Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have three published full-length novels (Texas Two-Step, 2018 from Down and Out Books, Rose City, 2019 from Down and Out Books, and Throwing Off Sparks, May 2020 from P.I. Tales), as well as one novella, Debt Crusher (2016 from All Due Respect Books), one up-coming novella (Rocky Mountain Lie, an installment of Down and Out Books’ A Grifter’s Song series), and a collection of short stories, New Alleys for Nothing Men (Short Stack Books 2016). I have also edited an anthology of short stories, Fast Women and Neon Lights, and several issue of a crime fiction short story magazine, Crime Syndicate Magazine.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest novel, out May 12, 2020, is Throwing Off Sparks. I work full-time as a private investigator and have been working toward writing a series of private investigator novels for a few years. In 2018, I found a submission call for an anthology called The Eyes of Texas, which features private investigator stories set in Texas, edited by Michael Bracken. I decided to write a story to submit, and the story that came out of this featured a female private investigator from Tyler, Texas (my hometown), named Riley Reeves. Within the first page of writing this story I knew that Riley had a larger story to tell, and the Riley Reeves series was born. Throwing Off Sparks is the first book in the series, with a second installment, Devotion to Death, due out in 2021.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tend to write early in the morning whenever possible. I also tend to have several projects going at one time rather than focusing on a single project, so that I can switch between them as inspiration strikes.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Raymond Carver was a huge early influence, as were Hunter S. Thompson and Charles Bukowski. More recently, Walter Mosley, Robert Crais, Sue Grafton, Elmore Leonard, and a whole host of modern mystery writers serve as huge inspirations.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on a P.I. novel called One Way Out, which features bipolar, Denver-based private eye Rick Malone, who is snowed into a fictional small mountain valley where he’s investigating the disappearance of a local teenage girl for an estranged friend who sits accused of having done something to her.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m active on my Facebook author page, as well as on Goodreads and Instagram.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Focus on learning to plot along with learning to write pretty sentences. In many ways it is the most important skill of all if you want to have a career writing novels.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If you’re going to try, go all the way. — Charles Bukowski
What are you reading now?
I’m reading John Straley’s The Music of What Happens. The series has a powerful sense of place, engaging mysteries in each installment, and, frankly, Straley is just a beautifully poetic writer with a fantastic sense of irony and melancholy. I highly recommend the Cecil Younger private investigator series, which is set in Alaska. It’s unlike anything else I’ve read in the genre.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Throwing Off Sparks will be released May 12, 2020, followed by One Way Out later this year. Each book is the first in a series, and each series will see at least five books over the next five years, which means I’ll be working with Riley Reeves and Rick Malone for some time to come. I’m also working on the follow up to Throwing Off Sparks, Devotion to Death, then moving on to the follow up to One Way Out, Cold Hard Facts.
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?
Songs of the Doomed, by Hunter S. Thompson, Where I’m Calling From by Raymond Carver, Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, and Hot Water Music, by Charles Bukowski.
Author Websites and Profiles
Michael Pool Website
Michael Pool Amazon Profile
Michael Pool’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile