An Interview with James Michels, author of Icebox, Ice Rising and The Ballad of Jonny Carlo

My name is James Michels, and I’m a crime fiction writer from Michigan in the United States. To date, I have two published novels and one that will be published soon. I’ve always had an interest in the world of crime fiction and true crime and have worked for seven years as a corrections officer in state prison.

What is your favourite dragon in literature?

My favorite dragon in literature would have to be the three dragons from Game of Thrones, Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion.

I’m not going to be reviewing your newest novel, but from your other published novels, is there one that is your own personal favourite?

I’m not sure if I have a personal favorite book that I’ve wrote. I’d say that The Ballad of Johnny Carlo would have the most appeal to a wider audience.

Everyone has a ‘first novel’, even if many of them are a rough draft relegated to the bottom and back of your desk drawer (or your external harddrive!). Have you been able to reshape yours, or have you abandoned it for good?

I actually started writing a story when I was in high school once, but that story is pretty much shelved indefinitely because I didn’t follow through on it back then, and that was when my mentality was different. I wasn’t devoted to becoming an author back then. I didn’t even knew I’d like writing.

Over the years, what would you say has improved significantly in your writing?

I’d say that the ability to use different words and expressions has improved. I’m working more on my showing/telling ratio.

Some authors are able to pump out a novel a year and still be filled with inspiration. Is this the case for you, or do you like to let an idea percolate for a couple of years in order to get a beautiful novel?

I try to get at least one book out a year. My goal is to have at least four by the time I’m thirty. I write as the idea comes to me, so even I don’t know how long it will take me to write a book. Ice Rising took a year to write, The Ballad of Johnny Carlo took maybe a year and a half, and Icebox was less than a year.

I have heard of writers that could only write in one place – then that cafe closed down and they could no longer write! Where do you find yourself writing most often, and on what medium (pen/paper or digital)?

I write on my phone, so I can pretty much write anywhere except at my day job. I prefer to write on my recliner at home in the morning on my days off or in the evening during a work day since I work mornings. With three kids, my writing schedule is not always consistent.

Before going on to hire an editor, most authors use beta-readers. How do you recruit your beta-readers, and choose an editor? Are you lucky enough to have loving family members who can read and comment on your novel?

I am lucky enough to have people close to me who will give honest opinions. My betas are usually my wife, my mom, and a good friend which also edits my work. He’s never steered me wrong on my editing, so I trust his judgment.

I walk past bookshops and am drawn in by the smell of the books – ebooks simply don’t have the same attraction for me. Does this happen to you, and do you have a favourite bookshop? Or perhaps you are an e-reader fan… where do you source most of your material from?

There is a local book store that I enjoy going to, but I absolutely love Barnes and Noble. I could spend a whole day there. I do read eBook from time to time, but I prefer paperback.

I used to find myself buying books in only one genre (fantasy) before I started writing this blog. What is your favourite genre, and have your tastes changed over time?

My favorite reading genres have to be true crime and crime fiction. I have picked up urban fiction, romance, some more fantasy, dystopian, and classics over the recent years. Also enjoy horror and dark fantasy. As of right now, the only two genres I have not ventured into are erotica and western.

Social media is a big thing, much to my disgust! I never have enough time myself to do what I feel is a good job. What do you do?

I do manage my own social media. My preferred platforms are Twitter and Facebook. I only spend maybe an hour on them a day, usually to keep up to date on some Facebook groups that have helped me out, post some content to Facebook and Twitter for my followers, and to connect with readers and other writers.

Answering interview questions can often take a long time! Tell me, are you ever tempted to recycle your answers from one to the next? 

I think it depends on the question being asked if I recycle my answers. I tend to find out more about myself as I answer them, so there is usually a different variation of answer even if the question is the same.

Thanks for your time today, James. I find it so inspiring that you are able to bust out a book a year as well as a day job and kids! Keep up the writing. ~ Rose

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An Interview with Louis J. Ambrosio, author of A Reservoir Man

Louis J. Ambrosio ran one of the most nurturing bi-coastal talent agencies in Los Angeles and New York. He started his career as a theatrical producer, running two major regional theaters for eight seasons. Ambrosio also distinguished himself as an award-winning film producer and novelist over the course of his impressive career.

What is your favorite dragon in literature?

The unnamed dragon Beowolf captures and kills at the end of the tale.

Everyone has a ‘first novel’, even if many of them are a rough draft relegated to the bottom and back of your desk drawer (or your external hard drive!). Have you been able to reshape yours, or have you abandoned it for good?

This is my first novel, I was busy doing dissertations, reports for graduate school, and then grant applications for my theaters. I do have a collection of poetry from that time which still sits on my desk.

Over the years, what would you say has improved significantly in your writing?

Microsoft 365 Word has made a major difference, though I always had a command of syntax and I was always a competent writer.

Some authors are able to pump out a novel a year and still be filled with inspiration. Is this the case for you, or do you like to let an idea percolate for a couple of years in order to get a beautiful novel?

Writing “A Reservoir Man,” took me one summer working 2 hours a day, 4 days a week. I approach the book by writing “stream of consciousness,” a way of writing I find inspirational and freeing.

I have heard of writers that could only write in one place – then that cafe closed down and they could no longer write! Where do you find yourself writing most often, and on what medium (pen/paper or digital)?

I imagine I can write anywhere, some places are more pleasant. My office which overlooks my garden is where I enjoy writing currently while being underscored by Mahler, Beethoven, and disco.

Before going on to hire an editor, most authors use beta-readers. How do you recruit your beta-readers, and choose an editor? Are you lucky enough to have loving family members who can read and comment on your novel?

I don’t believe in giving too many people my work, too many opinions spoil the pot. I was fortunate to have 2 friends, one distant and one close to read my book. The close friend, read chapter by chapter. The distant friend read the first pass and urged me to keep editing, which I did, many more times. With my close friend, I was able to share my metaphysical thoughts and inspirations.

I walk past bookshops and am drawn in by the smell of the books – ebooks simply don’t have the same attraction for me. Does this happen to you, and do you have a favourite bookshop? Or perhaps you are an e-reader fan… where do you source most of your material from?

I don’t like ebooks, I want to be able to keep the physical copy with me, I could not agree more with you. I find the most inspiration from hardcover books and I love Barnes and Noble. I get my source material from the classics and the internet.

I used to find myself buying books in only one genre (fantasy) before I started writing this blog. What is your favourite genre, and have your tastes changed over time?

My favorite genre is drama and the classics. Anywhere from the 17th century to the 20th century. My tastes have never changed, these books have taught me and showed me my truth and my freedom.

Social media is a big thing, much to my disgust! I never have enough time myself to do what I feel is a good job. What do you do?

Social Media has its place in today’s world but I think it has overreached it’s bounds.  I use ads and reviews on platforms.

Thank you! I hope you enjoy my new book “A Reservoir Man” available now on Amazon

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Interview with Frederick Douglass Reynolds

Frederick Douglass Reynolds is a retired LA County Sheriff’s homicide sergeant. He was born in Rocky Mount, Virginia, and grew up in Detroit, Michigan where he became a petty criminal and was involved in gangs. He joined the US Marine Corps in 1979 to escape the life of crime that he seemed destined for. After a brief stint in Okinawa, Japan, he finished out his military career in southern California and ultimately became a police officer with the Compton police department. He worked there from 1985 until 2000 and then transferred to the sheriff’s department where he worked an additional seventeen years.

Frederick retired in 2017 with over seventy-five commendations including a Chief’s Citation, five Chief’s commendations, one Exemplary Service Award, two Distinguished Service Awards, two Distinguished Service Medals, one city of Carson Certificate of Commendation, three city of Compton Certificates of Recognition, one city of Compton Public Service Hero award, one California State Assembly Certificate of Recognition, two State Senate Certificates of Recognition, a County of Los Angeles Certificate of Commendation, one Meritorious Service Award, two city of Compton Employee of the Year Awards, and two California Officer of the Year awards. He lives in Southern California with his wife, Carolyn, and their daughter Lauren and young son, Desmond.  They have six other adult children and nine grandchildren.

What is your favourite dragon in literature?

Lisbeth Salander’s dragon tattoo. Just kidding. Actually, I think my favourite dragon is Smaug, from The Hobbit.

Everyone has a ‘first novel’, even if many of them are a rough draft relegated to the bottom and back of your desk drawer (or your external harddrive!). Have you been able to reshape yours, or have you abandoned it for good?

Black, White, and Gray All Over is my first novel, but I definitely reshaped it over the years. There came a time early on that I knew I wanted to write a book, because I had seen so much misery and had experienced so much trauma. And this was even before I became a cop. I knew what the title was going to be, because that is what I felt my life had been. I messed around for a little while, jotting down ideas and notes on line-loose leaf paper that I kept in a green colored binder with the title written on a post-it affixed to the front. But I put it away when life got in the way. When two of my colleagues were murdered in 1993, I knew that I would write about that night one day. When I retired in 2017, I started writing again, only now the murders weren’t going to be the focal point of the book. They were certainly going to be a huge part of it, though, as they were such a seminal point in my life.

Over the years, what would you say has improved significantly in your writing?

Being able to hold the reader. For years as a police officer and then as a Homicide Detective, especially as a detective, writing is a huge part of the job. You have to be able to convey the story to the district attorney. What you write may one day be read and discussed in the Chambers of the Supreme Court. I worked hard on my writing, being as descriptive and detailed as possible. Before I became a cop, my ideas were a bit jumbled and in disarray.

Some authors are able to pump out a novel a year and still be filled with inspiration. Is this the case for you, or do you like to let an idea percolate for a couple of years in order to get a beautiful novel?

Well, my first novel was drawn from true-life experiences. I do know whether writing about yourself is easier, or harder. I do know that I cried several times while writing this book. I think the next book will be easier. I’m going to write a science-fiction crime novel, I think. But its going to have to get put on the backburner. A long-retired detective, who is approaching 80 years old, just dumped about 300 pages of handwritten notes about his life on me, and asked my if I could ‘fix’ it for him. So, I guess I’m going to be a ghost-writer, first. It will probably take me a year to get his notes straightened out and typed up. But I love him, and I am going to do it for him because I know how expensive ghost-writers can be.

I have heard of writers that could only write in one place – then that cafe closed down and they could no longer write! Where do you find yourself writing most often, and on what medium (pen/paper or digital)?

I won’t have that problem. I love to get up early in the morning, make a cup of black coffee and have a slice of cheese and toast in my backyard while looking at the hummingbirds feed. I named two specific ones ‘George’ and ‘Orwell’. I can easily identify them because one has red on his chest and the other one has yellow. After eating, I will break out my lap-top and begin typing. I do love writing with a thick lead pencil, but my hands and fingers stiffen rather quickly and start hurting so I don’t do it as much anymore.

Before going on to hire an editor, most authors use beta-readers. How do you recruit your beta-readers, and choose an editor? Are you lucky enough to have loving family members who can read and comment on your novel?

I didn’t have a beta-reader. There was so much that I didn’t know about this business! My wife, although she has infinitely more education that I do, doesn’t really like to read. She prefers watching sports. However, she would read certain parts of what I wrote. When it held her attention, I knew that perhaps I had written something worth reading. I knew I had her when I caught her crying as she read one part.

The publication company that I went with did editing, and we went back and forth for about two months with suggestions and changes. It was really important to me that I had the book published on August 18, because that is the date my father died and the book is dedicated to him. I got the last version back from the publishers about four or five days before, and I saw four mistakes. I asked the publishing company if the could correct those mistakes and still have the book published by the 18th. When they said it couldn’t be done, I told them to go with it as is. It was more important to me to have that publication date than it was to correct those mistakes. They cost me an award from Feathered Quill, it turns out. Someone who works for them told me that my book was one of the best ones in the contest, but their editors are sticklers for grammar. She commented on a mistake that I didn’t even catch: A quotation mark is missing from the back cover!

I walk past bookshops and am drawn in by the smell of the books – ebooks simply don’t have the same attraction for me. Does this happen to you, and do you have a favourite bookshop? Or perhaps you are an e-reader fan… where do you source most of your material from?

I love physical books. I have hundreds of them at my house, and even more in storage. E-books just don’t hold the appeal for me, either. I guess you and I are relics of the past. I don’t like the big box bookstores. I like the mom and pop bookstores, where there are one or two people working, both wearing eyeglasses, and at least one of them sitting behind the counter next to a cash register that is surrounded by dusty old books with yellowing pages. Unfortunately, these stores are fading fast and they are hard to find now. I always spend at least fifty dollars whenever I go in one.

I used to find myself buying books in only one genre (fantasy) before I started writing this blog. What is your favourite genre, and have your tastes changed over time?

My favorite genre is fantasy and science-fiction novels. I am a big fan of George RR Martin and Aldous Huxley. I worked in True Crime for so, so many years, and I would often escape from that sobering reality by reading fantasy and science fiction. Although a graphic novel, the Watchmen by Alan Moore covers both genres and is one of my favorite books.

Social media is a big thing, much to my disgust! I never have enough time myself to do what I feel is a good job. What do you do?

I use a delightful lady by the name of Monica Kelly, and she has created a very nice author’s page for me. I chose to publish my book with Mindstirmedia, and part of that package included the services of Monica for a few months. Other than that, I post information about my book on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. I spend quite a bit of time on my phone now, much to the dismay of my wife, who gets livid if she is talking to me and I pick up my phone and start scrolling. And understandably so.

Answering interview questions can often take a long time! Tell me, are you ever tempted to recycle your answers from one to the next?

Boy, am I! But I realize that hardcore readers are a close-knit bunch and tend to read up on everything about an author they like or a new author that they want to get to know. Because of that, even though a lot of interview questions are similar if not the same, I try my best to give the same answers if only phrased differently.

Thanks so much for your time, Frederick! True crime always facinates me, and it’s fantastic to have you add more diversity to the books out there.

You can find out more about the author here (link) and the book on Amazon (here).

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