it was the gleeful slide into commercialism and moral decay that society seems to be constantly involved in. It’s not that society is wealthy or whatever, it’s just that people do seem a good deal more remote by and large – then again, people have been saying that about society for millennia.
What frightens me about the world I’ve put together is that, at least to me, so much of it is entirely possible given human frailties as they are.
CQ: If you woke up one day and realized you were magically transported into the world of the Wonderland Cycle, what are some things you’d want to do on your first day there?
MS: Ideally, I’d straight away try and get involved in some sort of pirate data operation, trying to wake people up. Of course, I say that, but human nature being what it is I’d probably ultimately up disillusioned, drinking heavily, and looking for as gainful employment as possible just to survive.
CQ: Would you want to see the Wonderland Cycle becoming a Hollywood adaptation in the future? If so, do you have a possible casting in mind for your main characters?
MS: Some people who have read the book have urged me to write a screenplay treatment for the book; I’ve actually given that some thought, especially if the book takes off. I haven’t casting in mind, though – should it happen, I imagine that I’d leave that to more experienced hands.
CQ: What tools, websites, and resources do you turn to when working on your books? Is there something you wish you had access to, but don’t for whatever reason?
MS: Well, for me it’s mostly people who have stepped up and helped me get where I am so far. I’m lucky to have a group of people who serve as resources – Michael R. Hicks, for example, who’s just exploded into a great deal of success and is writing full time now. There’s also my publicist, Verity, and other beginning self-published authors like
William Vitka,
Matthew Boyd, and
Ross Payton (whose experiences printing his excellent ‘Zombies of the World’ showed me an alternative to Amazon-based self-publishing). Frankly I think the greatest resource of the indie author is the indie community itself; as we’ve seen with several indie authors of late, even lacking the resources of a traditional publishing house, the work of the unified independent community can and does elevate its members to success. Only together can we advance.
CQ: How does it feel to be self-publishing your creation? Are you facing any unexpected challenges? Any advice for others going the self-publishing route?
MS: I’ve always been a do-it-yourself sort of person where creative work is concerned, so self-publishing has a definite appeal. As I said before, the major challenge is the lack of resources that a publishing house would present; marketing is a very daunting prospect for the new indie writer. But as I’ve also said, the members of the indie writing community are very good at helping each other out, and interviews and reviews are fairly easy to get if you just ask. I think that’s the biggest piece of advice I have so far – go out, make friends, ask to spread your book around. I’ve had this book out two months now and people are starting to ask for short stories submissions and the like using that as a writing sample. Oh, and if you don’t already, USE TWITTER. You can’t join a community if it doesn’t know you exist, and Twitter’s been far and away the best way for me to say hello.
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