1. Introduce yourself; who are you and what types of books do you write? What are your books about?
My name’s Michael Parkes, and I’m an author of various genres. My first book, Cheryl, is a tragic comedy with thriller, suspense, and a little mystery thrown in. It’s a dark comedy, but still technically a comedy, and great for people looking for something dark that deals with heavy topics while still having humour in it.
My second book, Gnomes and Knights, is 11 short stories. The first 10 are rhyming short stories about Fredrick Jerome Kopillus Gnome and the various shenanigans he gets up to in, around, and even under Gertie’s Garden. The 11th story doesn’t rhyme, but is more of a fairy tale; it follows Nathan the Knight as he embarks on his quest to become a full-fledged Knight of the Order as has been tradition in his family for the eldest for generations. He overcomes his nervousness, perseveres, and shows courage as he gathers allies and ultimately faces the source of the evil he was sent to vanquish in a rather unique way. It’s great for kids!
I have also written the horror short stories “Portraits” and “Eternity”; both are free-to-read and accessible through my website link at the bottom of this blog post. Portraits is the horror of the unknown, the weird, and the inconceivable. It follows a drifter who took shelter in the wrong abandoned mansion…
Eternity is great for lovers of the creatures known as Redcaps as they feature prominently. It’s a fantasy-horror story that follows a doomed expedition to the haunted grounds of Gor’ol Ja, the site of a once prosperous village of dwarves, halflings, and Pech that bore witness to a horrific atrocity and is now devoid of life. But not quite abandoned by its former inhabitants… or the one responsible for the destruction of the fortress.
2. What was the inspiration behind writing your first book?
Cheryl was inspired by circumstance. I woke up one day and it was scribbled in a notebook; originally it was a TV script. Over time, I kept writing it, writing an absurdist comedy simply because it was fun, then once I started typing it up it became a less absurd novel.
But the characters themselves and the situations are usually either based on real events and people or meant to convey the feelings, actions, and very real consequences of an out-of-control addiction. Cheryl is based somewhat on myself for example, at least when I was 19, and Matilda is barely fictional. I sometimes say that the true tragedy of my first novel is not Cheryl, but Matilda, because Matilda is based on both a man and a woman I used to know and very little of her character is made up.
On a lighter note, I had just always wanted to be an author. I thought a novel about wine moms would be fun to write and read so I started with that because at the time it reflected my inner self. Now, not so much. It’s as if I put my worst character traits and habits into my characters and locked it away forever. Although I would like to assure any worried readers who have read Cheryl and are concerned about my welfare that most parts are complete fiction.
3. What did you learn while writing your second book?
How much fun short stories and rhyming are to write. I wrote Gnomes and Knights so diligently that it only took a little over three months from conception to editing to commissioning cover art to being published. I came to love short stories and ended up writing Portraits and Eternity as guest posts because of how much fun I have writing them in general.
4. What is the most rewarding part of being an author?
The sense of achievement and being able to help other authors. I mellowed out a lot a year or two after publishing Gnomes and Knights, but I used to put overwhelming and constant pressure on myself to achieve. Along with that, there’s something about producing books that just feels good. Maybe because it’s something that endures after you die, or it’s just something not many people do, but either way, the feeling of having done something major is a great feeling. I’m pretty handy with networking, so with all the guest posts, connections, and partnerships, it’s awesome to be able to learn from and grow alongside other authors constantly. Although, it is really nice to hear someone is excited to read my books or enjoyed having read them too.
5. What elements do you think make for a good story?
I’m a big fan of making the reader feel things. I tend to describe how my characters feel and what they think so the reader can really relate to the character in that situation and get into their head. Engaging the reader emotionally is key to an engaging story in my eyes.
As well, a flowing storyline with foreshadowing is something I personally enjoy. Something innocuous on page 6 but that makes you go “Oh THAT’s what that was” on page 120. It helps to tie all parts of the story together and make it feel like a cohesive whole rather than a collection of parts.
6. What is the hardest part of being an author for you?
Most authors would probably say marketing, but for me it’s the writer’s block. Sometimes I simply cannot get the words out. Although more recently it seems hiking helps a lot; I guess trees are inspiring. Then getting back into a writing routine afterwards seems to fix it.
7. What is your current writing project?
My current writing project is called “Untitled Third Novel” in the Word document but it’s fairly well developed. It follows a boy named Elijah who lives a secluded life on a farm being homeschooled and facing abuse from his rather unhinged and very religious father. When he’s not being homeschooled or doing farm chores, he’s out in the forest at his little lean-to he calls “Fort Elijah”, often with his older sister, Eve. Other than going to church, the children almost never leave the farm. There are no phones. No TV. No computers or internet. Not even books. They only have each other and the short chats Elijah has with Father Wright at church. So, when Eve steals a book for Elijah out of the storage room, learning about the Indigenous tribes having some very interesting legends about the forest that borders the farm they live on, well, it leads to trouble. A monolithic rock by Fort Elijah is more than it seems, and much more than that lurks on the other side... and it’s waiting to come through into a world it will remake in its own unfathomable image.
Once I finish my third book, it’ll be a great cosmic/weird horror novel! Check out Portraits and Eternity in the meantime to get a taste of how I write horror.
8. What is the best writing advice you’ve ever received?
Just write. Don’t overthink it, your first draft is going to be bad anyway, just finish it and then edit it until it’s polished. Nobody gets it perfect the first time, so instead of freezing up, just write whatever comes out and edit later.
That and you can write scenes out of order, or put (insert action scene here) or (put something to move the plot along here) if you get stuck. That was really good advice.
And back-up your manuscripts!
9. Where can readers discover more about you and your books?
Looking for Portraits or Eternity? Find them on my website or on my blog! I’ve got a couple other author interviews and guest posts I’ve done on there too.
Check out my website here: https://michaelparkesauthor.com/
Here are the links to my books:
Cheryl: https://www.amazon.com/Cheryl-Michael-Parkes-ebook/dp/B097585M7G
Gnomes and Knights: https://www.amazon.com/Gnomes-Knights-collection-stories-whimsical-ebook/dp/B09H61B5MQ
Here’s the rest of my links too:
AllAuthor: https://allauthor.com/author/michaelparkesauthor/
Buy Me a Coffee/Blog: https://buymeacoffee.com/michaelparkesauthor/posts
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61554207819856
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21616982.Michael_Parkes
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelparkesauthor/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@michaelparkesauthor
Twitter/X: https://x.com/pichaelmarkes
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCglc-suz6ZY1zoTJd9xe1fA