📚 A Bookish Chat with 'Triangle of Hope' Michael Meyer | Author Interview #AuthorInterview #BlogTour #Interview
Michael Meyer is the author of mysteries, thrillers, humorous fiction, and non-fiction: Love and romance, laughter and tears, thrills and fears.
He has resided in and has visited many places in the world, all of which have contributed in some way to his own published writing. He has literally traveled throughout the world, on numerous occasions. He has lived in Finland, Germany, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. He gained the wanderlust to see the world, to experience other cultures, at an early age, and this desire has never left him. If anything, it has only gained in intensity as he has aged.
Among the many unique things that have happened to him in his world travels, he has walked the streets of Istanbul with a detective, searching for a pickpocket who got him good. He has ridden on the back of a motorcycle in Tehran while the driver, who spoke not one word of English, pointed out all the sights to him. He has wrestled an Iranian soldier who tried to break into his hotel room in Tehran. He has had the paint completely stripped from his car as he drove across Saudi Arabia in a sandstorm. He has stood on the stage of a busy nightclub in Tokyo, singing “She’ll be Coming Round the Mountain When She Comes” to an audience feeling no pain from the Sake they were drinking. He has been chased by a family of mongooses (yes, that is the correct spelling) on the idyllic Caribbean island of St. Croix. And that is just the beginning of his long list of worldly adventures.
As a recent retiree from a forty-year career as a professor of writing, he now lives in Southern California wine country with his wife, Kitty, and their two adorable rescue cats.
His latest book is the contemporary fiction, Triangle of Hope.
Visit him on Facebook.
TWL: Welcome to The Writer's Life! How did you come up with the idea to write your book?
Michael Meyer: After my wife died of leukemia, I was close to a basket case. I blamed myself for her untimely death, much as Clint Westerly does in my book, although both of us are totally blameless for the terrible disease that took our spouses. Since I simply could not get my head around this unwarranted rumination, one day I just began putting some thoughts onto paper, and, as the cliché goes, Triangle of Hope just evolved from that point. I was a university writing professor for over forty years, teaching at universities in Asia, the Caribbean, Saudi Arabia, and here in the United States, so writing has always played an enormous part of my life. I lived my book as I wrote it, captivated by the downs and then the ups of the characters. I am delighted to say that I was able to come up with an ending that I only wish could jump off the page to become reality for the world in which we find ourselves today.
Since I am a diehard international traveler, I was able to incorporate a wide variety of experiences I have had while traveling as well as giving written birth to a couple of my own long held, dreamlike fantasies, such as taking out all of my retirement funds and traveling the world in luxury for as long as my money lasts.
TWL: Can you give us a short excerpt?
Michael: His impending death hung in the air like thick smog, smothering everything in its path, obscuring a parade of ups and downs, the unevenness of thrills and chills that defined his life’s existence. It was eerie and scary, but also rather comforting, much like being in a warm bed on a cold night, like shivering while being filled with excitement at what was going to happen next. The news could very easily have been broadcast to those of his past and present, but he had made certain that all the speakers had been turned to mute. He had made the firm decision to meet his destiny without any chance of intervention by anyone. He was all alone in this, his final act.
The hotel room was a bit dark with all the lights switched off. He took a big swig from the large snifter of XO Remy Martin he held in his right hand, the cognac warming his throat as it snaked its way into his stomach, his left hand resting on the windowsill. There was so much beauty in the world, so why did it have to end this way? He had had it all, the most wonderful wife in the world, a job he loved, the house of their dreams, and the financial know-how that had provided them the opportunity to partake in the pleasures that good food, drink, and leisure activities of their own choosing afforded the most fortunate, which, of course they had been. Laughter had reigned in their little world. It had been dancing, prancing, and singing all the way, not caring who was looking or who saw. It just did not matter. All that mattered was that they had each other, and, of course, little Cinnamon. They had had it all, living happily ever after, or so they thought, until it came along.
It! How he hated it, despised it, would give anything in the world to eradicate it once and for all, for all time, for humanity’s sake.
Hell, for his sake. He would do or give anything—everything!—to rid the world of it.
He took another quick gulp of his cognac, swishing the godlike liquid over his taste buds, very thoroughly, luxuriating in the wonderful taste for the last time.
TWL: What part of the book was the most fun to write?
Michael: The travel experiences were especially fun for me to write because many of them were similar to experiences that I have had myself: skimming rocks on Loch Ness to make bystanders feel they have witnessed the emergence of the Loch Ness Monster. Successfully fending off gypsy girls who tried to rob me on the Spanish Steps in Rome. Saving a seagull’s life on St. Stephen’s Green in Dublin, Ireland. Watching the sun go down on Galway Bay. The list goes on and on.
TWL: What’s one fact about your book that would surprise people?
Michael: The fact that five-leaf clovers actually do exist!
TWL: What other books are you working on and when will they be published?
Michael: I have published international suspense thrillers, memoirs, and humorous fiction, all of which have found a pleasant home at Amazon. My latest book is Savoring the World: Hit and Misadventures – a memoir, vignettes of my many worldwide journeys, from Europe and Asia to the burning sands of Saudi Arabia.
TWL: Finally, what message are you trying to get across with your book?
Michael: I hope that my readers will realize that sheer determination on the part of people can bring about hope in even the most hopeless of circumstances. For instance: if one person can make a difference, just think what three can do. As John Lennon’s wonderful song reminds us: Imagine…
TWL: Do you have any final words?
Michael: The written word is powerful. I hope that my words have had an uplifting effect on all of those who have read my work.
Title: TRIANGLE OF HOPE
Author: Michael Meyer
Publisher: Pacific Books
Genre: Contemporary Fiction / Literary Fiction
BOOK BLURB:
If one person can make a difference, just think what three can do. A tender story of love. Three strangers, each harboring a dark secret, become united by chance in a small Irish village, and the wonderful power of the human spirit comes alive.
If you believe that love and romance can happen in unusual circumstances, then this book is for you.
“From page one, I found myself mesmerized at just how powerful the book was going to be.” – A Girl and Her eBooks Blog
“Meyer did a great job in weaving the story lines of the three main characters into a conclusion which was exactly what the title suggests. Triangle of Hope is a compelling read from start to finish.” – Jade Diamond Book Blog
“I absolutely adore this story.” – Lauren Alumbaugh, Goodreads Librarian
“A book that will stay with you forever.” – Wanda’s Amazing Amazon Reviewers
Book Information
Release Date: December 1, 2014
Publisher: Pacific Books
Soft Cover: ISBN: 978-1611883251; 176 pages; $5.99; E-Book, $2.99; Kindle Unlimited FREE
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3HPk95L
Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uXCv7wp3go
The Writer’s Life
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