Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Interview with Best Selling Author Michael Okon author of Monsterland





Michael, thanks for taking the time to come and talk with us today. Tell us a little about yourself.  

My name is Michael Okon. I’m 5’11. 200lbs. I live on the North Shore of Long Island and happily married with two beautiful children. I love watching movies with my kids (especially Disney and Marvel), I cook dinner every night for my family, I make playlists for every season of the year, and I’ve never been skydiving. I’m a big vision board guy. The following is what I put on my vision board last year. Get a literary agent, get an entertainment attorney, get a film agent, get a two-book publishing deal, get a movie deal for my book. I accomplished everything on my vision board. The last item – the movie deal – is in the works. As for future goals, I have completed Monsterland 2, which has a release date of May 26th, 2018 (my 40th birthday).



Wow that's outstanding!  It's great to set goals and see them accomplished.  Keep us posted on the movie deal.  That's exciting! Will you share a short excerpt from your novel with us.


Chapter 1
The Everglades
The sky was a sparkling, powder blue, mosquitoes droned lazily over the tepid water, frogs croaked messages while they sunbathed on waxy lily pads. The fire he created burned bright, rabbit roasting on a spit made from hickory, the juices dripping to hiss in the flames. Seven of them lay in scattered repose, enjoying the late afternoon lull—two napped, the others tossed a stuffed fur in the form of a ball around the clearing, hooting with amusement when it rolled into the brush. They traveled in a pack, his group, his makeshift family, foraging together, hiding in plain sight. It had been that way for generations. But the glades were getting smaller, the humans invasive.
The sun started its slow descent into the horizon, hot pink and lilac clouds rippling against the empty canvas of the sky. Their color deepened as the sky filled, the rosy hue morphing into a burnt orange as the sun hid behind the condensation. The air thickened, moisture causing the leaves to lie heavily against the branches. Here and there, fireflies lit the gloom, doing a placid ballet in the humid air. The men moved closer as the sun sank into the western treetops, the fading sky promising another clear day tomorrow in the Everglades despite the moving ceiling of clouds.
A lone hawk cried out, disturbing the peace of the glade. Huge birds answered, flapping their wings, creating a cacophony of swamp sounds. The area became a concerto of animals responding to the disruption of their home—wild screams, squeaks, and complaints of the invasion of their territory.
The lead male stood, his head tilted. He heard it again. It was music, the strange organization of sounds, predictable as well as dangerous. Where those rhythms originated meant only one thing—they were not alone. They all rose, tense and alert, searching the waterway. Billy pointed, his dirty hands silently parting an outcropping of trees to expose a flat-bottom boat with strangers floating slowly toward them. It was filled with people, excitedly searching the banks of the swamp, their expensive khaki bush clothes ringed with sweat. Many held huge cameras. It was obviously a film crew, invasive, nosy individuals looking for something, anything, to enhance their lives. Men’s voices drifted on the turgid air. Billy stood, sniffing, his mates following suit. He glanced at the sky, gauging the time, his eyes opening wide. It was late. The bald top of the moon peeked over the ridge in the south, the sky graying to twilight with each passing second. Night came fast and furious in the swamp, dropping a curtain of darkness, extinguishing all light except for the beacon of the full moon. That chalk-white orb floated upward, indifferent to the consequences of its innocent victims. A halo of lighter blue surrounded the globe, limning the trees silver, the cobwebs in the trees becoming chains of dripping diamonds in the coming night.
What were the interlopers doing here? Billy thought furiously. This was their territory. The humans didn’t belong in the swamp. The moon continued its trip to the heavens, the familiar agony beginning in his chest. Billy fought the demons churning within his body, feeling the pain of metamorphosis. He curled inward, hunching his shoulders, the curse of his nature making his spine pull until his tendons and muscles tore from their human positions to transform into something wicked. A howl erupted from his throat, followed by another, and then another. Grabbing handfuls of dirt, he tried to fight the awful change, but, as the sun dipped to its fiery death, the moon took control of his life, and the unnatural force tore through his unwilling body. Reason fled; his heart raced. Falling on his hands and knees, he let loose a keening cry as his face elongated, his body changing into a canine, fangs filling his mouth. He raced in a circle in a demented dance, knowing his fellow pack members did the same thing. Slowing, he regulated his labored breathing, forcing the icy calmness he needed to keep some semblance of reason. He peered through the dense brush. Lights from the search party bobbed in the distance. The odor, the stench of humanity, filled the clearing.
He turned, digging furiously on the ground, throwing dirt on the flames, hiding their existence. It was no good. Discovery would ruin everything. No one could live with their kind. Humans brought disease, humans brought anger, humans brought hatred. They were there; he could smell them, see their clumsy bodies invading his home. “They’ve found us,” he growled in the special language they used. “Run!” he barked as he turned to his pack, watching his friends’ naked skin transform until it was covered with the same silvered fur. They cried out in unison at the pain, howling with the injustice, and then ran in fear from the interlopers threatening their habitat.



Which do you prefer: print books or ebooks?

Print



If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go and why?

Disney World. I don’t think about anything negative when I’m with my wife and kids in the happiest place on earth.



Michael, I am with you on Disney World.  They know how to do things right there.  It really is a magical place where the employees really try to make your stay memorable. Currently, what are you working on?

I’m in the middle of Monsterland 3 – I’d like to get this published too. I’m also beating out the storylines and arcs for Monsterland 4 and 5. It seems that I’m going to be writing about monsters for the foreseeable future.



It's great when the ideas keep coming. Share something with us not a lot of people know about you.

I love gambling, namely craps and poker, and I only eat meat, eggs and cheese. I also lift heavy weights. 



I couldn't survive without fruits and vegetables.  Bell peppers and mushrooms are a staple at my house.  How do you promote your books? Any tips you can share?

Get a good team behind you. You cannot do everything yourself. I have a literary agent, an entertainment attorney, a film agent, a publicist, a wife, a brother, and a mom who all help me with my career. Don’t think you can write, blog, post to social media, and be ready for interviews.  You have to have people help you create schedules, help you post, help you create video trailers.  Writing the book is the easy part. It’s the other stuff that’s hard to keep up. You are nothing without a good team.


Having good people around you is definitely a must. Is Monsterland a stand-alone novel or part of a series?

A 6-part series.



What is the easiest part of the writing process?  What is the hardest?

The easiest part is actually writing the novel. The hardest part is promoting it 24/7 on social media. You have to have a good team behind you helping you promote your works.



Who designed the artwork for your cover?  Or did you design it yourself?

My brother works with an incredible artist who has done Marvel comics. His name is Mike Mastermaker and they both design all my covers for the Monsterland series.



Finding a good cover designer who shares your vision is key.  It is the first thing a reader sees.  Michael, what brought about the idea for your book?

I was binge watching a classic movie marathon. You know, the good ones, The Goonies, Gremlins, Back to the Future, Jurassic Park, etc…. I have always wanted to write a monster book but couldn’t settle on which monster I wanted to pursue. It was while watching all these movies, that I came up with the idea, why isn’t there a theme park with zombies. I called my brother immediately and told him my idea. He said, no – it has to be a theme park with werewolves, vampires AND zombies. I started beating out the story that night.






Thanks again for sharing with us Michael!  Best of luck with the second installment and the movie deal.  Find more about Michael and Purchasing Monsterland at the links below.  Happy Reading!!

Author Links:

Twitter
Bio:

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 in 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.


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