WIP (Or Is That Whip?) Wednesday

 Interview with Mychael Black

I have about a hundred questions about your bio. Please let me know what inspired you to create a second pen name. Which one came first?

I’ve been writing gay erotic romance as Mychael Black for over 20 years now, but my first literary love is fantasy (thanks, Tolkien). I started writing as Katherine Cook (my real name, actually) to follow my dreams of being a fantasy author. Although there is sex (some explicit, some not) in Katherine’s stories, the romances are not the main plot. Furthermore, the pairings are more varied than Mychael’s. Readers who want fantasy without heavy romance know they can pick up a Katherine Cook story and get that.

 

What’s the most important thing readers should know about your two pen names and the different books each one writes?

Mychael Black is 100% gay male romance (including transmen). Katherine Cook, however, is fantasy, first and foremost. There may be romance; there may not be.

 

What book are you currently working on? Tell us all about it!

Oh, Lord. I have ADHD. At any given point, I have multiple stories in the works at once. I have a few fantasies I’m working on, half a gazillion Mychael books… you name it. LOL

 

How long have you been writing, and when were you first published?

I wrote my very first story at age 9. I’m 49 now. That said, I didn’t start publishing anything until 2005 or so.

 

Who did you publish with first, Changeling or another publisher?

Torquere Press was the first for Mychael Black. I’ve been with several publishers over the past 20 years. Katherine’s books are solely published via my own company, Arian Derwydd Books.

 

What’s your dream job and how does this influence the jobs you give your characters?

I’m doing it!

I’ve had strong (VERY strong) interests in archaeology and forensics, as well. My characters rarely have the same types of jobs, though.

 

What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without writing and how did you break through to begin writing again?

Years and years ago, I took about a year hiatus. Writing is a compulsion, though, so I jumped right back in the game. I don’t promote as heavily as I did back then, though.

 

Do you plot, pants, or a combination of the two?

I’m mostly a pantser, though I sometimes have a vague notion of plot points I need to hit. Generally speaking, though, my characters run amok. I just write the incident reports.

 

What advice would you give to new writers?

Write what you love. If you love your story, that will come across to the reader. And READ! I’m a voracious reader of many genres, romance and not.

 

How do you integrate your love of horror with your love of romance?

Ohh, good question! I’ve written a few horror stories as Mychael, and I’ve got more planned. My favorite types of horror are supernatural (hauntings, demons, etc) and zombies. I’ve done those!

 

What’s the best thing about being a writer?

Creating new worlds, meeting new characters. I love being a storyteller.

 

How do you tackle edits?

I actually enjoy edits, believe it or not. I like seeing how the story can be improved through someone else’s eyes. I’ve been lucky in that I’ve had amazing editors over the past couple of decades. (God, that makes me sound old.)

 

Tell us about your current Work In Progress.

Oof. Which one? LOL I’m ALWAYS writing more than one story. Let’s see… For Changeling Press, I’m starting the last book in the Splintered Bloodlines series. There’s going to be a connected series after it, however, so that’s in the very basic planning stages.

Outside of Changeling, I have a gazillion different things going on, as Mychael and Katherine. Lately, I’ve been working on a new fantasy story that is more a stream of conscious, to be honest. I have no idea where it’s going, but it’s fun!

 

Tell us about your last published book.

My last published one with Changeling was book 3 of the Splintered Bloodlines series. Book 4 (just finished edits) is due out in… March, I think? Not sure. It’s set in a world that is unlike anything I’ve done before, and, although I’m working on book 5 now, I’m not done playing in it. Hence the next series set in the same world.

 

Thank you so much for coming in to visit and share, Mychael Black!

Check out this author’s Changeling Press titles at: https://www.changelingpress.com/search-results.php?keywords=Mychael+Black