Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was diagnosed as a diabetic at age 4, at a time when the treatment options were minimal at best. I was surrounded by a family whose job seemed to be to watchdog me. At school I was the skinny kid with glasses who loved to draw and to read. I wasn’t that interested in sports; you can guess how well that turned out.
Frequent moves were a part of my early years. My escape was comic books and old radio dramas. I was lucky enough to tune in around the time the CBS Radio Mystery Theater was starting up. Artistic ability runs in my family, which naturally led to dabbling in both art and writing.
To date I’ve written three books with a fourth in the editing process. I had some good lessons pounded into me in the late 80s by the Seattle writing group I was a part of. I’ve also contributed my share of stories to four collections published by Muddy Puddle Press.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is entitled Butterfly and Serpent and deals with the teenage years of a young African woman, Jamai Dlamini. She is gifted, isolated and bullied by her own people. moreover she is an innocent who can’t understand the foolish choices we make or the abuse her people heap on her. She has few friends but among them is Youssou Hadebe, a friend of the family who owes Jamai for a gift that she barely recalls. There are secrets between them that will be unraveled as the series continues.
I’m finding myself looking for solutions in the Third Way. Most dramas in mass media focus on the lowest common denominator–fight or flight, kill or be killed, right is right and you’re always wrong. Jamai rejects these options, choosing her own path. I’m very proud of her for that.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Work. Mundanity. I always find mundane tasks puts me in the zone where ideas can percolate. Silence is preferred, though sitting at a table in a crowded restaurant is also oddly conducive to the creative process. You really have to take the opportunity to write wherever you are, when the urge hits you or you’re going to lose it.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I was born a comic book freak, and through them I discovered the works of Robert E. Howard. He had a way of painting vivid action scenes in broad strokes that put you in the center of the action. Douglas Adams is always a favorite along with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories.
What are you working on now?
the follow up to Butterfly & Serpent is called Fathers And Daughters, and that’s in the process of editing. That will be followed by the last official title in the B & S series, tentatively called Sanity’s Edge. Jamai will be moving out into the world, discovering new experiences before her adventures come to a terrifying end.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Find a writer’s group that is NOT going to simply pat you on the back and tell you, “good job”. That won’t help you at all. You need people who share your interests and are quite willing to tear your beloved works to shreds if that’s what it takes to make them shine. Be willing to recognize the flaws and be willing to correct, revise, whatever it takes to make that book shine in the dark.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
A long time ago a children’s author described her writing process to the Tacoma Writer’s Club: stick a piece of paper in the typewriter and stare at it until blood drips on it. Yes, it’s that hard.
What are you reading now?
History and musical biography. I recently finished Stuart E. Eizenstat’s President Carter: the White House Years. It’s a project, not a book, but well worth the read.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m going to be busy promoting Butterfly & Serpent and finishing the next two books. I going to try to find time to contribute stories to the upcoming One-Sentence Story collection from Muddy Puddle Press.
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?
Douglas Adams-The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
George Harrison- I Me Mine
The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told
& probably that massive Mark Twain omnibus, which I’ll probably have time for one my Desert Island.
Author Websites and Profiles
Michael Robbins Website
Michael Robbins Amazon Profile
Michael Robbins’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account