Ask the Author: Michael Schmicker
Answered Questions (2)
Michael Schmicker
Aloha Cecile:
I would be delighted to send you a copy of The Gift:ESP. If you have an interest in ESP, I believe you'll enjoy it. It's a non-fiction book. I co-wrote it with a clinical psychologist from Duke University whose mother collected 12,000 anecdotal stories of spontaneous ESP experiences.Most of the reports come from the 1930s-1960s, but we did include some recent cases, including a chapter on strange 9-11 premonitions. Would you prefer a Kindle or paperpack copy? For Kindle, I would need your email address; for the opaperback, I would need your street address.You can send the information to my author address -- schmickermichael@gmail.com.
Cheers,
Michael
I would be delighted to send you a copy of The Gift:ESP. If you have an interest in ESP, I believe you'll enjoy it. It's a non-fiction book. I co-wrote it with a clinical psychologist from Duke University whose mother collected 12,000 anecdotal stories of spontaneous ESP experiences.Most of the reports come from the 1930s-1960s, but we did include some recent cases, including a chapter on strange 9-11 premonitions. Would you prefer a Kindle or paperpack copy? For Kindle, I would need your email address; for the opaperback, I would need your street address.You can send the information to my author address -- schmickermichael@gmail.com.
Cheers,
Michael
Michael Schmicker
Aloha Denny:
Thanks for the question. A sequel is tempting. I had a lot of fun creating the novel’s narrator, Tomaso. He’s me when I was just starting my own journalism career. He’s cocky, curious; handy with a camera and pen; determined to see the world. And of course, it would be great to pursure Huxley for his misdeeds -- and the hundred pounds he owes Alessandra after her Naples sitting.
That said, I'm not a natural fiction writer; I primarily write non-fiction, and it's equally tempting to say I've had my fling with fiction.The time commitment to writing a second novel is scary. .A novel is a nightmare for the amateur, and a challenge even for a pro. It requires playing with a Rubik’s cube of characters, plot, subplots, pacing, dialogue, style, emotional arc – pieces which the writer must move in a certain sequence, and at the proper moment, to propel the tale forward, hold the fickle reader’s attention, and arrive at a successful denouement. Historical fiction raises the complexity another level. Where do you find information in the cost of a plate of pasta in 19th century Napoli? How much history should be included? When and where do you drop it in? How do you share it without slowing the story and boring readers? It took me 18 months to write THe Witch of Napoli; I can write a non-fiction book in half the time, and I've got a long list of possible book ideas in my head.
And yet... it's so tempting to resurrect Tommaso. He would be in his early 40s, in Rome, editor of the Messaggero, with Doffo still working for him. Mussolini has taken power in Italy; the Fascists and Nazi movements are sweeping Europe; the British aristocracy (including Huxley) and the Catholic Church are sympathetically cheering their rise to power. Everyone is nervous about the future of their family, their business, their country, and a shadowy, Italian woman psychic everyone calls "the witch of Roma" claims to have the answers.
Tempting...
Thanks for your kind comments about the Witch of Napoli, and I'll let you know if I do decide to take a crack at it!
Thanks for the question. A sequel is tempting. I had a lot of fun creating the novel’s narrator, Tomaso. He’s me when I was just starting my own journalism career. He’s cocky, curious; handy with a camera and pen; determined to see the world. And of course, it would be great to pursure Huxley for his misdeeds -- and the hundred pounds he owes Alessandra after her Naples sitting.
That said, I'm not a natural fiction writer; I primarily write non-fiction, and it's equally tempting to say I've had my fling with fiction.The time commitment to writing a second novel is scary. .A novel is a nightmare for the amateur, and a challenge even for a pro. It requires playing with a Rubik’s cube of characters, plot, subplots, pacing, dialogue, style, emotional arc – pieces which the writer must move in a certain sequence, and at the proper moment, to propel the tale forward, hold the fickle reader’s attention, and arrive at a successful denouement. Historical fiction raises the complexity another level. Where do you find information in the cost of a plate of pasta in 19th century Napoli? How much history should be included? When and where do you drop it in? How do you share it without slowing the story and boring readers? It took me 18 months to write THe Witch of Napoli; I can write a non-fiction book in half the time, and I've got a long list of possible book ideas in my head.
And yet... it's so tempting to resurrect Tommaso. He would be in his early 40s, in Rome, editor of the Messaggero, with Doffo still working for him. Mussolini has taken power in Italy; the Fascists and Nazi movements are sweeping Europe; the British aristocracy (including Huxley) and the Catholic Church are sympathetically cheering their rise to power. Everyone is nervous about the future of their family, their business, their country, and a shadowy, Italian woman psychic everyone calls "the witch of Roma" claims to have the answers.
Tempting...
Thanks for your kind comments about the Witch of Napoli, and I'll let you know if I do decide to take a crack at it!
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Thank you,
Cecile ...more
Jun 21, 2015 10:43AM · flag