Author Interview Michael Ross: Twenty-Four Short Stories

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Michael Ross will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Author Interview: Michael Ross

1. How did you choose your genre? What made you write this book?  I love the endless possibilities of short stories, particularly the unsaid behind the text. There are 2/3 stories in this collection that people are asking what was that about? Was he this or she that? My tag line is “Words, once written, have a life of their own.” Every now and then I like making the reader work for their living.

2. Writers write what they know, and must observe the world. Are you a firstborn, middle or last child and how does this shape your view of the world? First born with three sisters, so I have always been a leader, protective, and very open to any pro-feminist viewpoint.

3. Where is your favorite place to write?  At home, on the top floor in my den.

4. How do you feel about killing your darlings, and what do you do with the remains? I usually chop them up and feed them to my pigs; a day or so and no traces left!

5. You are introduced to your favorite author. Who is it, and what is that one burning question you must ask them? Virginia Woolf. I would love to discuss with her the ‘unsaid’ the greatest writer for burying stuff underneath the text.

6. Inquiring minds want to know…tell readers something about you that no one knows.  The answer to Q 5 even surprised me; I think most people would have expected Harlan Coben or David Mitchell.

7. You are stranded on a deserted island with only a backpack for company. What three items are in your survival pack? A fully loaded iPod with every episode ever of Desert Island Discs, a good pillow, and the biggest book possible on how to survive on a desert island.

8. If you could have one superpower in your existence, what would it be? Empathy; the best superpower of all.

9. Favorite snack? Aldi’s vegetable crisps.

10. Indy 500 – Do you know how to get where you’re going or do you drive the speed limit? My father was an international speedboat racing driver, not in his class but faster than I should.

Thanks for that. I found that far more interesting to complete than I imagined.

Best wishes   Mike

Twenty-Four Short Stories

by Michael Ross

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GENRE:   Anthology

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BLURB:

Why can time consumed reliving memories provide enough motivation to carry on? Why keep a diary if you don’t want people to read it? Why let prejudice cloud your judgment? Why do the most simple smells bring memories back to life? Why is it possible to believe the impossible? What does it feel like to take another person’s life? Will the good deeds we do come back to us in different forms?
These are some of the questions posed in this imaginative collection of short stories involving, amongst others; a private detective with superpowers, a loveable car salesman, a dour public health inspector, a vicar’s daughter with a dark secret, a sculptor with a destructive obsession, a young man with a passion for language, a reluctant public executioner, two sisters whose petty disputes hide something deeper, a job hunter with an unusual skill.
There are so many diverse characters and in this intriguing and imaginative collection of stories, everyone has a tale to tell.
A collection of stories that will surely leave its mark on the reader.

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Excerpt:

From my window, I spot my fellow students grouped in excited conversation, circling around, probing each other with thoughts and words, questions and answers. After two years, we know each other well. I know they all wish they could play the violin as well as me, and in my turn, I wish I could be as happy as them. I wind down by running through scales for twenty minutes, and then I hear the old grandfather clock in the hall strike eleven—my other life beckons.

In Chinatown, it is easy to find a restaurant where you can spend £100 a head on a meal. At my parent’s place, six people can eat like kings for less money.

The walk from the rehearsal rooms takes the best part of an hour. I cast aside my musical mantle as I walk, so that by the time I reach Uncle Wong’s, I am prepared for my twice-weekly four-hour shift. This is the only payment my father and mother have ever asked of me. It is nothing.

Two years ago, my parents ushered me into the tiny lounge area above their restaurant, and wordlessly, my mother passed me my gift. My eyes moved to my father and then back to my mother. I could not speak. It was beautiful. Feeling its dark ebony grain, I turned it tentatively through my fingers, tilting, and twisting—gazing, unsure of my breath.

“Baba. Mamma. It’s beautiful, but you cannot afford it.”

“Shush, my son.” The look on my mother’s face said that my joy was all they required.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Born and raised in Bristol, England. I spent my adult life in business, the majority of that time marketing cars. I eventually owned the largest Saab specialist in the world, before a divorce put an end to that part of my life.

This led me to leave Bristol to live halfway up a mountain in the Welsh Valleys; start a part-time six year English Literature course at Bristol University, and attend creative writing classes in Cardiff. My interest in English literature flourished and I have since won several prizes for my short stories. My first book, ‘Twenty Short Stories – Settling a score,” reached No 1 in the Short Stories Best Sellers and is still available, as is “Twenty-One (more) Short Stories,” and “Another Twenty-Two Short Stories.”

Also available are the first 5***** crime thrillers in the Tanner and Pin-up series:

Hand over Fist

Hand in Glove

Plus a 5***** light hearted rom-com “Chasing What’s Already Gone.”

I still live very happily halfway up that mountain in the Welsh Valleys with my wonderful partner, Mari, and our two rescue dogs, Wavy and Wenna.

Website       http://michaelrosswriter.net/

Facebook    www.facebook.com/michaelross.writer

Twitter         https://twitter.com/mikerosswriter

Email          mikerosswriter@outlook.com

The book will be free.

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In The Key Of Love

I should have known I would end up here... Give me a good book and I'm in heaven. Especially romance, mystery, mayhem, the fantastic and the fey. Give me a laptop and I'm writing any one of these, and not in any particular order.

7 thoughts on “Author Interview Michael Ross: Twenty-Four Short Stories”

  1. I don’t read a lot of short stories. The cover is fabulous.

  2. Hi Thanks for hosting today. Just a note to say the book will be FREE for 5 days from Wednesday.
    Very best wishes
    Michael

  3. It’s a pleasure to have you here Michael! Congrats on this exciting release!

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