AUTHOR INTERVIEW: 'Monsterland' Michael Okon @IAmMichaelOkon #monsterland
Michael Okon is an award-winning and best-selling author of
multiple genres including paranormal, thriller, horror, action/adventure and
self-help. He graduated from Long Island
University with a degree in
English, and then later received his MBA in business and finance. Coming from a
family of writers, he has storytelling is his DNA. Michael has been writing
from as far back as he can remember, his inspiration being his love for films
and their impact on his life. From the time he saw The Goonies, he was hooked
on the idea of entertaining people through unforgettable characters.
Michael is a lifelong movie buff, a music playlist
aficionado, and a sucker for self-help books. He lives on the North Shore of
Long Island with his wife and children.
His latest book is Monsterland.
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Q: Welcome to The Writer's
Life! Now that your book has been
published, we’d love to find out more about the process. Can we begin by having you take us at the
beginning? When did you come up with the
idea to write your book?
Thank you for having me! I’ve
been writing as far back as I could remember, specifically screenplays. After I
learned about self-publishing, I began turning my scripts in novels under a pen
name. Specifically my book Monsterland,
I was watching an 80s & 90s movie marathon with my 8 year old son – The
Goonies, Gremlins, Back to the Future, Jurassic
Park, etc… I wrote the ghost novels,
I wrote the witches novels, but I wanted to write a monster novel. After
watching all these films, it literally popped into my head – why isn’t there a
theme park with zombies. I called my brother and told him about my idea and he
flat out said no. It has to be a theme park with werewolves, vampires AND
zombies. I started beating out the story that night. Two months later, I had a
self-published best-seller. Two years later, I have a two-book publishing deal
with a commercial publisher. It’s been quite a ride.
Q: How hard was it to write a
book like this and do you have any tips that you could pass on which would make
the journey easier for other writers?
Writing, to me, has never really
been hard. I always loved to tell stories so it was a natural fit to be a
full-time writer. My book is about a monster theme park, so I had a blast
coming up with this particular universe. That is probably the most important
thing to make any writer’s job easier. A writer is a universe creator. You are
asking the reader to take time out of their day and join you in this world you
created. You have to make it fun, interesting, deep, and emotional. I have
always created each universe for the book in a beat sheet, before I would write
Chapter 1. I highly recommend setting up your characters, your acts, the
structure, the background, basically outline your book before you start. You
need a roadmap to get from Point A to Point B. Don’t walk into writing blindly.
Q: Who is your publisher and how
did you find them or did you self-publish?
It’s a pretty incredible story
that I have a hard time believing. I wrote Monsterland
and self-published it in 2015. My mom is my publicity manager and she
blitzed the bloggers with my book. That fall I was reading a book called Selling a Screenplay by Syd Field. In
the book, there was an entertainment attorney named Susan Grode who seemed very
knowledgeable about the publishing and film industry. I told myself, when I
receive my first contract, I’m going to reach out to her to see if she could
help me. About two months later, I received a post on Facebook from an agent in
London who asked to represent me. I
said sure and asked him to send me a contract. I emailed Susan and introduced
myself and mentioned that I had someone who wanted to rep me and I was hoping
she could read this contract. She told me before I sign with this London
agent, why don’t I meet her friend in Brooklyn, an agent
named Nick Mullendore with Vertical Ink Literary Agency. I met Nick for lunch
and he signed me that day as his client. That evening, Susan brought me on as
her client as well. Nick began trying to sell my book Monsterland to the big
publishers and, as expected, it was rejected. Throughout his attempts of
selling, he had a call with a film agent and he was pitching her a romance
novel. She said she wasn’t really into romance and was looking for something
with monsters. He sent her my book Monsterland, she read it over a weekend, and
we had a call that Monday. She told Nick and me if we get the book published,
she will get it into a producer’s hands to make into a film. Nick found a
publisher called WordFire Press owned by Kevin J. Anderson, who has written all
the Star Wars and Dune canon books. WordFire signed me to a two-book deal for Monsterland 1 & 2. After the deal
was signed, my film agent did what she promised and got my book into the hands
of a billion-dollar grossing producer who is now shopping my book to certain
studios. In two years, I went from a
self-published author, to a published author with a literary agent, an
entertainment attorney, a film agent, a two-book publishing deal, a publicist,
and a producer who is interested in turning my book to a film. It’s been one
wild ride, to say the least.
Q: Is there anything that
surprised you about getting your first book published?
Working with a true publisher is
one of the greatest things in the world. I have aligned myself with a wonderful
team who really want to see Monsterland
take off. It’s easier when you are surrounded with a lot of people helping you
with your career, than doing everything yourself with being self-published.
Q: What’s one fact about your
book that would surprise people?
It took me a little over three
weeks to write it.
Q: Finally, what message are you
trying to get across with your book?
I took a completely different
approach with the ideas of monsters. I’m familiar with the tropes that monsters
are scary beings who terrorize humans. But what would happen if the monsters
didn’t bother anyone and were forced to be on display for human consumption? Monsterland has a real moral message and
discusses social issues that are currently plaguing our time. What makes a
monster, a monster? What makes a human, a human? Those questions will be
answered in the book.
Q: Thank you again for this
interview! Do you have any final words?
I appreciate this
opportunity! It’s been an exciting ride.
I’ve accomplished so much in two years, I cannot imagine what the next two
years are going to be like.
About the Book:
The last couple years of high school have not been fun for
Wyatt Baldwin. His parents divorce, then his dad mysteriously dies. He’s not
exactly comfortable with his new stepfather, Carter White, either. An on-going
debate with his best friends Howard Drucker and Melvin over which monster is
superior has gotten stale. He’d much rather spend his days with beautiful and
popular Jade. However, she’s dating the brash high-school quarterback Nolan,
and Wyatt thinks he doesn’t stand a chance.
But everything changes when Wyatt and his friends are
invited to attend the grand opening of Monsterland, a groundbreaking theme park
where guests can rock out with vampires at Vampire
Village, be chased by actual
werewolves on the Werewolf River Run, and walk among the dead in Zombieville.
With real werewolves, vampires and zombies as the main
attractions, what could possibly go wrong?
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