Interview with Michael Brookes

Posted on October 22, 2015 by cathleentownsend — 2 Comments

Michael Brookes is an Executive Producer with a leading UK games developer. Working in games and writing are two of his life passions and he considers himself fortunate to be able to indulge them both. He lives in the east of England, enjoying starry skies in the flattest part of the country. When not working or writing he can sometimes be found sleeping. Which is good as that is where many good ideas come from.

He is the author of Sun Dragon, The Cult of Me, Conversations in the Abyss, The Last True Demon, Faust 2.0, and Elite Legacy.

What’s the craziest story idea you’ve ever had? And did you write it?

I write a lot of drabbles which means I get to play with all kind of strange ideas! Two of my favourite ‘out there’ ideas was Cthulhu terrorising a seafood chef’s dreams – he isn’t a fan of calamari you see 🙂 The other was a Tyrannosaurus Rex messiah who had a vision that if they didn’t stop eating meat then they would suffer the wrath of God through fire from Heaven. Needless to say his fellow meat-eaters didn’t listen to him.

Who are your writing heroes and why?

My favourite story of all time is John Milton’s Paradise Lost – the scale of it is staggering. It also tackles some fundamental questions about the human condition. My writing style is obviously very different. For contemporary writers there are many that I admire, but two in particular stand out. Clive Barker for me is one of the great modern horror writers, he has a breadth of vision that often leaves me in awe and he has a turn of phrase that I wish I could match!

As well as horror I love reading and writing science=fiction and for me Ian M Banks consistently wrote some of the finest modern science-fiction. In fact my favourite novel is Escession – a book which illustrates the qualities I admire in the author. Again it is centred on the scale of his vision, he imagines a world for wider than our own and tackles the consequences of the elements in that world. He also handles artificial intelligence in a way that really separates them from their human creators.

How much do you structure your stories before you write them?

For stories I make it up as I need to, but for novels I plan it in advance. I did try writing a novel without planning but I soon ran out of steam. When I plan it helps work out the plot and any details I’ll need along the way. However I’ve learned that the plan is mutable and will often change as I actually write each chapter.

How did you decide on your genre?

I tend to write stories and they lead me into whatever genres they feel like 🙂 While most of my writing comes loosely under the horror or sc-fi genres, they’re both fairly loosely defined genres that include great variety in their stories.

What has been the hardest thing about publishing for you?

For me it’s promotion. Writing a book is hard, but it’s a product of effort and skill – a skill that can be developed over time. Promotion has a much greater x-factor for me, so much so that I have yet to master its secrets.

What is the single most important quality in a novel? What must an author do to win you over?

Story is king as far as I’m concerned. I do appreciate the craft in writing, but I will take a poorly written book with a decent story over a crafted masterpiece with no story. If I’m lucky enough to be reading something exhibiting both than I’m in book heaven.

Besides writing, what are your favorite things to do?

I’m an Executive Producer for a video games company. I’ve always been a fan of computer games so making them for a living isn’t a bad way to spend my days doing. I’ve also just started making custom chess set – I’m working on a Cthulhu themed one at the moment and I find it most relaxing.

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You can find out more about Michael Brookes at http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/