Featured Interview With michael coombs
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Before delving into your question I would like to say thanks for this great opportunity. That said, my name is Michael Coombs and I was born on the Island of Jamaica. I had a wonderful time as a child there. My Aunt, who I grew up with, had a small farm and I spent a lot of time in the trees, at the river or building carts that my friends and I could drive in. Actually it was my friends who did most of the building. Of course like any kid on a farm I did chores like tying out the goats, feeding the chickens or helping to plant crops like lettuce or carrots. My aunt supplied some supermarkets in the city with produce. I never thought seriously of writing anything but if you think long and hard you can probably spot little telltale signs of the probability. It likely started when I was quite young – 6 maybe 7. Like many kids at that age I would tell stories. These stories, however, where quite elaborate and would often involve my ‘made up’ weekend with my Dad. There were others. I remember one in which I was a swashbuckling pirate. I actually acted that one out. I stopped when I got to primary school. Making up stories were no longer cool or so I thought…no more stories. I am not sure I missed it because at around that time I started reading a lot of kiddy mystery novels – particularly the Hardy Boys. My Dad turned me onto the series. I also got involved in the boy scouts and track & field. Maybe I am now coming full circle with this book writing. It certainly was enjoyable.
I migrated to the United States in my early teens and completed both high school and college here. I also pursued the sport of track & field with vigor until my junior year of college. I wasn’t a raw talent…nothing at all like a Usain Bolt. I threw in the towel on track & field during my junior year and decided to salvage what was left of college. College happened to be in Maryland and after a few fits and starts which actually saw me move back to Jamaica I decided to come back to the US and settle in Maryland. The winters are not too harsh and I can handle the summers so I kind-a like the state. If I had to it over again though; I would settle in a place with a tropical climate all year round.
You asked about pets. I had any number of them growing up in Jamaica…dogs, cats, birds, fish, rabbits…one of the few pets I didn’t have and never wanted were snakes. It’s a bit odd then that I am not now a pet person. Guess I had my full. Don’t get me wrong, I still like animals; I just have no desire to own them.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
The fascination with books came pretty early on. I have my Dad to thank for that. At around 8 or 9, maybe a little younger, he turned me on to reading. He got me the Hardy Boy series. I read them all fairly quickly. I remember Frank, one of the main characters, talking with Joe, his brother and Chet, a friend, about foods such as Pizza that I had never had or heard of as a child in Jamaica. I delighted in those foods when I came to America. While I love to read and always have a book close by I never gave serious thought to writing. That changed several years ago. It was sometime in 2009 when I first put pen to paper…I guess it was more like keyboard to monitor but that just doesn’t sound right. Anyway even when I wrote my first few lines it was not with the conscious thought of writing a book. I jotted down a few lines in the middle of filling out a resume and for some reason saved it. Here I am several years later with a full blown book.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I enjoy reading authors like Stieg Larson…he never lived to see his work published by-the-way…the early John Grisham, Cervantes, Mark Twain, Arturo Perez-Reverte and Anthony Winkler. I can easily go on. My favorites actually change with my mood.
I am quite sure that I do not have a favorite genre. Though I am partial to good mysteries, I will just as soon read a good historical fiction, an engaging biography, a romantic epic or a sweeping adventure novel. My one requirement is that the book catches my fancy in the first few chapters. It really cannot be boring.
The answer to the question what inspires me to write is opaque at best. Inspiration can come from anywhere and at anytime. It may be the way the suns rays shimmers on a body of water, a fleeting glance from a stranger, the sight of a flock of birds making their way across the sky. And the kicker is that you have no idea way it inspires. For some reason that thing or that action touches a chord deep in your soul. My muse, however, is the lady to whom this book is dedicated – Jeannie. It’s as though I have been placed on this earth to be with her. The thought of her makes me want to put pen to paper and write something that brings joy to the world.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
This is the first one…my first born so to speak. It loosely falls within the genre of romantic thriller and is titled Sight Unseen. There is meaning in the title…one I am sure you will grasp very quickly. Sight Unseen follows Simon Sinclair’s search for a woman, he has never met but just may love. How it ends is anyone’s guess. One thing is sure; he will be a different man when it does. Was that brief enough? The book is 284 pages so we could chat about if for awhile.
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