Full Name:
Michael Yowell.
Do you have a nickname or what do your friends call you?
Mike.
Birthplace:
Denver, Colorado.
Current hometown:
Lakewood, Colorado.
Favorite city and why?
Lihue, Hawaii, because I know I’ve landed on the beautiful island of Kauai.
Birthday / Age:
April 10, 1969.
How would you describe yourself physically?
An old goat.
How would someone else describe you physically?
Athletic, tall.
The first thing people notice about you is…
My green gallon-size coffee mug (or my face).
Religion, if any?
Christian.
Are you superstitious at all? Any phobias?
Not superstitious, but I have a phobia about spiders.
Do you smoke / drink? If so, what? Any bad habits?
I enjoy my Coors Light, staying up late, and sleeping in late.
Ever seen Smokey And The Bandit?
No, believe it or not, I’ve yet to see that one.
Well, there’s no time like now… so go watch it. I’ll wait.
I’ll put it in my Netflix queue.
Current occupation / Dream job:
Currently managing the Appliance Department and a Home Depot while aspiring to make it as a successful horror fiction writer.
What do you like to do when you’re not at work?
Watch football, movies, play guitar.
What do you like to play when you play guitar?
I play mostly metal when I play my electric, akin to Metallica and Pantera, alternative and blues when I play my acoustic. Some of my softer music is available on Amazon, for those who want to check it out.
You already made half of the pitch. Might as well make the other half of it. Where’s the link so people can click through and check it out?
The link is nastily long, simpler to just go on Amazon and search for Michael Yowell.
The link’s not that long or nasty.
http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Yowell/e/B004H6FUK8/
What is your zombie outbreak survival plan?
Kill ‘em all! Target practice that you can do anywhere!
Weapon of choice:
If unlimited ammo, I’d be happy with my .45.
Do you have any special skills?
Awesome guitarist, great sense of humor, and pretty damn good writer.
…and modest too!
Sorry, had to throw that in...
Did you go to college and, if so, what for?
Graduated with a B.S. in Music Business (which didn’t pan out the way I had hoped).
A B.S. in Music Business is pretty apt if not a bit redundant.
True that! And with the condition the “music” industry is currently in, I’m glad I’m not working in that field.
Watch out, publishing is next. With the advances in self-publishing the only use I have for a publisher is to handle the promotional side of things. Other than that I can put out my own damn books, thank you very much. I heard about a publisher offering their authors only 20% of the Kindle sales and I lost my mind! It takes, maybe five minutes to put together a PDF version of a book and load it up to Kindle. Granted, you have to wait through two twenty-four hour “review” periods, but just kill time for two days and that’s all the work you have to do. It’s ridiculous that a publisher would offer anything less than half of the Kindle sales to an author. I can make my own Kindle version of anything I write. What the hell do I need a publisher for?
Exactly. I can get 70% of my sales when I release my own ebooks. But someday a good publisher would be nice so I could have more substantial exposure. I’m still unknown to the world, relatively speaking.
As an unsigned author, you need to be your own brand. Unfortunately you have to spend almost as much time promoting your work as you do writing it. That’s the price of putting yourself out there as an independent author. Or you could just start up an interview site and insert your opinions and self-promotion into every interview you conduct. It’s been working pretty well for me! *laughs*
If you went to college, did you manage to pay off your student loans?
My folks were able to pay for my college education.
Any pets? If so, what are they and what are their names?
Spastic cat named Bruce, after the mechanical shark from Jaws.
What is your favorite animal?
Sharks.
Speaking of pets, any pet peeves?
Bad grammar and uneducated conversation, especially the word “youse” as in “Youse were the ones that delivered it”.
Favorite / Least favorite Food:
Favorite - green chili.
Least favorite - squash.
What is your favorite quotation / motto / saying?
“Don’t sweat the small stuff, and it’s all small stuff.”
What is the best thing that ever happened to you?
Found and married the woman that will grow old with me.
What is the worst thing that ever happened to you?
I’ve been lucky enough to have a good life to date, nothing worse than occasional heartbreak has happened to me so far.
Ever had your heart broken? Is there a story worth telling behind your answer?
Of course, that’s part of life! I definitely have my share of scars, which have helped mold me into the person I am today.
Ever broken someone’s heart? Is there a story worth telling behind your answer?
Yes, not proud of it, but it’s unavoidable when you realize you’re not going to be happy staying with that person.
What is the best thing you’ve ever done?
Toss-up between being a father, supporting friends in need, or finishing a novel.
What is the worst thing you’ve ever done?
Nothing terrible, I guess just breaking someone else’s heart on occasion.
If you could kill one person, who would it be, and why?
I’d better avoid this question...
What do you do?
Write, baby, write!
Yeah, baby, yeah! http://youtu.be/RyJVaIrn0bw
How did you get started doing what you do?
Reading horror stories at a very young age influenced me to start writing.
What horror stories did you read at a very young age that influenced you to start writing?
Mostly the short stories from Stephen King’s Night Shift, particularly “The Boogeyman”, then The Amityville Horror came out and I had to read that one as well. That opened the doors for more horror, and it was all downhill from there.
What is your advice to other people that want to get started doing what you do?
Be prepared for a long battle, learn to accept rejection without letting it dissuade you, and never give up on your dream.
What are some of the projects you’ve worked on/finished in the past?
Give us a little history if you will.
Fragments And Shards is a collection of short stories I’ve written over the years; Devilhouse is my first novel, about creepy things in a haunted house; Red Pines is my token exception piece, actually an amazing Western novel; and The Dogcatcher is my personal favorite about werewolves and the man who hunts them.
What projects are you working on now?
Just finishing The Dogcatcher II, then will finish editing the very creepy The Camera Eye, which will be released later this year.
What are you watching?
Horror, action, sci-fi, or comedy, or addicting TV shows.
What are you listening to?
Metal, classic rock, and progressive rock.
What are you reading?
Currently trying to catch up on the classics in between writing, just finished The Haunting Of Hill House.
Favorite author / book?
Stephen King, his book Night Shift got me started on my path.
Favorite band / song?
Raven, Cheap Trick, D.A.D., Porcupine Tree.
Least favorite band / song?
Anything rap, hip-hop, or Disney-slut.
If you could do anything other than what you do now, what would you do?
Own a video store in a small town.
Who would you want to meet that you haven’t met?
You get three choices: Alive. Dead. Fictional.
Hmm... Stephen King, Jesus, and Indiana Jones.
What’s the best and worst job you’ve ever had?
Best – writing.
Worst - construction.
Got any questions for me?
What got you started doing what you do?
I’m going to need a bit of clarification on that question. I do a lot of different stuff.
Your writing, what inspired you in the very beginning? Any particular events or works that you read?
Yes to both.
My early inspiration was reading the horror anthologies put together by Helen Hoke. They were great little chillers targeted for the YA audience, but they were a hard YA. I also loved the Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark books by Alvin Schwartz and illustrated by Stephen Gammell. The stories were fun, but the illustrations haunted my childhood. They made us read Poe in school, but I didn’t mind. I went ahead and read everything he wrote that I could get my hands on. I got into Stephen King and Clive Barker later down the road and Lovecraft a bit later than that as an adult that could appreciate his work. As for writing, I dabbled with awful gothic poetry in the vein of Poe that thankfully doesn’t survive to haunt me. My first book was by invitation. I sent an e-mail to a publisher to ask for a review copy of a book and they said “Sure! By the way… have you ever thought about writing a book yourself?” That first book opened up some anthology appearances for me which helped me to establish my byline. I’ve only been taking my writing career seriously since October of last year. I looked around and realized I had material for around ten books in various forms of draft and screenplay, so I just decided to go balls out or bust in 2014 and publish twelve books in twelve months. If that doesn’t establish my writing career I’m calling shenanigans and burning all of my books. Not really… but I’m really going to want to.
Wow, I’ll be looking forward to a busy year reading some of your stuff!
Hey, get your own stuff written first. My stuff will hold. Books don’t go bad. Unless they start out that way.
Thanks for letting me subject you to being interviewed!
Pitch parade:
Give me all of your links for things you want to promote. All of them.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelYowell
Twitter: @MichaelYowellA
Website: www.michael-yowell-horror-stories.com
Michael Yowell on Google Plus
About the Interviewee:
Michael Yowell is a horror fiction author from Colorado. He lives with his wife Vanessa and has a daughter Brooke. Michael has loved the horror genre since childhood, whether it be in the form of comics, novels, or movies.
His stories have been published in e-zines and print anthologies (Writing Shift, Sanitarium, and Thirteen). His novels include the haunted house tale "Devilhouse", the werewolf hunter novel "The Dogcatcher", his collection of short horror stories "Fragments And Shards", and his novel "Red Pines" (which is surprisingly not horror but rather an epic Western tale).
In the meantime he is preparing to release "The Dogcatcher II", the exciting sequel to his werewolf hunter masterpiece, and his chilling killer and reporter novel "The Camera Eye". Stay tuned!
Michael Yowell.
Do you have a nickname or what do your friends call you?
Mike.
Birthplace:
Denver, Colorado.
Current hometown:
Lakewood, Colorado.
Favorite city and why?
Lihue, Hawaii, because I know I’ve landed on the beautiful island of Kauai.
Birthday / Age:
April 10, 1969.
How would you describe yourself physically?
An old goat.
How would someone else describe you physically?
Athletic, tall.
The first thing people notice about you is…
My green gallon-size coffee mug (or my face).
Religion, if any?
Christian.
Are you superstitious at all? Any phobias?
Not superstitious, but I have a phobia about spiders.
Do you smoke / drink? If so, what? Any bad habits?
I enjoy my Coors Light, staying up late, and sleeping in late.
Ever seen Smokey And The Bandit?
No, believe it or not, I’ve yet to see that one.
Well, there’s no time like now… so go watch it. I’ll wait.
I’ll put it in my Netflix queue.
Current occupation / Dream job:
Currently managing the Appliance Department and a Home Depot while aspiring to make it as a successful horror fiction writer.
What do you like to do when you’re not at work?
Watch football, movies, play guitar.
What do you like to play when you play guitar?
I play mostly metal when I play my electric, akin to Metallica and Pantera, alternative and blues when I play my acoustic. Some of my softer music is available on Amazon, for those who want to check it out.
You already made half of the pitch. Might as well make the other half of it. Where’s the link so people can click through and check it out?
The link is nastily long, simpler to just go on Amazon and search for Michael Yowell.
The link’s not that long or nasty.
http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Yowell/e/B004H6FUK8/
What is your zombie outbreak survival plan?
Kill ‘em all! Target practice that you can do anywhere!
Weapon of choice:
If unlimited ammo, I’d be happy with my .45.
Do you have any special skills?
Awesome guitarist, great sense of humor, and pretty damn good writer.
…and modest too!
Sorry, had to throw that in...
Did you go to college and, if so, what for?
Graduated with a B.S. in Music Business (which didn’t pan out the way I had hoped).
A B.S. in Music Business is pretty apt if not a bit redundant.
True that! And with the condition the “music” industry is currently in, I’m glad I’m not working in that field.
Watch out, publishing is next. With the advances in self-publishing the only use I have for a publisher is to handle the promotional side of things. Other than that I can put out my own damn books, thank you very much. I heard about a publisher offering their authors only 20% of the Kindle sales and I lost my mind! It takes, maybe five minutes to put together a PDF version of a book and load it up to Kindle. Granted, you have to wait through two twenty-four hour “review” periods, but just kill time for two days and that’s all the work you have to do. It’s ridiculous that a publisher would offer anything less than half of the Kindle sales to an author. I can make my own Kindle version of anything I write. What the hell do I need a publisher for?
Exactly. I can get 70% of my sales when I release my own ebooks. But someday a good publisher would be nice so I could have more substantial exposure. I’m still unknown to the world, relatively speaking.
As an unsigned author, you need to be your own brand. Unfortunately you have to spend almost as much time promoting your work as you do writing it. That’s the price of putting yourself out there as an independent author. Or you could just start up an interview site and insert your opinions and self-promotion into every interview you conduct. It’s been working pretty well for me! *laughs*
If you went to college, did you manage to pay off your student loans?
My folks were able to pay for my college education.
Any pets? If so, what are they and what are their names?
Spastic cat named Bruce, after the mechanical shark from Jaws.
What is your favorite animal?
Sharks.
Speaking of pets, any pet peeves?
Bad grammar and uneducated conversation, especially the word “youse” as in “Youse were the ones that delivered it”.
Favorite / Least favorite Food:
Favorite - green chili.
Least favorite - squash.
What is your favorite quotation / motto / saying?
“Don’t sweat the small stuff, and it’s all small stuff.”
What is the best thing that ever happened to you?
Found and married the woman that will grow old with me.
What is the worst thing that ever happened to you?
I’ve been lucky enough to have a good life to date, nothing worse than occasional heartbreak has happened to me so far.
Ever had your heart broken? Is there a story worth telling behind your answer?
Of course, that’s part of life! I definitely have my share of scars, which have helped mold me into the person I am today.
Ever broken someone’s heart? Is there a story worth telling behind your answer?
Yes, not proud of it, but it’s unavoidable when you realize you’re not going to be happy staying with that person.
What is the best thing you’ve ever done?
Toss-up between being a father, supporting friends in need, or finishing a novel.
What is the worst thing you’ve ever done?
Nothing terrible, I guess just breaking someone else’s heart on occasion.
If you could kill one person, who would it be, and why?
I’d better avoid this question...
What do you do?
Write, baby, write!
Yeah, baby, yeah! http://youtu.be/RyJVaIrn0bw
Reading horror stories at a very young age influenced me to start writing.
What horror stories did you read at a very young age that influenced you to start writing?
Mostly the short stories from Stephen King’s Night Shift, particularly “The Boogeyman”, then The Amityville Horror came out and I had to read that one as well. That opened the doors for more horror, and it was all downhill from there.
What is your advice to other people that want to get started doing what you do?
Be prepared for a long battle, learn to accept rejection without letting it dissuade you, and never give up on your dream.
Give us a little history if you will.
Fragments And Shards is a collection of short stories I’ve written over the years; Devilhouse is my first novel, about creepy things in a haunted house; Red Pines is my token exception piece, actually an amazing Western novel; and The Dogcatcher is my personal favorite about werewolves and the man who hunts them.
What projects are you working on now?
Just finishing The Dogcatcher II, then will finish editing the very creepy The Camera Eye, which will be released later this year.
What are you watching?
Horror, action, sci-fi, or comedy, or addicting TV shows.
What are you listening to?
Metal, classic rock, and progressive rock.
What are you reading?
Currently trying to catch up on the classics in between writing, just finished The Haunting Of Hill House.
Favorite author / book?
Stephen King, his book Night Shift got me started on my path.
Favorite band / song?
Raven, Cheap Trick, D.A.D., Porcupine Tree.
Least favorite band / song?
Anything rap, hip-hop, or Disney-slut.
If you could do anything other than what you do now, what would you do?
Own a video store in a small town.
Who would you want to meet that you haven’t met?
You get three choices: Alive. Dead. Fictional.
Hmm... Stephen King, Jesus, and Indiana Jones.
What’s the best and worst job you’ve ever had?
Best – writing.
Worst - construction.
Got any questions for me?
What got you started doing what you do?
I’m going to need a bit of clarification on that question. I do a lot of different stuff.
Your writing, what inspired you in the very beginning? Any particular events or works that you read?
Yes to both.
My early inspiration was reading the horror anthologies put together by Helen Hoke. They were great little chillers targeted for the YA audience, but they were a hard YA. I also loved the Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark books by Alvin Schwartz and illustrated by Stephen Gammell. The stories were fun, but the illustrations haunted my childhood. They made us read Poe in school, but I didn’t mind. I went ahead and read everything he wrote that I could get my hands on. I got into Stephen King and Clive Barker later down the road and Lovecraft a bit later than that as an adult that could appreciate his work. As for writing, I dabbled with awful gothic poetry in the vein of Poe that thankfully doesn’t survive to haunt me. My first book was by invitation. I sent an e-mail to a publisher to ask for a review copy of a book and they said “Sure! By the way… have you ever thought about writing a book yourself?” That first book opened up some anthology appearances for me which helped me to establish my byline. I’ve only been taking my writing career seriously since October of last year. I looked around and realized I had material for around ten books in various forms of draft and screenplay, so I just decided to go balls out or bust in 2014 and publish twelve books in twelve months. If that doesn’t establish my writing career I’m calling shenanigans and burning all of my books. Not really… but I’m really going to want to.
Wow, I’ll be looking forward to a busy year reading some of your stuff!
Hey, get your own stuff written first. My stuff will hold. Books don’t go bad. Unless they start out that way.
Thanks for letting me subject you to being interviewed!
Give me all of your links for things you want to promote. All of them.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelYowell
Twitter: @MichaelYowellA
Website: www.michael-yowell-horror-stories.com
Michael Yowell on Google Plus
About the Interviewee:
Michael Yowell is a horror fiction author from Colorado. He lives with his wife Vanessa and has a daughter Brooke. Michael has loved the horror genre since childhood, whether it be in the form of comics, novels, or movies.
His stories have been published in e-zines and print anthologies (Writing Shift, Sanitarium, and Thirteen). His novels include the haunted house tale "Devilhouse", the werewolf hunter novel "The Dogcatcher", his collection of short horror stories "Fragments And Shards", and his novel "Red Pines" (which is surprisingly not horror but rather an epic Western tale).
In the meantime he is preparing to release "The Dogcatcher II", the exciting sequel to his werewolf hunter masterpiece, and his chilling killer and reporter novel "The Camera Eye". Stay tuned!
About the Interviewer:
Scott Lefebvre can write about whatever you want him to write about.
Mostly because when he was grounded for his outlandish behavior as a hyperactive school child, the only place he was allowed to go was the public library.
His literary tastes were forged by the works of Helen Hoke, Alvin Schwartz and Stephen Gammell, Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, Stephen King, Clive Barker, Edgar Allan Poe, and H. P. Lovecraft.
He is the author of Spooky Creepy Long Island, and a contributing author to Forrest J. Ackerman’s Anthology of the Living Dead, Fracas: A Collection of Short Friction, The Call of Lovecraft, and Cashiers du Cinemart.
He is currently working on ten novel-length book projects which will be released in 2014.
He also publishes themed collections of interviews from his interview blog You Are Entitled To My Opinion.
His reviews have been published by a variety of in print and online media including Scars Magazine, Icons of Fright, Fatally Yours and Screams of Terror, and he has appeared in Fangoria, Rue Morgue and HorrorHound Magazine.
He is the Assistant Program Director for The Arkham Film Society and produces electronic music under the names Master Control and LOVECRAFTWORK.
He is currently working on a novel-length expansion of a short-story titled, "The End Of The World Is Nigh", a crowd-funded, crowd-sourced, post-apocalyptic, zombie epidemic project.
Check out the blog for the book here: theendoftheworldisnighbook.blogspot.com
Check out the Facebook Fan Page for the project here: www.facebook.com/TheEndOfTheWorldIsNighBook
Check his author profile at: www.amazon.com/Scott-Lefebvre/e/B001TQ2W9G
Follow him at GoodReads here:
www.goodreads.com/author/show/1617246.Scott_Lefebvre
Check out his publishing imprint Burnt Offerings Books here:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Burnt-Offerings-Books/1408858196016246
And here: http://burntofferingsbooks.blogspot.com/
Check out his electronic music here: soundcloud.com/master_control
And here: master-control.bandcamp.com
Check out his videos at: www.youtube.com/user/doctornapoleon
Check out his IMDB profile here: www.imdb.com/name/nm3678959
Follow his Twitter here: twitter.com/TheLefebvre or @TheLefebvre
Follow his Tumblr here: thelefebvre.tumblr.com
Check out his Etsy here: www.etsy.com/shop/ScottLefebvreArt
Join the group for The Arkham Film Society here:
www.facebook.com/groups/arkhamscreenings
Stalk his Facebook at: www.facebook.com/TheLefebvre
E-mail him at: Scott_Lefebvre@hotmail.com
Scott Lefebvre can write about whatever you want him to write about.
Mostly because when he was grounded for his outlandish behavior as a hyperactive school child, the only place he was allowed to go was the public library.
His literary tastes were forged by the works of Helen Hoke, Alvin Schwartz and Stephen Gammell, Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, Stephen King, Clive Barker, Edgar Allan Poe, and H. P. Lovecraft.
He is the author of Spooky Creepy Long Island, and a contributing author to Forrest J. Ackerman’s Anthology of the Living Dead, Fracas: A Collection of Short Friction, The Call of Lovecraft, and Cashiers du Cinemart.
He is currently working on ten novel-length book projects which will be released in 2014.
He also publishes themed collections of interviews from his interview blog You Are Entitled To My Opinion.
His reviews have been published by a variety of in print and online media including Scars Magazine, Icons of Fright, Fatally Yours and Screams of Terror, and he has appeared in Fangoria, Rue Morgue and HorrorHound Magazine.
He is the Assistant Program Director for The Arkham Film Society and produces electronic music under the names Master Control and LOVECRAFTWORK.
He is currently working on a novel-length expansion of a short-story titled, "The End Of The World Is Nigh", a crowd-funded, crowd-sourced, post-apocalyptic, zombie epidemic project.
Check out the blog for the book here: theendoftheworldisnighbook.blogspot.com
Check out the Facebook Fan Page for the project here: www.facebook.com/TheEndOfTheWorldIsNighBook
Check his author profile at: www.amazon.com/Scott-Lefebvre/e/B001TQ2W9G
Follow him at GoodReads here:
www.goodreads.com/author/show/1617246.Scott_Lefebvre
Check out his publishing imprint Burnt Offerings Books here:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Burnt-Offerings-Books/1408858196016246
And here: http://burntofferingsbooks.blogspot.com/
Check out his electronic music here: soundcloud.com/master_control
And here: master-control.bandcamp.com
Check out his videos at: www.youtube.com/user/doctornapoleon
Check out his IMDB profile here: www.imdb.com/name/nm3678959
Follow his Twitter here: twitter.com/TheLefebvre or @TheLefebvre
Follow his Tumblr here: thelefebvre.tumblr.com
Check out his Etsy here: www.etsy.com/shop/ScottLefebvreArt
Join the group for The Arkham Film Society here:
www.facebook.com/groups/arkhamscreenings
Stalk his Facebook at: www.facebook.com/TheLefebvre
E-mail him at: Scott_Lefebvre@hotmail.com
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