Hello and welcome to my blog, Author Interviews. My name is Fiona Mcvie.
Let’s get you introduced to everyone, shall we? Tell us your name.
Hi Fiona, This is Mike Faricy, thanks for having me back.
Fiona: Where are you from?
I was born and raised in the US, in St. Paul, Minnesota. We’re a state in the middle of the US, up against Canada. A land of extremes, up to a 100+ degrees Fahrenheit (40C) in the summer and down to minus 40 (-40C) in the winter. I still live here six months out of the year and the other six months I live in Dublin, Ireland.
Fiona: A little about yourself (ie, your education, family life, etc.).
I come from a close knit family of four boys and one girl. My sister was born in the middle of her four brothers and survived growing up with us. She’s now become information central so we all connect with her to get the scoop on everyone else. I went to a military high school where I learned the value of keeping your nose to the grindstone and earned a history degree in college. I was in the US Army for a number of years. I am the least educated member of my family, all the others are brains.
Fiona: Tell us your latest news.
I’m always writing, seven days a week…Yeah I know, I’m boring, but I have a new book coming out in August, in my Corridor Man series. I write the series under the pen name Nick James. It’s about a disbarred attorney named Bobby Custer who has a bit of a dark side to his personality. Then in September, I have a new release coming in my Dev Haskell series which I write under my name, Mike Faricy. Dev Haskell is more humorous series about a laid back private eye who is routinely dumped by girlfriends and seems to always find himself in impossible situations. Following that I’ll have a new release in my Jack Dillon Dublin Tales series which I write under the pen name Patrick Emmett. Jack Dillon is a US Marshal who has been sent to Dublin.
Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?
Probably the first thing I ever wrote was on a wall with a color crayon. No doubt I was sent to my room. I worked on the school paper and the yearbook in high school and always enjoyed reading and writing. I probably wrote fifty award winning first chapters that I never did anything with and then finally one day said to myself either finish a book or stop wasting your time.
Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I considered myself a writer after I finished that first book. We have a famous mystery writer living in St. Paul, William Kent Krueger, and he was kind enough to invite me to lunch. He gave me a lot of good advice and at the end of the meal I pulled out about a four hundred page manuscript and asked him if he’d like to read it. Amazingly, he gave me a definite no, then said that all writers have a book that never comes out from under their bed. That first book is still there, under the bed. But the meeting gave me the encouragement to press on and write the next book and the one after that.
Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?
The first book I published was inspired by a person I knew with a foot on both sides of the law. It’s not necessarily about him or exactly what he did, but it started me thinking.
Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style?
Hopefully it’s interesting. I attempt to keep my chapters short and to the point. I don’t have paragraphs of descriptions, but rather present an idea and let the readers mind create the picture.
Is there anything about your style or genre that you find particularly challenging?
Not really. I work off an outline that lays out an overall general picture and then a more specific listing of what I want to accomplish on that specific day. I attempt to be accurate so I’m constantly checking out things like what kind of a weapon our police officers carry, what are their protective vests like, what’s the make of a squad car, what’s the reaction to a specific poison, all sorts of things.
Fiona: How much of the book is realistic and are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
Quite a bit of what I write is based on personal experience or what I’ve heard. I know a number of individuals in law enforcement, the legal profession and some folks maybe on the opposite side. I’m never at a loss for things happening.
Fiona: To craft your works, do you have to travel? Before or during the process?
Yes and no. I travel from the standpoint of wanting to give an accurate portrayal of a building or a bar or a city. If I mention an establishment, it really does exist and I’ve been there. I want to be able to not only describe what a place is like but to set my reader in there as well, next to the customers or the owner, tasting or smelling the food. The noise, what the rest rooms are like, maybe the stools at the bar, whatever it takes.
Fiona: Who designed the covers?
I have a rough idea of what I want the covers to look like and I send that to my designer who then takes my very basic thoughts and creates something fantastic. One of the most important things for me is to not only have a great cover but to have it represent a specific series. That means copy, typeface, colors and artwork should immediately tell the viewer this book is part of that specific series. My designer is a man in the Philippines named Roy Migabon, he is truly excellent.
Fiona: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
No, there isn’t a message per se, I want my books to be entertaining and enjoyable for my readers. I think we all get enough messages on any given day and it’s just nice to be able to kick back and be entertained.
Fiona: Who is your favorite writer, and what is it about their work that really strikes you?
I really can’t limit my choice to just one favorite author. Elmore Leonard, Robert B. Parker, Laurence Shames, Carl Hiaasen, Stuart MacBride, Janet Evanovich, Vince Flynn, John Grisham, Tony Dunbar. I could go on but you get the idea, I’m constantly finding new writers and I inhale all their work. I want to be entertained when I read and I’m always looking for a work where you can’t wait to get to the next page.
Fiona: Outside of family members, name one entity that supported your commitment to become a published author.
That’s another long list, of course friends, but they’re almost like family. I had an English teacher in high school, James Keane. I used his name in a book I wrote early on entitled Irish Dukes. It was part of the Fight Card series and I was one of a number of guest writers, the works were published under the name Jack Tunney. I used Jim’s name as the villain in my piece, calling him ‘Baldy Jim Keane’. When it was published I gave him a copy not knowing what he would think. He looked at it for a long moment and laughed until he had tears in his eyes and told me thanks. That meant more to me at the time than just about anything. For the record I was not his best student and I’m sure he was more than a little surprised I was writing.
Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?
It is my career, it’s what I do, seven days a week and I’m blessed to be able to work at something I love doing.
Fiona: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
Nothing really, except there’s always that typo that gets missed by a few thousand pairs of eyes and then twenty-four months after release someone sends me a nice email that says something like, “I really loved you book, but you know on page 210 you misspelled the hero’s name.”
Fiona: Did you learn anything during the writing of your recent book?
I always learn something, this time it was how to hijack a car by hacking into the vehicles computer system. Not that I’m going to try it, mind you.
Fiona: If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the lead?
It would be nice if I could, but then no one would go see the movie. Maybe Brad Pitt, Matt Damon or Leonardo DiCaprio just for starters.
Fiona: Any advice for other writers?
Yeah, get writing the next page. If you wrote just one page a day you’d have a book at the end of the year. I always hear from people who tell me they’re going to write a book. At the end of the day it’s work, hard work. I’d say less than 1% of the people who tell me ever start and about half a percent of that group ever finish.
Fiona: Anything specific you want to tell your readers?
Yeah, thanks for getting this far in the interview and thank you very, very much for being one of my readers.
Fiona: What book are you reading now?
One Strange Date by Laurence Shames. It’s a delightfully quirky series set in Key West Florida.
Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?
It was probably George the Pig, or more accurately it was read to me. George was a pig who wouldn’t share and on the last page of the book he explodes after eating his entire birthday cake by himself.
Fiona: What makes you laugh/cry?
I love a good joke and the stupid situations people find themselves in.
Fiona: Is there one person, past or present, you would love to meet? Why?
That list is long, I think I’d start with George Washington and go on from there. There’s a popular radio guy here who said one time that his family came to America before the revolution but then chose the side of law and order and moved to Canada. Think about it, trying times.
Fiona: Do you have any hobbies?
I play the bagpipes in a bagpipe band, so I get to wear a kilt around town.
Fiona: What TV shows/films do you enjoy watching?
Lately I’ve taken to watching shows on Netflix. I’m currently watching Bluebloods and loving it.
Fiona: Favorite foods, colors, music?
I love just about any music except hip hop. I really enjoy music from the 60’s and 70’s. I liked Country and Western before it became trendy. Loved Garth Brooks singing I’ve Got Friends In Low Places. As for foods I’ve never met one I didn’t like.
Fiona: Imagine a future where you no longer write. What would you do?
I’d have to dictate my stories which would be an absolute disaster.
Fiona: What do you want written on your head stone?
My name, dates, that I loved my patient wife and I was in the Army.
Fiona: Do you have a blog or website readers can visit for updates, events and special offers?
Readers can check me out on Facebook under my name, Mike Faricy. They can also get a couple of free books by subscribing to my mailing list. I only send out an email when a new book is released. Here’s the link;
http://www.mikefaricybooks.com/free-gift/
Nick James Corridor Man series:
Patrick Emmet, Jack Dillon Dublin Tales series:
Mike Faricy Dev Haskell series:
Thanks for having me Fiona. If you’re ever in Minnesota or over in Dublin, please look me up. I would love to get together with you. Many thanks and all the best to everyone.
