Perhaps you wouldn’t characterize the Finance Manager of your local automobile dealership as an Amazon best-selling author—until you get to know T.T. Michael.
He has worked for the past decade at a Toyota Dealership in Illinois, but he is in the driver’s seat as the writer of, Fire War Trilogy, a political thriller series set in the not too distant future. See what happens when the United States, Canada, and Mexico all join forces to make one super country.
See more about him and his dystopian political thriller trilogy, Fire War, at www.ttmichael.com or www.firewarbooks.com
Author Interview
What question do you wish that someone would ask about your book(s), but nobody has? Write it out here, and then answer it.
Do you really think the story in this book could happen?
Unfortunately I do now that Donald Trump has been elected. Honestly I think it could’ve happened with Hillary Clinton too. Our country is either going to rise to the occasion or going to wither. I’ve given one example of how this could go.
What is your writing process? Do you follow a regular routine or do you have any weird, funny, or unusual habits while writing and what are they?
My writing process is unique. I work a 60 hour work week sometimes. The good thing is I am a finance manager at a car dealership and if nobody buys a car for hours I can write my books in the down time. I would say probably 50% of my books have been written while at work.
When I write at home I have the TV on in the background and I watch the Simpsons most of the time while writing.
Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it?
If I suffer from writer’s block it doesn’t last long. I drive almost 35 miles to and from work and have that time to think and usually during my commute I come up with the story line that stumped me at that time.
What is the single most important piece of advice for aspiring authors?
Write! I know that sounds easy but just keep writing. Write what you feel passionate about. If you write your passion then the story will flow a lot easier than if you write about something you think the public wants to read. If you write for anyone but yourself readers will know!
What are your current/future projects?
My current/future projects are going to be along the same lines as FIRE WAR. Maybe I’ll do a prequel to the trilogy. More than likely I’ll do a different dystopian political thriller. I’ve heard a lot of people refer to the USA as Rome right before it fell. Maybe I’ll play off of that. For now I’m taking time off from writing so I can talk more about FIRE WAR.
Why did you choose to write in your particular field or genre? If you write more than one, how do you balance them?
I wrote in this genre (dystopian political thriller) because it’s truly in my mind all the time. I play the what if game when things happen in our country. This particular what if scenario really hit home with me and when I started writing it just flew out of my mind and onto the paper with ease.
What do you think is the future for independent authors and do you think it will continue to be easy for anyone to be a published author?
Independent is the way to go for sure. The big publishing companies don’t do anything for the reader’s anymore. Some the “best” authors that are traditionally published don’t even write their own material. They hire ghost writers to do it. We independents are going to take over the writing world. All we have to do is out story them.
Are you traditional or self-published, and what process did you go through to get your book published?
I am self published because I wanted control over everything. I wanted to design the covers myself and just generally do everything myself. If you publish traditionally they control everything and that is not good.
Have you ever changed a title, book cover, or even the content of your book after it was published? What was that process like?
I never have changed that at all. I liked everything I did and stuck to it.
What opportunities have being an author presented you with and share those memories? (i.e. travel, friends, events, speaking, etc..)
I recently traveled to Miami for the Readers’ Favorite Awards. Fire War is an award winning book with them and went there for the dinner and awards ceremony. I met a lot of other award winning authors there and learned a lot about other their publishing experiences.
I’ve also been on TV for interviews about some of my books and that was a lot of fun because it’s a chance to show what I was all about and not just my books.
Once a year I also give a Creative Writing Scholarship at the High School I graduated from and that is by far my favorite thing to do. I love giving back and to do that for someone that went to the same school I did makes it all that much more special.
Do you have a target amount of words/pages for each of your books or do you just know when enough is enough?
I never have a page target in mind at all. With the first book in the Fire War Trilogy I wrote out an outline. That lasted to the end of the first chapter because the story took on a life of it’s own. The outline no longer made sense so I just wrote whatever came to mind.
Do you believe there are competitors or general readers out to sabotage authors with bad reviews and what are your experiences with this?
I have had some bad reviews that are done by “trolls”. I believe some people just want to see the world burn. The trolls that have reviewed my books and given them low ratings have given low rating to everything they reviewed not just my book. I guess they’ll never be happy with what they buy.
What is the intended audience for you book?
Every American should read the Fire War Trilogy because it shows what could happen if you give up your rights in the name of financial gain or protection from terrorists.
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