1. What was your first published work?

My first published work was a flash fiction story called, “Private Picasso” which was published in Volume Three of The Weird Reader. I don’t think they are around anymore, but it meant the world to me. Looking back, I should have known what I was getting into…the story ended up being a surreal/slipstream/lit-fic/ thing. Tangentially body-horror. Back then, I wouldn’t have considered myself a horror writer, but here we are.

2. Is there a story inside that you have seeds of but can’t seem to connect that’s dying to get out?

Oh god, yes. There’s this story I’ve had pieces and parts of for a long time that I can’t seem to get right. Generational trauma. Y2K-era technology scares. Heavily inspired by Vonnegut’s work. Thing is, I know I’m not Vonnegut, so it may be one of those stories that I need to try again now that I’ve grown a bit as a writer and a person. I don’t typically write from several povs either, and I think this will probably require that. I can picture the whole thing. Just need to tussle with the words some more.

3. How do you handle a rejected story?

Some rejections definitely hit harder than others, but I think I generally do okay with them. I’ve been at this long enough to know they are part of the game. Oftentimes, I send them right back out. Sometimes, I let the stories simmer a little longer or go back through them and make adjustments, but it really depends. I try to remember that rejections and acceptances are out of my control, so there isn’t much of a point to get too beat up over them. No one is obligated to take my stories, ya know? It makes the acceptances that much sweeter when folks do see what I’m doing and putting on the page and connect with it.

4. What does literary success look like to you?

I think I shift the goalposts on myself quite often. For a long time it was just, “get published” which moved to, “get paid” which turned to, “get something long-form out there”, and now that Trve Cvlt has been accepted and is coming out in about a week, I think my goals will shift again. I want to be consistently putting more out there, but not without growth. So at the moment, literary success means growing as a writer and an editor and a peer. I would like to guest-edit an anthology some day. I’ve got a million ideas. I would also like to consistently put good out there because there’s too much bad stuff. Bad actors and legitimately dangerous people to our circles, not to mention AI.

5. Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?

I don’t have many out there yet, but so far the ones are good. Thank you to everyone who’s done so! It truly means the world to see folks connecting with Trve Cvlt. Once it officially releases, I don’t think I will bother with reading reviews. At least not actively looking for them. Matt and Alex have pointed me to the good ones, which has been lovely to see. I’m sure my work won’t do the trick for everyone, and I’m sure bad reviews will come, but for now…eh. I don’t wanna get bogged down by the static.

6. What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?

Probably balancing work/life/writing. I dig my day job, but it can be a huge energy-drain (high schoolers), so sometimes coming home after work to do the work is rough. I also tend to be a light-outliner, so when I do get stuck, sometimes it can be pretty tough to realign and get moving again. Thank god for my writing group. I don’t know what I would do without them.

7. As in most times, the truth is stranger than fiction, what has been the hardest scene or chapter you’ve had to write, if you were channeling personal experience?

This is a tough one. I’m not sure I can pinpoint and exact scene or chapter to be honest, but more of the overall tone of Trve Cvlt. It gets pretty bleak at times and a lot of that stems from growing up in a small town and having big dreams, tussling with self-worth, parental expectations, religious traumas, friend groups falling apart…mix in some mental-illness and we’ve got ourselves a party haha.

8. What inspired your latest work?

Similarly to question seven, so much of Trve Cvlt was inspired by my upbringing and my hometown. Specifically, my relationship with organized religion, an abandoned farmhouse my buddies and I went to one summer, and being into heavy music.

9. If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

Just to keep at it. In a lot of ways it doesn’t get any easier, but in many ways it does. Do what you can to stay focused and don’t be the guy everyone is subtweeting about.

10. Best advice you’ve ever gotten from a fellow writer?

I think the advice I’ve clinged to the most was from Phil Hester. He’s a comic book artist/writer, and I was at a comic expo where he was paneling. He said, “Trust your creativity.” It’s so simple. Almost to the point of being trite and fortune-cookie-ish and yet that phrase pushes me constantly. Every time I’m thinking, “man this scene sucks. What are you doing?” or any number of similar thoughts, I think about it. Sometimes the scene does suck and it has to be revised, but you can’t revise a scene or story you don’t write.

11. What is your go-to comfort horror/Sci-Fi book?

Ohh…probably Adam’s “The Restaurant at the End of the Universe“. I love the Hitchhiker’s Guide, but book two always sits with me just right. I think it’s safe to also throw in Vonnegut’s “Mother Night“. It’s not his most well-known, nor is his most out-there or sci-fi-twinged, but it’s beautiful.

12. If you were to genre-hop, which genres would you most like to try writing?

That’s kinda tough. I tend to genre-blend pretty heavily, so I’m not sure there is a specific genre I would want to try writing, but more of a different target audience – which would be middle grade and potentially a picture book. I’m not a great artist by any stretch, but I do have a fine-art minor, and like to doodle a lot. I’m a visual thinker too, so I think exploring a picture book would be incredibly cool. And as far as middle grade goes…I just think there’s a lot of cool ideas out there that would rip for kids that age.

Preorder Michael’s book here!