Name Michael Lorde
Age 35… again
Where are you from?
I was born and raised in a rural town in upstate New York. When people hear I’m from NY, they think of a Bronx accent and NY city; but New York is a large state and I’d never been to the city until a year ago. I was raised in farm country, and no one in upstate New York speaks with a New York City accent.
A little about your self `ie your education Family life ect
I’m a prior law enforcement officer and detective. I have four children, three who are now adults and I’m a single parent to my 10 year old daughter. I’ve been employed in other fields as well- marketing, management, and I’ve also worked as an admissions director at a college. Writing is my first choice, though, and now that my older children are adults I can finally pursue it. As far as me personally, I’m a firm believer in giving back and paying it forward. The greatest thing about people is their humanity and I really love people.
Fiona: Tell us your latest news?
I’m getting ready for the Blind Veil paperback version to be launched soon, and I’m excited about that. I’m also working on another book; a fantasy book.
There are a group of authors who gift their e-books to our military troops. I’m part of that group. This program is very near and dear to my heart since I currently have a son serving in the Army in Afghanistan. That’s how the program came about. You can view this page at www.ebooksforsoldiers.com where you can see the books and authors who are involved. Military Service Members can request a free e-book and one will be sent to them. If you have a military family member, please let them know about us. If you’re not in the military, our books can be found on amazon (kindle), smashwords, and barnes and nobles (nook).
I’m also a member of a group who sends a portion of their book’s proceeds to charity organizations. You can find this page and all the books and authors involved at http://www.rabmad.com/authors/ The charity I donate to is one for battered women and children.
Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?
In the seventh grade my English teacher pulled me privately aside and told me, “You should really consider writing as a career.” At the time I couldn’t see it happening. Who became writers? No one in my family did; the arts were for pleasure, not employment. Pursuing a dream to be a writer seemed outlandish to me at the time. But nearly each year my teachers told me the same thing and each time I ignored them, despite the fact that writing genuinely interested me.
I never stopped writing for enjoyment, but until now I didn’t pursue getting my work published. It had to happen, though. I could never shake the urge to do it and I finally woke up and just made that decision. I haven’t looked back. I’ve never been as happy in any work. Aside from having my kids, it’s one of the most fulfilling thing I’ve ever had the privilege of doing. So yeah, I’m really glad to be writing.
Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I considered myself an author when I sold my first book. Something about knowing that someone had paid for my words confirmed it for me… even though readers and reviewers had read Blind Veil, that all important first sale made it feel real.
Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?
As a kid, I walked around most of the time with my face in a book and usually polished off three or four per week. I even wrote and bound my own book about this cool fat bird when I was about ten. That was really my first book. As far as the decision to write Blind Veil, which is my debut book, the story came to me all at once and I just couldn’t resist the urge to pen down the story. I knew I’d publish this one.
Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style?
I think everyone has a specific writing style. Mine is not a tell-it-all-at-once style that’s for sure. My writing is basic, but I’m relentless in making my reader wait and to have to figure out some things on their own. I don’t give all away easily. I’m glad I write this way because I’ve read authors who have the same type of suspense style, and I’ve found that their books appeal to me most. Not that I don’t enjoy other styles too, but I like it when the author is holding the plot over my head. To me it makes it more interesting. I’m not one to go on and on about the detailed furnishings in the room. I may refer to them, but my story is more about the thoughts and feelings of the characters. I want the reader to be in their heads.
Fiona: How did you come up with the title?
Blind Veil’s title came to me just as the whole book did, all at once actually. It was pretty fascinating, as if I’d just received a gift. I didn’t have to think on it much, until I began to pen it down, of course.
Fiona: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Blind Veil is full of events that happen to the main character; most of which are beyond his control. He’s thrust into many disturbing situations. I think all of us have been through that at one time or another, but the difference with my main character is that these are not everyday happenings and so they’re causing him to question his sanity. There’s not really a lesson in the book. It’s more of a question as to whether he’s losing his mind, or whether these events are actually happening in the real world. That’s what makes it creepy and suspenseful. I do think that the contents of the storyline will stick in readers minds long after they’ve finished it though. Some of my readers have told me that they still think about it.
Fiona: How much of the book is realistic?
None of it… unless you talk to conspiracy theorists; and then all of it.
Fiona: Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
I’ve worked at a mental institution as well as in a jail and also as a patrol officer and a detective. There will always be elements of author’s real life experiences filtering into our books, but none of my characters are based on any one real character. Some are probably a combination of different people and things I’ve seen happen.
Fiona: What books have most influenced your life most?
I haven’t really had books influence my everyday life, however I’ve had some interesting reads. One genre that fascinates me is reading books that have to do with near death experience victims who’ve been revived. Those stories interest me because in the ones I’ve read, the victims seem to have had nearly identical experiences regardless of their age, status, location, religious beliefs, or level of education. It’s pretty interesting and it makes you think.
Fiona: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
A very close friend of mine is an author of numerous books (and has been for decades). I would say that he’s been the greatest influence as far as my writing. It’s more so because he’s a friend than the fact that he’s a writer; but he’s honest and he knows writing as well as he knows the industry, so he’s given me pointers along the way, and I’m grateful for that.
Fiona: What book are you reading now?
I just finished a book by author J.C. Andrijeski… a very talented author, and a friend of mine.
Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
Wow, there are so many. I already mentioned J.C Andrejeski, but some others would be D.J. Bennett, Derek Blass, Charity Parkerson, R.S Guthrie, Wendy Cartmell, C.J. Ellisson, Zoe Saadia just to name a few, and all of them extremely talented authors. There are way too many to list, but these stand out in my mind right now.
Fiona: What are your current projects?
I’m working on the second Blind Veil book, and also another, fantasy book which is a first for its series. I like series books, I’ve got a few scripts in the fire too, but I’m focusing more on my second book these days.
Fiona: Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.
I have great friends. I also belong to author groups, and have met some of the nicest people you ever want to know there. The support in those groups is tremendous and genuine. That’s something people can be hard pressed to find in some career fields. But with authors, it’s not a competition, it’s about sharing our words with the page and then with others who will hopefully enjoy them too. Who knew authors were so cool?
My biggest fan is still my youngest daughter. She’s heard almost the entire book I’m currently editing (she’s excited about this- as she was not allowed to read Blind Veil because of content); but she’s given me her 10 year old ‘review’ for the book in edits. Of course it’s adorable to hear and the best review I’ve ever gotten.
Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?
Definitely.
Fiona: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
I wouldn’t change anything that hasn’t already been changed. I spent so much time editing it that anything in the plot that needed changing has already been changed. Maybe the change would be in not worrying so much as I wrote it. That would have made it far easier to edit.
Fiona: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
In forth grade, I tested at a college level for reading (all I did was read as a kid). I aced my English courses and have always had a strong appreciation for putting words to the page. To me, it’s pure gratification. Even though my teachers urged me towards it, I didn’t believe it was possible. I guess you have to be careful what you tell your kids, or they could miss following their dreams as a career path.
Fiona: Can you share a little of your current work with us?
Blind Veil is a psychological thriller. It’s about a New York City Cop who finds himself in a sticky situation and has absurd conversations with a certain ‘Doctor’. The whole incident is very much unexpected, and unplanned, and he is at a loss as to how to handle it.
Afterwards, and because of it, he finds that his life at work will never be the same. To make matters worse, he begins to fear he is losing his grip on reality. It becomes his ‘forced circumstance’ to get to the bottom of his troubles. In order to do that, he must look into an unreported crime that occurred decades earlier and on the other side of the country; one that he’d merely been ‘told’ about.
How are they tied together and what’s really going on?
Fiona: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
Perhaps not with my writing itself, but with Blind Veil something that was difficult was to make the edit changes. It was mainly due the fact that for much of the book, the reader is living in the main character’s head. There isn’t a lot of interaction with other characters because of it, so there is very little room to make changes. He thinks what he thinks, after all. I also over thought a lot of it when I first began writing.
Fiona: Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
I love so many works, it is impossible to answer this question. My favorite ‘type of story’ is one that pulls you in right from the beginning and makes you feel, not as if you’re a fly on the wall, but as if you’re the character themselves and that you’re involved in every aspect of their actions. I love to read, so I can find some level of enjoyment from most things I read. It takes an author with a ‘gift’ to pull a reader in so close they can hear the character breathing. Those are the books that I like. My list of authors I enjoy, is in the hundreds.
Fiona: Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)?
Not at present. I’ll be travelling for book signings more this spring.
Fiona: Who designed the covers?
One of my first reviewers, Christine Smith is a graphic designer. I ended up hiring her to do the cover art for me and she is awesome at what she does. She’ll be working on my next cover soon too.
Fiona: What was the hardest part of writing your book?
Edits. There are two types of authors; ones who love to edit, and those of us who abhor it. I hate it. It gives me flu-like symptoms; headache… upset stomach… dizziness… the feeling of wishing I was doing almost anything other than editing. Yeah. Edits are definitely not my cup of tea. But they’re a necessary evil. I do what I call pre-edits to clean it up a bit, but then I pay editors to cleanse the pages and gladly hand it to them. Thank God for them.
Fiona: Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
I learned not to be afraid of writing. I knew I was going to pursue publishing this book and that thought made me write with fear. The book had to go through so many edits afterwards. I believe much of that was because I was afraid of making mistakes. Every single word, every sentence, every paragraph was exhausting because I was worried that it wouldn’t be perfect in that my readers wouldn’t envision everything as I saw it. Looking back, I realize how ridiculous it was, but I’d bet most writers feel this way with their first one… like it’s their baby and they don’t want to break it.
Fiona: Do you have any advice for other writers?
Find support from other authors and Steer clear of the fear factor. Don’t be afraid of your work. Just go with it. Be patient with yourself. You don’t have to know everything at once and you won’t. You’ll make a ton of mistakes just like the rest of us do, but you’ll learn so much. Enjoy the ride and have fun.
Fiona: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
I really hope you find Blind Veil exciting, suspenseful, and as strange and odd as I meant for it to be. Be prepared for a change around the 4th chapter. It’s going to switch up on you then and you’ll be in the here and now.
Fiona: If you were not a writer what else would you like to have done?
I’ve done many things, but I would have always ended up writing. I’m never happier than I am in sharing my stories.
Fiona: Do you have a blog/website? if so what is it?
Sure. (Right now my book is on sale at Amazon for 2.99. The regular price is 9.99. It is currently available only in English.)
Amazon UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blind-Veil-ebook/dp/B0062AGWK4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327174369&sr=8-1
Amazon USA:
http://www.amazon.com/Blind-Veil-ebook/dp/B0062AGWK4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327174330&sr=8-1
Video Teaser Trailer for Blind Veil:
http://www.youtube.com/my_videos?feature=mhee
Websites:
http://www.wix.com/paperairplanespublis/michael-lorde
http://www.wix.com/paperairplanespublis/blindveil
Blog:
http://michaelordeauthor.blogspot.com/
Blind Veil is also available at-
Barnes and Nobles:
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/101069
facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Michael-Lorde/274735809257307?sk=app_208412272531040
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