Author Interview Series-M.J. Preston

M.J. Preston’s debut novel: THE EQUINOX, published in 2012, was a quarterfinalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Awards and rated a solid straight horror novel by a reviewer at Publisher’s Weekly.

His second novel: ACADIA EVENT, published in 2015, was inspired by his time running the world longest ice road, as an ice road trucker, in the Canada’s Northwest Territories. It is set to be re-released with his publisher, WildBlue Press.

His third novel: HIGHWAYMAN, a thriller, was published July 02, 2019 with WildBlue Press. He has also published scores of short stories in anthologies around the world. In addition to writing, MJ is an artist and an amateur photographer.

The sequel to Highwayman, titled: FOUR, is now available with WildBlue Press wherever books are available.

He resides in Alberta, Canada with his wife, Stormy and beagles, Jake and Milo.

He is now hard at work on a new novel.

Marina Raydun: How do you, personally, define speculative fiction?

M.J. Preston: Personally? Well, let me be the first to admit that I’m the least qualified. Am I the only lout available to define it right now? Here goes. My definition would be that speculative fiction is bending reality as we know it. Throwing our perceptions of existence into the ether only to see what happens. The challenge lies in convincing a reader to join you in that world.

MR: What made you pick up a pen (figuratively speaking) and write in the first place?

MJP: It started in school. I was a constant daydreamer who majored in art, stank at math, got by on social studies but loved the English language and the art of storytelling. In some cases, a story amounts to poetry, happily whisking you along nary a care in the world, and then there are the dark words, pushing you to open that door, look under that bed. To stay rather than flee. This (writing) is what I was intended to do, success or fail. It has been my life plan since birth. Writing chose me. I’m glad it did. I love telling stories and I love hearing them.

MR: If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

MJP: Keep writing, man, your day is coming. People are going to dig what you’re doing and that’s the greatest payment for any art form. So, keep writing and I’ll be here when you get here. It’ll be freaky. Oh, one more thing, the Power Ball numbers are…

MR: What is your favorite underappreciated novel?

MJP: I would have to say, Robert R. McCammon’s THEY THIRST. It was written in the 1970’s when the genre was sort of cool and less romantic. Los Angeles is overrun with vampires amid a supernaturally induced sandstorm. It isn’t a work of fiction that resonates with everyone, but I thought it was a great novel. I liked it more than Salem’s Lot. McCammon is such a fantastic storyteller; his characters are strange and often hard edged, but always intriguing.

MR: What do you owe real life people upon whom you base your characters?

MJP: Those that know? My debt was paid in full when I developed them honestly and without malice. Those that don’t? I’ll never tell. I am a keeper of souls.

MR: What does literary success look like to you?

MJP: Literary success? I think I’m there. I’m not hailing from separate estates on beachfront property, or hanging out with celebs, but I have a growing readership. If they keep reading, I get to keep writing. How cool is that?

MR: What’s the best and worst book review you’ve ever received?

MJP: Here is a One Star Review for Highwayman from Amazon that sticks with me:

NOT FOR ME!

While this book caught my attention from the synopsis, I immediately found it to be too gory and dark for my personal taste. Certain parts of the book were too much for me to handle and I could not move past them. The genre is horror and fans of horror will probably enjoy this book as it is well written and fast paced. It is book one in the series and is sure to keep readers on the edge of their seat.

Is this the best or worst review I’ve ever gotten?

The jury is still out.

MR: What are you currently reading?

MJP: I just finished, MY BFF SATAN by Kyle Rader, and yes, the book is as funny as the title. I’m now in between books, but there’s a pile waiting, and I’ll get down to it. Likely this afternoon. Check with me later.

MR: If you could have drinks with any person, living or dead, who would it be?

MJP: This might sound like a cliché, but I would love to sit down and drink the night away with Jim Morrison, although I doubt I could keep up. Some might ask why not Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen King, or John Sandford? Here’s my answer. I have always had a fascination with the songwriter and poet because they are master storytellers who grab our hearts in a few short minutes and manage to fulfill us. And even after we know the story, we keep going back for more. “Let it roll baby roll!”

Yeah, Jim Morrison.

MR: What book do you wish you had written?

MJP: SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE by Kurt Vonnegut.

It is a brilliantly crafted novel that is farcical, and yet shows humanity for all its faults. Following the life of Billy Pilgrim who finds himself a prisoner of war in Dresden, to time shifts between the war, his life as husband and father in present day, and eventual time travels to and from the planet Tralfamadore and his assassination. Vonnegut was a brilliant writer.