Featured Interview With Michael J. Bowler
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in San Francisco and raised in the city of San Rafael. After college, I moved to Los Angeles for graduate school and have remained in LA ever since. At the moment, I do not have any pets, but my son really wants a dog, so that may soon change.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I think I always loved reading. I can’t recall a time I didn’t have a book in my hands. Everywhere I’d go, especially if I knew I had to wait around for something, I’d bring a book. I’d read in the car, on airplanes, in the backyard. It was just my passion from the get-go. I loved writing stories in elementary school and high school and had decided by the seventh or eighth grade that I wanted to be a writer someday.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I’ve always loved horror stories, so Stephen King and I go back many years. I’ve also read much fantasy and science fiction and a lot of YA. I like Chris Crutcher’s teen books, and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. At this point, my favorite genre is probably YA, but only if I see a story that looks different from everything else out there. I get tired of the repetition permeating the book industry, so I’m selective about what books I’ll read nowadays. There has to be a clever hook to lure me in. I’m inspired to write by real life experiences that make me want to share those experiences with readers in a way that’s accessible and entertaining.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
Children of the Knight, and the other four books in The Lance Chronicles series, revolves around a homeless orphan named Lance who is fourteen when the story begins. He’s saved from death by a man in knightly armor who claims to be the King Arthur of history sent from Avalon to recruit all the lost children and teens, including gang members, into a new Round Table of Knights. Their purpose is to shake up the society that has kicked them to the curb for not fitting into America’s one-size-fits-all mentality. Lance is wary, at first, but with nothing else positive in his life, he agrees to lead the crusade. Arthur and his young “knights” become media darlings, especially after they clean up poor neighborhoods throughout the city. But there are those in government, and within the criminal underground, who seek to destroy the crusade before it can gather enough steam to force real change into the system. Issues that plague many of our youth today, especially poor, inner city youth, are personalized through my young characters, all of whom are based on real teens I’ve worked with over the years.
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