Michael Poeltl's Blog

The vast majority of time travel fiction books give no real explanation as to the how of it. I often feel as though something integral to the story is missing. As a fan of the genre and someone with a deep interest in the physics of time travel, I set out to write a book that included the most plausible 'scientific' way to travel back in time while creating a mystery-thriller for the reader. 

That book is entitled Cleo McCarthy Time Travel & Other Impossible Things and has been well received by G...

Godfather of AI Warns of Dangers

Renowned Nobel Prize winner in Physics, Geoffrey Hinton—often hailed as the "Godfather of AI"—has issued a chilling warning about the dangers of artificial intelligence. “When AI surpasses human intelligence, it will take control. We risk becoming obsolete,” he cautions, a statement that resonates like an ominous thunderclap across the tech landscape.

This stark prediction from one of the world’s leading AI researchers demands our urgent attention. Echoing the dyst...

The Hard Science of Time Travel: What We Know and What We’re Still Dreaming About

Time travel has long fascinated humanity, from ancient myths to modern science fiction. But is it possible to turn this fantasy into a reality? Today, thanks to advancements in theoretical physics, we are closer than ever to understanding the science of time travel. Let’s explore the hard science behind it and where we stand today, including the latest theories in the field.

Closed Time Like Curves

In a closed timelik...

Why do I write? Better question, why do I publish? I’ll answer the former first. I must write. It’s not that I want carpal tunnel. I need the stories that occupy my brain fleshed out on paper. I want them to have a life outside of me. I want them to be experienced by others and to hear their feedback. I want them to speak to others as they have to me. Is that selfish? Is that vanity? I want what I write to find its audience and give them an experience they might not find in another book. It feels purposeful.

I need the stories that occupy my brain fleshed out on paper.

Michael Poeltl
I’ve written 14 books. They vary in genre. I’ve published each of them. Why? To answer the second question (now asked twice), it’s because I want that win. Even if it’s just for me, I want to be published. I want the words out of my head, edited, and into my hands, securely housed in the pages of a book with a cover illustrating the essence of my words. That in and of itself is a win.

Why do I market my published books? I market them because I want to be taken seriously. I want my work to find more people; the more I market, the more reach I have—the more eyes on my work, the more feedback. The more feedback I receive, the more I understand myself and my audience.

I’ve only ever written journals on vacation when I was younger. To better remember the week or month I was away. I don’t keep a daily journal or even a week-to-week as many do. And they do it for a good reason. They do it to look back and see growth in their lives. They do it to remind themselves of a lesson they’d learned in the hopes of not having to learn it again. They see their mistakes, and they own them. They change to become the person they want to be. A journal is like having a psychoanalyst in your head. Psychoanalysts tap into your unconscious mind to recover repressed emotions and deep-seated, sometimes forgotten experiences. By better understanding your subconscious mind, you acquire insight into the internal motivators that drive your thoughts and behaviors. So, a journal is like writing your subconscious down for further review.

My books are my Psychoanalyst.

Michael Poeltl
Why have I not kept a journal as a writer? Because my books are my Psychoanalyst. They come at the right time in my life. The characters are me – my subconscious mind. They work through problems and suffer difficulties and overcome obstacles. They make sense of my inner voices and evoke the emotions I may not be comfortable expressing. The characters say things I would never say out loud. They teach me how to live better. They show me the faults in my personality and the good in me.

When I am gone, I won’t have left a journal for others to read in the hopes of understanding my inner thoughts. I’ll have left my books. Books that become my unintentional biography. Books that I hope helped my audiences better understand themselves and the world around them. Books that gave them pause to consider a new idea. Books that helped them through trauma or offered a departure from their everyday lives.

I’m sure this is true for most writers. We work out our demons through writing, whether in journals, blogs, poems, short stories, or novels. They all have their merits. They all carry a story and a lesson we can learn from.

Well, I can only speak for myself when you ask the question, where do authors pull their inspiration from, and for me, that’s from other creative sources, my interests, and the day-to-day.

I love all things creative. I also appreciate every day: the brief conversations at the office, the turmoil, and the upheaval of being human; it’s good fodder. A variety of experiences are very necessary for a creative person to produce. As I wrote in Her Past’s Present: In such a person, sadness breeds purpose. They find inspiration in the darkness. Oftentimes, I believe, they will impress a hell onto their own lives in order to recreate it that others might suffer the experience from the comfort of their armchairs.

Inspiring me to write isn’t a difficult task. In fact, when an idea is sparked, I’m hard-pressed not to see it through. I love to write, and I love the effect it has on me. I’ve always said I write what I want to read, and that’s still true after 14 books. A song, a book, a movie, or a play where I experience an emotional connection drives inspiration too. Sometimes these are my greatest drivers. Other times, quiet meditation in the woods will draw out a new thought or supposition that becomes a story.

Writer’s block has rarely been an issue for me once an idea is penned. I usually know when a storyline will become a novel, a short, or just sit on the sidelines in my slush pile waiting for its moment. This way I can move forward with the winning idea and leave the others behind until I feel the pull to call upon them, or they whisper in my ear: it’s time.

Emotion is something that drives my writing throughout the process and into editing. If a song, for instance, whose mood and lyrics are relatable to my story enters my awareness at the right time, it too may inspire further creative input into the work in progress. This makes it difficult to know when a book is finished, but that’s always the struggle. I accept outside influences until I’m satisfied. I can’t imagine the book finished if I haven’t said all I mean to.

Characters inspire me as well. I believe they choose me, already existing in the ether. Once awakened, they will act out their will until I’ve satisfied both our needs. It’s as if the larger story has been told in another – dare I say, parallel universe, and I’m merely writing historical facts to enjoy as fiction in ours.

Inspiration comes in many forms. The key is to be open to their call to action. Creative people are naturally more open to the whispers of inspiration, and though it can take us by surprise (as so often it will), it must be respected. Looking back on the past 11 years, I wonder how I managed to write 14 books (book 14 is Killing Karma). Never mind the umpteen short stories and flash fiction that has never seen the light of day. I am not so egocentric to believe they are all born of my imagination, but I am always grateful for the gift I am allowed to share with myself and my audience, however large or small.

So, my answer to the question, where do authors pull inspiration from may seem muddy, but from that mud, a clearer picture develops the more it is polished down. Take your inspiration and run with it. It comes bearing gifts.

Crime fiction, as a genre, can be explained as a story in which crime is central to the plot. Both crime fiction and true crime genres share this element.

Elements of crime fiction – The Protagonist
Other key elements include a detective, the killer, or a victim of the crime as the protagonist. But, typically, in crime fiction, the story is centered around a detective. Think Columbo, Sherlock Holmes, Poirot, Miss Marple, Kojak, Magnum, and the list goes on where popular detectives return again and again to solve crimes. Still, where there aren’t more books or television shows planned to showcase a detective, the protagonist can be a suspect or other character. Even TV shows like You make it clear the protagonist can be the killer. So have fun with it.

Elements of crime fiction – The Suspects
Suspects are an essential element when writing crime fiction. Creating interesting characters who keep the audience guessing is a great way to build a crime story while keeping the reader’s interest. Suspects can range from a family member to a friend or business partner, a spouse, or even a complete stranger. How you build your suspects is an important part of building the mystery.

Elements of crime fiction – The Antagonist
The adversary is obviously an important aspect of writing your crime fiction. Villains can be as likable as the hero. Muddying the waters is a perfect place to start building your mystery. Why make it obvious who is who? That’s the joy of the whodunit. Make it difficult to crack the mystery behind whodunit.

Elements of crime fiction – The Setting
Choosing a real location and researching the area makes a crime fiction story ring a little truer. Using real places feels more intense and helps drive the story. Street names and locals within a city give readers a sense of connecting with the story and the characters in your crime fiction.

Elements of crime fiction – The Crime
There is a multitude of crimes that you can build your crime fiction around, but let’s be honest, murder is the number one crime fiction being written and read and watched on TV and in movies. Nothing is more shocking than murder. The Golden Rule is your best bet at creating a crime fiction story your audience will find themselves glued to.

In the end, we all want to solve the crime. We want to know whodunit and whydunit. We’re driven to understand the psychology behind the killing and who made that choice to kill.

In my latest crime fiction novel – Killing Karma, my crime is murder. A serial killer is murdering people in Detroit for no obvious reason. With little to go on, Detective Harlow soon finds himself teetering on the edge of what he perceives as reality.

What is book club fiction? Upmarket fiction. What’s upmarket fiction? Commercial, literary fiction. Is commercial fiction a sellout? No, it’s sellable fiction. There’s a difference. It’s the sort of fiction people actually read. Literary fiction aspires more toward art than entertainment, but when it’s combined with commercial fiction, we call it upmarket fiction which in turn means book club fiction. What’s The Bind Affect? Upmarket fiction. No, we’re not going to go through all of that again.

No, but really, what does The Blind Affectmean? It’s poetic license: an artful description explaining the impact one feels upon learning of the effect their action had on a person, place, thing, or event. It’s the emotional and intellectual response to discovering how far-reaching your influence was.

If you’re looking for a book that will keep your interest and excite conversation in your book club, this is the book for you. Why? Because it offers everything a book club wants to get excited about but rarely finds. Diversity, inclusion and equality are at the heart of this character-driven story. While difficult and heart-breaking lessons await Jonah, Severn and Darnell in their own lives, a shared event along a similar timeline intimately links all three despite their glaring differences. Caught in the gravity of the event, purpose presents itself and their shared blind affect validates the notion that no act goes unacknowledged.
For better or worse, we’ve all more than one blind affect to experience before we make our exit, and if we’re lucky we’ll get to hear about them, and if we’re really lucky, we’ll hear that our action made a positive difference in someone’s life.

Book clubs, unite! The Blind Affect is your ticket to a lot of pretty serious trigger warnings. Discover how three lives that travel in opposing circles could find a common, localized event that would change their lives forever and give birth to the phrase, The Blind Affect.

Original Post found on Michael Poeltl’s Website: http://www.mikepoeltl.com/uncategoriz...
Has the pandemic left you feeling hollow?
If an international quarantine, loss of jobs and loved ones has you asking yourself ‘what’s the point?’ when you can’t live your best life, perhaps The Blind Affect will answer that question for you. A new novel of upmarket, literary fiction by Michael Poeltl is his thirteenth book and comes right when we may need it most.
The nagging questions associated with this new sense of loss and the struggle which followed has wormed its way into society the moment March, 2020 announced itself in the form of a life-altering pandemic. Questions like what’s the point?, and what do I do now?, why me?, why now?, seem to permeate the ether, weighing us down with despair.
These questions are common enough in the old normal for many and produced similar epidemics of depression and loss of self-worth. The idea there is no longer any point to any of it is a sombre one and difficult to escape when support systems have collapsed and loved ones are unavailable. It’s a slippery slope of mental torture a much larger population from every walk of life is experiencing now.
So, the question, what’s the point?, is a valid one. Conceived before the pandemic arrived, The Blind Affect offers three perspectives on that question which find a common bond, offering answers to that and other questions surrounding the trials and triumphs of the modern world. Perhaps it will answer it for you as well.
In a world where lives are lived and lost ubiquitously; it’s what you do with them that count. Can a life be more than the sum of one’s own experiences? Do we have to look objectively through the eyes of others to fully understand our influence on the world around us?
A life without purpose is meaningless. Finding it is everything.
In 1960 Jonah entered the world on the heels of his stillborn twin brother; setting him up for a lifetime of disappointment. In 1975 Severn was abducted into a life her thirteen-year-old self couldn’t comprehend. In 1994 Darnell slipped free of his abusive father when a seemingly impossible opportunity revealed itself. Are three people living in the same city along similar timelines destined to meet? When one event affects each person’s life in a meaningful way, does the universe conspire to bring them together or tear them apart?
Advanced Reviews on the book’s Goodreads page are saying:
Five Stars: “It's a sometimes disturbing but always profound look at three characters whose lives take haunting courses, often beyond their control… if you're willing to face these scenarios head on, 'The Blind Affect' will leave you with a lot to think about.”
Four Stars: “Poeltl does what a good writer does - he doesn’t tell us, he shows us the lives of these characters. He shows readers what trauma looks like and what is healing. It’s a timely story…”
The Blind affect: to have no knowledge of the impact your action(s) had on a person, place, thing or event.
Find your copy in paperback or kindle on Amazon today
About the Author
Michael Poeltl is a multi-genre author who says, “Discovering your purpose is a massive step in realizing your best life. Gifting myself the right to be an author has afforded me incredible growth as an artist and as a human being. I write with renewed devotion to offer stories that inspire and entertain; stories with depth of emotion and original plots.”
Poeltl believes anyone who wants to be an author can be, if they write, and love the process. “We all have a story in us and from my experience, the more stories you tell, the more you’re bound to discover.”

How has the pandemic hit you?
I know for some people this pandemic has been crushing. Not physically, as I honestly don’t know a soul who has tested positive, but mentally, the fallout has been difficult on many in my circles, myself included. Now, I’m no extrovert, and in times like these, I’m grateful for my tendencies to stay out of the public eye. I’m a classic introvert who is balanced by his occasional (inner) extrovert. Therefore, the lock-downs have been okay for me but still, enough is enough. I am blessed to have my little family and I Zoom with friends and extended family irregularly, but it’s all I require.

It’s those who truly miss going out and being with people who are hit hardest by this, I think. Those trapped in bad relationships, and those single – living alone. For them, I am truly sorry.

How this story affects COVID-19
Though it’s a timely story for a pandemic, I began to write The Blind Affect months before COVID-19 was a thing, and wrote the rest of the book, edited it, looked for representation, and had it beta read all during the pandemic. I’d put together a marketing plan and built out social media collateral to support the cover reveal and book release. Now that I am nearing the end of my journey with this novel, I realize how relatable the story’s message is to our current situation. Loss of purpose has fed anxieties over the future, loss of loved ones has helped us appreciate those still with us, and the loss of a social life has weighed on our minds.

Regardless of the difficulties, we have to remember that no life is wasted. That no act is unfelt. That life is more than the sum of our experiences. Life is interconnected. Our actions, no matter how small or overlooked still effect the world and those we share it with.

Can you make sense of your life by reading this?
The Blind Affect is a timely story for a pandemic but doesn’t involve a pandemic, but it does include three very different people whose shared experience affects each in different ways, drawing them together to make sense of their lives and of those they’ve lost along the way. No one is truly alone. We all suffer our shared humanity, and if we’re lucky, we can make some sense of our day-to-day before it’s too late.

The Blind Affect is being called the story we all need to hear right now and will be available to read June, 22nd and up for pre-order right now.

 I’m pleased to announce that the final cover design is ready for your eyes only, for my new book The Blind Affect. As with the title for this work of realistic fiction, the cover embodies the story. Taking place in an urban setting, the book’s three main characters move through the timeline spanning decades within the confines of their city, suffering the slings and arrows of life while inching their way toward a greater purpose.

The cover photograph is by Justin Hamilton, and the cover design b...