Pump Up Your Book Chats with Michael Reilly

Michael Reilly Michael Reilly is a writer and entrepreneur. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Yale University and a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University. His first published novel, Fresh Heir, was released in May 2011. He is also founder and chief executive officer of FitDivs Inc, a company that promotes and rewards healthy living. Michael resides with his wife and four children in Charlottesville, VA.

You can visit his website at www.freshheirnovel.com or connect with him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Fresh-Heir/168240473246308.

Q: Thank you for this interview, Michael.  Can you tell us why you wrote your book, Fresh Heir?

I had written several novels without any success at publication. I tried children’s fiction and historical fiction. I enjoyed writing in those genres but I knew there was some spark that was lacking. It was only after the birth of my fourth child that I became interested in writing about parenting…its struggles and its tendencies in the modern world. I knew there was more than enough non-fiction available on this subject, but very little literary fiction exploring this temptation to veer into obsession over the success of our children in such a competitive culture. While Fresh Heir is fiction, much of the story is based on things I have experienced or witnessed. As all those things fell into place, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

Q: Which part of the book was the hardest to write?

The beginning. Writers all know the vital importance of that first line, first paragraph, first chapter. If you fail to hook the reader in, there’s no point in writing the rest.

Fresh Heir Q: Does your book have an underlying message that readers should know about?

Absolutely. As parents, we’re so quick nowadays to force everything on our children for fear they’ll get passed by and we’ll look like failures. The message is: Always open your mind to the possibility that your children have as much to teach you as you have to teach them. Again, there tons of non-fiction books on parenting, many of which can get dry and academic, using all sorts of stats and boring stuff like that. My hope is to convey my message within the scope of a story that people will enjoy reading even just for the fun of it.

Q: Do you remember when the writing bug hit?

I don’t because it was so long ago. I was the youngest of three children, my two older siblings quite a bit older. So I was pretty much like an only child and there weren’t too many other kids in my neighborhood. So I learned to have a pretty good imagination at a young age, and I often “created” friends to play with. I had never attempted novel writing until my 30s, but I had always been doing some sort of writing along the way…poetry (bad poetry!) and short-stories when I was younger. I was also a professional journalist for a while. And I have always been a prolific journal writer.

Q: Besides books, what else do you write? Do you write for publications?

In addition to my answer above, I guess I have been doing quite a bit of blogging lately. That seems to be the trend for sure. Some of my blogging has to do with my writing career, but it also involves my other career as an entrepreneur.

Q: Do you have a writing tip you’d like to share?

You can’t write if you don’t write. Huh??? What that means is writing takes discipline. I have so many people tell me they want to write but can’t seem to get anywhere. Either they can’t come up with ideas or they can’t find the time. As for the former, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve written a chapter, or several chapters, of a book I thought I wanted to write, only to toss it all away. That’s not a waste of time. It’s called practice, or trial-and-error…trying and trying until something clicks. And as for the time… we can all find it if we look hard enough. I always start by suggesting to people that they list five ways they might be wasting time. Eliminate those, and you’ve found some time to write! Come up with a schedule… write at a certain time for a few hours every day and stick to it…don’t deviate…make it a habit.

Q:  Would you like to tell us about your home life?  Where you live?  Family?  Pets?

My wife Lara and I have been married for 16 years. We have four children, two boys and two girls, ages 5-13. We live in Charlottesville, Virginia. Charlottesville is a wonderful place to raise a family. As a history nut, I love its culture and its rich past. The countryside is beautiful beyond compare and there is so much to do, fostered by the presence of the University of Virginia. We don’t have any “traditional” pets, as I’m very allergic to dogs and cats. But we do have two turtles.

Q:  Can you tell us a little about your childhood?

I grew up on Long Island in a pretty traditional Catholic family. My childhood was very comfortable by most people’s standards, but certainly not privileged. Nothing too juicy, nothing outlandish either. At certain times in my life I found it easy to pick apart my childhood. But not any more. I’m content with it.

Q: Where’s your favorite place to write at home?

I have a home office with a desktop computer. That’s where I do all my work. I like to work in the morning, before the kids are up and things get frenetic. But I’ve learned to work under any conditions…out of necessity.

Q: What do you do to get away from it all?

I love to go off into the woods. Charlottesville has some great hiking trails. I just love the woods, particularly in the fall and winter. I’m a cold weather person.

Q: What was the first thing you did as far as promoting your book?

I reached out to all my family and friends and asked them to pass the word on as much as possible. That’s so easy to do nowadays with electronic communications. Word spreads like wildfire.

Q: Are you familiar with the social networks and do you actively participate?

Absolutely, I am very familiar with them. I have a Facebook page and am on LinkedIn. I do actively participate, but I would say I do so on-average. I am not as aggressive as some people who seem to enjoy posting ever time a thought crosses their mind, which I guess in essence is what drives Twitter… and is why I don’t Tweet. I’d say it’s both of function of time (lack of it) and modesty (I often just prefer to keep to myself).

Q: How do you think book promotion has changed over the years?

Oh, without a doubt, the availability of the Internet, social networking, digital books, etc. It’s all made promotion so much faster and easier…and much more competitive.

Q: What is the most frustrating part of being an author?

It used to be the frustration with not being able to get a book into print. You write, and write, and write, and get rejected, rejected, rejected. But now with the advancements in self-publishing that is no longer the case, so I can’t really see any frustrations.

Q: What is the most rewarding?

Seeing your name on the cover of the book you worked so hard to complete.

Q: How do you think book publishing has changed over the years?

As previously stated, the advancement and accessibility of self-publishing allows people who maybe can’t get attention from the insular world of publishing to get their work out there into the hands of the readers.

Q: If you had one wish, what would that be?

That I may live a long life together with my family.

Q: If you could be anywhere in the world other than where you are right now, where would that place be?

I always try to be wherever I am right now.  With that said, I’m a mountain person. Put me in the mountains and I’m cool.

Q: Your book has just been awarded a Pulitzer.  Who would you thank?

God. He’s responsible for bestowing me with all the gifts I have…the wonderful people in my life and the opportunities I have to succeed.

Q: Thank you so much for this interview, T.M.  Do you have any final words?

I appreciate the opportunity to share a bit about myself and am grateful to anyone who takes the time to read my book.