INTERVIEW – MICHAEL J MOORE

Please introduce yourself to those reading this blog post.

I am Michael J Moore. I live in Seattle with my partner in life, author Cait Moore.  I grew up an hour north of Seattle, in a small town called Mount Vernon, Washington but as far back as I can remember, though, I’ve always had an infatuation with bigger cities. Cait and I have five children.  My spare time is spent at the gym, reading or watching Breaking Bad with Cait.

Has writing always been part of your life and when did you “know” that it was time to start writing your first book?

I remember writing a short thriller in the fourth grade, and the school librarian was so impressed that she encouraged me to enter into some young authors’ contest. I never did but all my English teachers pushed me to write so it was always in the back of my mind. After working for years as a personal trainer, it occurred to me that something was missing from my life, so one day I picked up a pad of paper and started writing the first draft of my first novel. Three months later, I wrote “the end” on the last page of my manuscript and put it away happier and more complete than I could remember feeling in a very long time

How difficult was it writing your first book?

The words just flowed out of me, like they had been there all along. I did not find it difficult to write at all and it surprised me. I was always good at putting words on paper, and I always sensed that it was my calling, but never took the time to explore it.  

Have you ever wanted to give up and what stopped you?

I have never wanted to give up because I have felt it in my bones that I was meant to write.  I wrote and wrote and kept all of my manuscripts, but I never got any support for the work I did.  Family members were always too busy or not interested so I really didn’t think that anyone would read my books.  It wasn’t until I met my wife and she encouraged me to submit to publishers that I actually thought my dream of writing might become a reality.  In fact, she submitted my book Highway Twenty to publishers without my knowing as I did not think it was worthy of publication. She proved me wrong as it was placed on the Preliminary Ballot for Superior Achievement in a Novel in the 2018 Bram Stoker Award.

Who is the most supportive of you and your dream to be a writer?

That is easy. Without doubt, my wife, Cait Moore. Not only is she my second pair of eyes, she keeps me on my toes on the marketing front. Actually, Cait does most of my marketing and that is very time consuming, so I say it’s a labor of love.

Anything specific you want to tell your readers?

Look me up on my various social media sites. Read my book and short stories. Check out reviews of my recent horror novel Highway Twenty and don’t forget to leave me a review. I love reading what people think about my book. Every time a review is left, Cait and I and the kids spend a lot of time discussing it. It’s a highlight of our day. Recent reviews can be found on:

Highway Twenty Book Review (Darkbites.ca) –
https://darkbites.ca/reviewing-highway-twenty-by-michael-j-moore/

Highway Twenty Book Review (IseultMurphy.com) –https://iseultmurphy.com/2020/01/05/highway-twenty-by-michael-j-moore/

What is the best advice given to you (book or otherwise), and by whom?

“Instead of trying to be better than everybody around you, just strive every day to be better than the guy in the mirror.” This advice was actually given to me by the guy in the mirror.

What is your target audience and what aspect of your writing do you feel targets that audience?

I write in a few different genres: horror, thriller, literary, YA so my target audience differs for each book. Those who have reviewed for example Highway Twenty have commented that it is a cross-genre novel so essentially, it could be targeted to adults who like horror or adults who like romance or adults who like thriller stories. So when I hear people say, “Oh I don’t read horror,” I always respond that they should just give a book a go and then make up their mind. 

Did the cover evolve the same way, or did you work with someone to make it come together for you?

I have two covers done so far. One was done by my wife Cait Moore after many different options were presented to me.  The cover for Highway Twenty was done by HellBound Books perfectly in accordance with my ideas. I selected the train and the rest was the superb vision of Hellbound.  Cait and I really love that cover.

What are you working on now? Can we get a peek, an excerpt?

I just tied the bow on my recent horror novel with a working title of Cinema 7. So far, I feel like it’s my best book but Cait has yet to read it and let me know her thoughts.  The prologue for the book is called “Kimberley’s Bed” and it’s about to be published in Soteira Press’s Anthology What Monsters Do for Love.  I recommend you get yourself a copy.  

Any last words before we wrap things up?

Tomorrow I’m going to start working on Book Two of After the Change, a post-apocalyptic YA series about three teens who set out to rebuild society inside of a prison.  Book One is available on Amazon and Audible.  Read it and let me know what you think.

https://www.amazon.com/After-Change-Michael-J-Moore/dp/1795491671/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=after+the+change+michael+j+moore&qid=1580212793&sr=8-1 

The link to my books and website:

https://www.amazon.com/Highway-Twenty-Michael-J-Moore/dp/1948318806/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=highway+twenty+michael+j+moore&qid=1580212815&sr=8-1  

https://www.amazon.com/After-Change-Michael-J-Moore/dp/1795491671/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=after+the+change+michael+j+moore&qid=1580212793&sr=8-1 

https://michaeljmoorewriti.wixsite.com/website  

My social media links are as follows:

https://michaeljmoorewriti.wixsite.com/website
https://www.facebook.com/michaeljmoorewriting
https://twitter.com/MichaelJMoore20
https://instagram.com/michaeljmoorewriting
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-moore-28b800178/