Michael J Sullivan

As part of our SFFWorld.com’s Member Spotlight Series, Nila interviews Michael J Sullivan, epic fantasy writer (and all-round awesome guy).

Hello Michael, thank you for taking time from your busy schedule to chat with me. I promise I’ll make this quick.

Michael: Well, thanks for having me. I am extremely busy these days. I just finished the last book of my new series, The First Empire, and I’m doing a final pass on changes to the first book right now. I plan to have the “officially submitted” version to my editor at Del Rey by the end of the week. That’ll put that new series behind me for a while (while I wait for changes from my publisher). With that done, I’m going to dig into the next Royce and Hadrian novel which I must get out by year’s end. So, yeah, as you said I’m busy. Still, I love living at a time when readers and writers can connect, so I’m always happy for these opportunities to interact “virtually” with people.

SFFWorld: What’s your SFFWorld.com’s forum alias and why did you pick it?

Michael: sullivan_riyria is my forum alias. The name Michael Sullivan is very common, even when adding the middle initial J, it’s still not unique enough. If I recall correctly, I tried both of those and they were taken, which is usually the case. Since the name of my debut series (Riyria) is something I made up, I thought the likelihood of someone using those particular six letters would be slim. I typed it in and voila the name was mine.

SFFWorld: How did you discover SFFWorld.com and why did you decide to join?

Michael/sullivan_riyria: In the early days of my writing, I had a “google alert” which would email me whenever my name, The Riyria Revelations, or The Crown Conspiracy was mentioned. I saw that someone on SFFWorld had made a post about how much they had enjoyed my books. Following that bread crumb, I came across an entire community enthusiastically chatting about speculative fiction books, and I was hooked.

SFFWorld: How long have you been a member and what keeps you coming back?

Michael/sullivan_riyria: I became a member in December 2009, so over five years now. What keeps me coming back are the discussions. They act as a barometer about the fantasy reading community and what is interesting to them. I also like helping authors by answering questions, particularly about publishing which can be such a hard sea to navigate these days given all the changes. I think I’m one of the few people who have successfully published in all three routes (self, small press, and big-five). While there are a lot of partisan talk about which path is the “right one,” I see pros and cons in each. Because of that, I think I can offer a more “fair and balanced” perspective.

SFFWorld: What’s your favorite book?

Michael/sullivan_riyria: I’m not sure it is possible for me to pick just one book.  Most of my “favorites” share commonalities with the novels I write, which probably isn’t much of a surprise. Generally, I like books with characters I would want to have as friends, who live in places I would like to visit, but there are a lot of books that fit that category. So, what elevates a story to my “favorite list” has to do with the emotional connection made with the book because of what was going on at the time I read it.

For instance, the first book that resonated with me in this way was Lord of the Rings. After finishing it, I wanted to write my own stories, being all of fifteen they weren’t very good. Still, I enjoyed my time, and so I kept at it. I used to type up my “novels” and make covers out of construction paper and bind the whole thing with yarn. I still have a few of those early copies. Because J.R.R. Tolkien got me writing in the first place, his books are on the list.

When I turned eighteen (and started to get “serious” about writing), I really enjoyed the works of Stephen King, John Updike, Steinbeck, and Hemingway. I would read their books and try to reverse engineer them…seeing what they did and why. So these books are special because they taught me how to write.

The problem was I had spent more than a decade creating thirteen novels, none of which found any publishing traction. After so much frustration, writing became a drudgery rather than a joy, so I quit. I would have stayed away if it hadn’t been for a book that renewed my desire to put pen to paper again. The book was the first of Rowling’s Harry Potter series. I bought it for my dyslexic daughter, and upon reading it myself I remembered how much fun a good fantasy adventure with great characters could be. Because it returned my feet on the writing path, her books have a special place in my heart.

So, that’s a long story to say my “list of favorites” include Tolkien, King, and Rowlings because without their books I wouldn’t be doing what I do now, which I consider to be the best “job” in the world.

SFFWorld: Who’s your favorite author?

Michael/sullivan_riyria: I think pound for pound, you can’t beat Stephen King.  Yes, he has some clunkers, but I’m almost always pleased after finishing one of his books. Given the proficiency of his writing, there are plenty of amazing stories to offset any misses. The Stand is in my top five favorites of all time, but there are many of his books in my top twenty and top fifty. Given that, he comes up the clear winner. What I like most about him is the amazing job he does with his characters. He really knows how to get inside their heads and countless numbers of them have stayed with me decades after reading. That’s a pretty tough thing to do. Besides that, he’s the master of the “what if” scenario. Reading his books has taught me how to keep the focus on the characters and move the plot through their eyes. I find his work so inspirational that I almost always have a King book that I’m reading very, very slowly (a few pages each day). I read him each morning as a way of “priming the pump” and getting me in the right frame of mind for writing.

SFFWorld: What’s your favorite genre (science fiction, fantasy, horror, steampunk, etc.)?

Michael/sullivan_riyria: I just like a good story. It doesn’t matter to me what “box” it fits into. What I’m looking for is to be entertained, and I’ve found great books in all of the categories you mentioned—and more! Because I write books that I want to read, I think you can expect me to expand my writing to other genres. I’ve already made a baby step in that direction with the release of Hollow World, which is a classic time-travel science fiction tale. I have the start of a horror story running around in my head, and I’m hoping to get to it soon. In some respects, my new Del Rey contract will help with that as they want me to “stay away” from Elan-based fantasy, but they don’t restrict me from writing in other genres. As I said, I’m interested in a good story and I think that can be found in all genres.

SFFWorld: Where’s your favorite place to read?

Michael/sullivan_riyria: Like picking a favorite book, I can’t pick out just one place. It depends on the season and time of day that I’m doing the reading. When I first get up, I make a pot of coffee, have some oatmeal, and read the paper. This is done at the kitchen table.  In the afternoons, I read sitting in the same chair I write from. It’s in my office and I lean back and put my feet up on the bed post while I read. I almost always do a bit of reading before turning in for the night. That is done in bed using one of those big “reading pillows” with arms to either side. Those are darn hard to find these days. When it’s warm out, my wife and I take long bike rides and we always bring a book. Usually, we’ll stop along a trail and sit under a tree and read a chapter or two before moving on. Lastly, I should mention that I’m a huge audio book fan, and there just isn’t anything better on a long drive then listening to a good narration. Sometimes I plan trips just so we can ride along and hear a story played out as the miles roll by.  So as you can see, I read in a lot of places, and find each one enjoyable but for different reasons.

SFFWorld: Favorite con (convention)?

Michael/sullivan_riyria: Wow, that’s a hard question because there are so many good ones. I tend to like the smaller, more intimate, cons rather than say the huge ComicCons or DragonCon. Those can be very overwhelming. Of the more regional cons, I’d probably say ConFusion, which is held in Dearborn, Michigan in early January. A lot of the writers  I “hang with” come to that one, and it’s a chance to not only see readers, but to catch up with other authors. It’s also the convention where Peter V. Brett runs his D&D games and I was fortunate enough to sit in on that one year…tons of fun to be sure. It also helps that it’s in my old “stomping grounds.” I lived in and around Detroit from birth until my early twenties. It was not long after my first daughter was born that the three of us moved to the wilds of Vermont to get away from “the big city.” My mother, brother, sister, and sister-in-law still live there as do a lot of my friends. I’m still in touch with a lot of people from high school, so it gives me a chance to stop in and see the old gang.  Plus, it’s a nice distance to drive…not too far, not too close, so we can usually listen to a full audio book during our drive out and back. Didn’t I mention how much fun a good audio book is when traveling?

SFFWorld: What do you do when you are not reading or messing around on SFFWorld.com?

Michael/sullivan_riyria: Again, it depends on the season. Fall and winter are my big “production months” as I cocoon when the weather is cold. During this time, I concentrate on writing and plotting and don’t get out much. The one exception in that season is my Wednesday night out. I usually work on some plot points for the next week’s work while walking to the metro (which is about a mile from my house).  I go to a coffee shop and write down those ideas and later go to a pub for a Guinness and a burger. Friends of mine know I’m always there on Wednesdays so someone usually shows up. Sometimes I go to my “writer’s group” that meets on that night. If they are doing something I’m not particularly interested in, I’ll stay at the pub and partake of trivia night.

During the warmer months, I do a lot of bike riding, and a bit of painting. I try to do one picture a year, which generally features some Washington D.C. activity. Past paintings have depicted biking along the canal trail, kite flying on the National Mall, or exploring the cracks and crevices of the “Big Falls” on the Potomac. So the summer months are generally for “play” while the winter months are focused on writing. This year will be an exception and I’ll be a bit like Jack Torrance. I just hope that losing my summer won’t make me a “dull boy.”

SFFWorld: Thanks for taking the time to talk to me, Michael. Anything else you’d like to add?

Michael/sullivan_riyria: Thanks for having me. I probably should take this opportunity to talk about what’s coming from me in the near future. As I mentioned, I just finished The First Empire, which will start releasing in the summer of 2016 from Random House’s Del Rey imprint. There are some nuances of that contract that make it really important for me to finish and release the third Riyria Chronicle before year’s end. Because I don’t plan on having it finished until August, the only way to release it on time is through self-publishing.

My wife is planning a Kickstarter for that book to raise the $28,000 for a print run so this book can join its siblings in bookstores and libraries. We can (and will) handle the costs for cover design and editing, but if the Kickstarter is successful, readers will be able to get hardcovers in addition to the trade paperback and ebooks. I think it will be a lot of fun and we’ll have some cool perks such as T-shirts, coffee mugs, and posters in addition to the book itself. For any writers reading this, I’m going to also have a contest where someone’s short story will be included in my book. The hope is to give exposure to some talented author that they may not be able to get on their own. Plus, I’m going to pay twice the “pro-rate,” so they’ll have some cash as well.

Of course, people can check out the nine books I already have published in the meantime. Since the release of The Riyria Chronicles, there has been some confusion about where to start with “Riyria.” My personal preference is to begin with Theft of Swords.  For those that REALLY like to read chronologically, then starting with The Crown Tower would be the better choice. If fantasy isn’t your thing, then you might be interested in Hollow World. Most reviewers have compared it to “classic” science fiction such as Heinlein, Asimov, and Wells, which is some pretty amazing company to keep.

Lastly, for those who have questions, you can write me anytime at michael(dot)sullivan(dot)dc(at)gmail(dot)com. Generally, I’m helping people with writing or publishing tasks, but I love hearing how people feel about my books as well. Thanks again and keep the interviews coming – I really enjoy reading them!

© 2015 N. E. White / Michael J Sullivan / SFFWorld.com

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