Check out this author spotlight for epic fantasy and children’s books writer Michael Ross!
You can find all the links for where to find him furthest down the page, and don’t forget to check out his books!
1. Hi! Welcome to my humble blog of all things bookish! I would like for us to start by getting to know you. Give us a short bio, please!
I come from an acting background, but have the mind of a 6-year-old boy, so perfect for writing children’s books and epic fantasy. I am a pantser, bringing in my acting skills which are very good at constructing characters and world building. But my wife was attacked and murdered and I was left to being up our two little boys who were 4 and 6. I went to see a clairvoyant who said I must write..so I wrote my true life story (Just Five More Minutes) which has traveled around the world. 18 books so far and many more in the pipeline, writing is in my blood. Also developed a fitness system called KETTFusion, that has won plenty of awards.
2. To get to know you just a little bit better, I’d like to ask you some this or that questions. Answer 5 of these and explain why you chose this or that, or maybe an entirely different alternative!
Winter, spring, summer or autumn?
Defo Summer. I lived in Africa from the age of 1…so sunshine is in my blood. I am trying to be good in this life, so I don’t come back in the next as an Eskimo! I couldn’t stand all that ice and cold
Cat or dog?
Defo Dog. always had them, but did have had two cats once. They have sharp claws on the front end, and only come to you when they want to.
Witches or wizards?
Both! I love anything that creeps into the fantasy world. I have a fairy witch called Maldranan, but she was a beautiful fairy that was taken over by an evil entity, but we managed to bring her back in the end.
Plotter or pantser?
Pantser. Through and through. Tried the ‘conventional’ way. But my creativeness went AWOL! For my latest series I have a map of a fairy queendom with around 20 images on it.
Each one of those images will be a book, but what will happen in that book, who the characters are, will not happen until I start typing.
Book or ebook?
It has to be a book. I love books. If I had a wife, I would sell her before I would sell my book.
Books are tactile. It takes 2 seconds to pick up a book and adoringly hold it to your heart. And here we come to the crux of it all. We have to nurture books and reading in children. If not, where will our adult book readers be? I have just finished A Box Full of Aliens for middle-graders. All my beta readers are children-why not? It is written for them, they should have a say. I then invited children from the UK, Croatia and Dubai to draw me an alien, name it and tell me what its super powers are, and they have gone in the book.
3. When you look for books to read, what trope or type of story will always catch your attention?
I’m afraid I don’t read for pleasure when I am writing. Sure, I will review books, but generally I am too busy writing my own and also, don’t want any influences of ideas to come into my own imagination.
4. What do you write? Tell us about your current projects and the latest happenings!
Multigenre. Here is a clue: https://www.thewand.me/all-other-books
At the start of Lockdown here in the UK last March, I had started a fantasy series called The Big Fairy Adventures, featuring a slightly overweight fairy, who is brave with a heart of gold called Tinker Tanker, and for children in the area, built a fairy garden in a large grass verge. It grew and grew and children from a large area came to look at it, so I am now putting a little book together called, ‘My Fairy Garden’ and inviting children from the local schools to me to send me drawings of their fairies and putting them in my book which will be free. Irrespective of whether they are poor or rich or have disabilities…makes no difference to me.
5. What is your most recent release? Give us a short presentation, cover, and a link for where to buy it!
It is a two book series for middle-graders called The Moon and the Magic Box and A Box Full of Aliens.
The theme is based on a popular series of books from the 40’s by Enid Blyton called ‘The Famous Five’ I have 4 boys, a girl, and their dog called Nesbit. They are visited by an alien from the moon called Pangy, who when he speaks, sounds a little like Arnold Schwarzenegger!
( Have attached the covers) link: https://amzn.to/37kdjVw
6. What real-life inspiration do you draw from, and what are your primary fictional sources of inspiration (books, authors, films, music, etc.)? Name a few!
Through my acting, I am a method actor, I have the skill to construct a believable character and the world they live in, plus the fact I have the mentality of a 6-year-old. I see snippets in films, or books from the past that all get stored in my mind from Michael Moorcock to Pride and Prejudice.
7. What is your writing routine? If you have one, give us the run-down!
Don’t really have one, but generally, up, coffee, powerwalk then write before, after and later. All my days merge into one, so don’t have a weekend as such. I am never worried about ‘writer’s block’ which would never affect me. I write when the need takes me.
8. If you could go back and give yourself one piece of advice as you started out on the path to become an author, what would it be?
I hate the marketing thing. It can send me to sleep. But I made the huge mistake in putting all my eggs in one basket. ie all books with Amazon. It came to the release of my epic fantasy series The Wand Chronicles. For 17 days no one could find the books, and then for 7 days when they could be found, they all said ‘Unavailable to purchase!’ So I would tell myself to place all my books with everyone ie Kobo, Goodreads, iBooks Draft2Digital etc as well as Amazon.
9. Last but not least: where can we find you? Drop those links!
https://www.facebook.com/Thetalentedauthor
https://twitter.com/wandchronicles
(@wandchronicles)
Pintrest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/thewandchronicles/_created/
https://www.instagram.com/thewandchronicles/?hl=en (thewandchronicles)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-ross-280532166/
Instagram: thewandchronicles
Amazon author page (USA) :
https://www.amazon.com/Michael-Ross/e/B075PGWMSK/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Goodreads author dashboard: https://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard?ref=nav_profile_authordash
Website: www.thewand.me
