Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a novelist who lives in New York. I have written five published books and the upcoming Blue Gowanus which is being published by Black Rose Writing in September, 2020.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Blue Rat was inspired by many endless walks around New York City. Drawing on a city teeming with secrets spots and hidden histories, The Blue Rat explores these territories in a novel filled with many adventures.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I often write in the middle of the night, but I figure many authors find inspiration in the darkness. Oddly, the train is the most likely place for me to write. The process of traveling somewhere tends to take my writing in exciting directions.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Writers like Don DeLillo and Thomas Pynchon have influenced the side of me that wants to explore the strangeness and layers of our contemporary society. Meanwhile, authors ranging from Raymond Chandler to Carl Hiassen offer everyday grittiness and humor that keep my fiction grounded.
What are you working on now?
My upcoming novel, Blue Gowanus, focuses on intrigues in and around the most contaminated canal in America.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Amazon and Goodreads provide the largest platforms, but I also find reviews from bloggers quite helpful.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
The time spent writing can be quite magical, but the time spent editing and proofreading is just as valuable. Ultimately, the roughest part is getting a publisher and then spending time promoting. Despite how depressing and challenging promotion can be, I always keep in mind that I value having readers. I don’t need to make much money from the writing, but I really do need readers.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write to get an idea or a vision out of your system. From there, make sure you have presented that writing in the most engaging way possible.
What are you reading now?
I am reading one of Len Boswell’s wonderfully humorous Simon Grave Mysteries and Joe Edd Morris’s enthralling and brilliant adventure The Prison.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Since I have just wrapped up my novel Blue Gowanus, I will go back out and continue to walk the streets to figure out what inspires me and what brings meaning to my life. For The Blue Rat, I wandered through New York City’s undergrounds; for Blue Gowanus, I tramped around a canal in Brooklyn from every angle possible. I figure for the next book, I will take a similar approach.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would bring Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude, Melville’s Moby Dick, Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow, and Caro’s The Power Broker.
Author Websites and Profiles
Michael Hartnett Website
Michael Hartnett Amazon Profile
Michael Hartnett’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile