Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Faricy.
Hi Mike, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for sharing your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
I have loved books since I was a small child, and I still do today. I wrote what I considered fifty award-winning first chapters. I finally told myself to fish or cut bait. Finish a book, for God’s sake. I did that and then was fortunate to obtain the phone number of a local, international author. I called him to see if I could schedule a meeting with him. He suggested we meet in a restaurant. I met him in a booth, and he gave me general information about the book business for over half an hour. At the end of that, I reached down, placed my first work of genius on the table, and asked if he would like to read it? he threw up his hands, shook his head, and said, “We all have a work that should be kept under the bed.” I thanked him for his time, went home, and read my manuscript. He was right; it should be kept under the bed, where it’s been. But his comment also encouraged me to begin work on the next project, and I haven’t looked back.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The book business is very tough. I’m indie-published, so I’m self-employed. There are constant changes from the basics of the internet to layouts, marketing, and royalty percentages. Over a million new books are published yearly; that’s a lot of competition. It goes on and on. I love what I do and work at it seven days a week. One of the most significant areas of change has been with Amazon. First, let me state that Amazon is the major player in the game, so when they change or adjust anything, you realize it immediately. Changes in book descriptions, per-page payment on pages read for ‘free’ books, keywords in your book description, and the list goes on and on. Having said all that, Amazon changed the industry and made participation available to independent authors such as myself. They opened up a new universe for traditionally or independently published authors. Do you remember the world before ebooks, audio, or purchasing a book online at 11:00 pm and the book is delivered immediately?
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might need to become more familiar with what you do, what can you tell them about what you do?
I write crime fiction. I recently released my 80th book. I have four series, two of which, Hotshots and Corridor Man, have been put to bed. I still sell the books in the series, but I’m not adding them to either series. My two active series are Dev Haskell Mysteries, set in St. Paul, Minnesota, my home in the US. I’m currently working on the thirty-eighth book in that series. My other series is Jack Dillon Dublin Tales, set in Dublin, Ireland, where I live for part of the year. The eighteenth book in that series is currently at my editors. I write books for crabby old guys like myself, but most of my readers are women. Dev Haskell, the chief protagonist in the series, is the guy we all knew in high school who was funny, but you were wise to keep a bit of a distance. In every book, he’s a private investigator with a relationship with a different woman. By the end of the book, the woman tells him, “Please don’t ever contact me again.” All my readers love that. He’s funny, gets involved in crazy situations, is constantly harassed by local crime boss Tubby Gustafson, and often goes above and beyond helping someone who has been cheated, scammed, or has a kid driving them crazy. Jack Dillon is a US Marshal who was involved in a shootout in Dublin, Ireland, where he was sent to escort a US criminal back to the US. Through a series of events, he is now working with An Garda Síochána, the Dublin police force. Both series are written with a sense of humor and can be read in any order. I release five or six books annually, which makes me the most boring guy in town because I tap the keys on my computer seven days a week.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
The exciting thing about writing my genre is that virtually every author will gladly have a discussion and tell what has or has not worked for them. We’re all competitors. Our experience has been that other crime fiction authors are happy to share with you what has worked and has yet to work for them. Again, the writing industry is constantly changing. I’ve met other authors in interviews, writing groups, online, and book events.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.mikefaricybooks.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100079971962052
