Discover
a new voice in the realms of thrillers and suspense on the Tybee Island H-Bomb
Blog Tour featuring Michael Houtchen! Suspense, thrills, mystery great
characters, and even some humor awaits you!
In
addition to being Michael’s debut novel, Tybee Island H-Bomb is the first of an
exciting new series of thrillers! Please welcome Michael Houtchen to my blog.
Call me Michael Houtchen. Okay, that sentence is not original. I stole it from the first sentence of Herman
Melville’s novel Moby Dick. The original sentence: Call me Ishmael.
I self-published my first novel
in 2012. So, I haven’t been writing very
long. If you’re interested in my work,
go out to Amazon.com and search for
my name. My latest novel is Tybee Island H-Bomb. It’s a thriller that takes place on Tybee
Island, Georgia. Here’s the promo for
the book.
The government lost a hydrogen bomb around Tybee Island, Georgia, in
1958, or is that an old wives' tale? If
a tale, why then are three young men trying to find it in hopes of selling it
to make a dirty bomb? Before the week is
out, six friends from Kentucky will get caught up in kidnapping, murder, and
treason, while trying to save one of their own, and perhaps the citizens of
Tybee Island and Savannah, Georgia.
Here’s a fun fact for you. The government did indeed lose a hydrogen
bomb on February 5, 1958, near Tybee Island, Georgia, and it’s never been
found.
Have you incorporated actual events from your own life into your books?
When I can, and if it adds to the
story. In the novel, the six friends
from Kentucky are Stephanie and me, along with four other friends. We’ve been to Tybee seven or eight times, and
plan on going back this coming year. The
restaurants in the story are the places we love to eat. The “fake” shark attack, in the book,
actually happened. I was the man in the
water.
How much research do you do? Do
you research first and then write, or do you write first, then research as
needed?
I normally come up with an idea
and then do the research. From there, I
write. I get a lot of ideas for story
lines from watching documentaries on channels like The History Channel. I then
do the research. I have dozens of files
of research waiting for stories.
Are you a plotter or a pantser?
What is your writing schedule like?
I’m a plantsers, which is a
little of both. Sometimes I plan out a
storyline, or other times, I just start typing.
And yes, I’ve typed myself into corners.
Being retired, I don’t have to set a certain time to write.
Laptop or pen/pencil and paper? What are your ‘must-haves’ when
writing?
Laptop. You can’t cut and paste on paper. You can’t move entire paragraphs or chapters
easily on paper. A must-have: a clear
knowledge of where I’m going in the story.
I don’t want to get to a point in the story and wonder how I got there
and where I’m going now.
If you could go back and tell yourself anything when you first began
your writing career, what would you say?
Take yourself serious as a
writer. Just because you’ve never
written before doesn’t mean you’re not a writer. If you put it on paper, then you are a
writer. You may not be a good writer,
but you are a writer.
Who are your favorite authors?
Lee Child
Douglas Preston and Lincoln
Child
James Rollins
Dean Koontz
What would your readers be surprised to learn about you?
I am an ordained minister in the
Catholic Church. I am a Permanent
Deacon.
What genre of books do you like to read? What are you reading now?
I like all kinds. I’m currently reading an old novel by Dean
Koontz, One Door Away From Heaven.
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
Spelling. I’m the worst, and I don’t trust
spellcheck. If not for my wife and Alexa
I would be lost.
What else are you working on right now?
I’m about 20,000 words into a
manuscript with the working title of I
wish I Could Cry.
Here’s the plot:
People diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are born without
emotions and feelings. They’re a bit
like Spock from Star Trek ̶ analytical and logical. They care for no one. People with ASD make the best assassins.
Carolyn Johnston, the ten year old daughter of the recently deceased
prostitute Freda Johnston, finds herself a captive of the men who killed her
mother. As fate would have it, her life
now depends on an assassin with ASD.
Thank you for taking the time to
answer a few of my questions. To learn more about Michael Houtchen, visit his
Facebook page and the book links below.
Author Link:
Links for Tybee
Island H-Bomb:
Kindle Version:
Amazon Print Version:
Barnes and Noble
Link:
Tour Page URL:
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