Michael G. Munz

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Mythology: An Endless Source of Inspiration

February 1, 2015 By Michael G. Munz Leave a Comment

Last summer, when Zeus Is Dead was first published, my publisher set up a blog tour to help get the word out. It was three weeks of interviews, reviews, and guest posts. I thought I’d share one of those guest posts, a brief essay about the value of mythology in storytelling. (And, of course, I worked in mention of ZID. It was a book tour, after all!) It was originally posted on Mythical Books on July 21st, 2014.

PrometheusBefore there was YouTube, before there was Facebook…
In the days long before movies, television, and magazines…
Before books themselves—heck, even before Amazon.com…

…there were still stories.

People needed to entertain themselves somehow, after all. Stories were created around ancient fires to explain, to train, and to entertain. (Often, they were even told for reasons that DON’T end in –ain! Wild, I know.) There was either no time or no means to write such tales down. They existed only in memory, to be told and retold as time went on. They developed, and they grew richer. In a sense, it was like a world of nightly focus groups around a fire as storytellers workshopped their tales and modified them based on reactions.

And, eventually, the stories solidified. Time and cultural awareness elevated them to the status of legends and myths. They travel to us now out of the past, having weathered the centuries. Fascinating in their own right, the myths we know today also provide modern storytellers with a ready-made palette of plots, attitudes, and characters.
Now it’s our turn to do the retelling.

Now we can take those mythological elements and put them in our modern context. Whether that’s literally—such as in my own Zeus Is Dead: A Monstrously Inconvenient Adventure, which takes a humorous look at how the Greek gods would behave if they returned to the public eye—or placing such elements into an original fantasy world written with modern sensibilities, we have myriad choices.

How might Apollo rule a new world where he was the only god? What if Anubis and Hades went to war? What if Loki and Hermes met at a poker game? How would King Arthur and Merlin deal with Cthulhu?

And those are just possibilities from combining specific characters. Want to give it a satirical twist? Deconstruct it? Use mythology as a representation of our past to show how much (or how little) we’ve developed? Go for it! You can even roll like dice the thematic concepts, archetypes, and tropes of mythology across the modern table to see what inspiration turns up. It’s akin to using a computer to create an image: it’s done in a modern way, but the colors used are still the same colors that we’ve always known. (Okay, so that’s an imperfect analogy, but hopefully you get my point.)

I’ll close with another mention of Zeus Is Dead, if you’ll indulge me. I’ve been fascinated with mythology since I was a kid, and a college professor later remarked that the Olympian gods were really just humans with supersized powers, skills, and egos. It struck me that here was a rich world of characters waiting to be thrown together again in new and interesting ways. (Plus, hey, public domain!) I vowed that one day I’d write a modern myth to explore those characters in a new light. It was a while before I’d developed my own craft enough to where I felt I could do them justice—and along the way I realized how hilarious it might be to show how they might deal with the modern world—but, eventually, Zeus Is Dead: A Monstrously Inconvenient Adventure was born.

And I do hope you’ll all give it a read, and let it inspire you, too.

Mythical Books

With thanks to Mythical Books for granting me the opportunity to guest post!

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Filed Under: Writing, Zeus Is Dead Tagged With: Cthulhu, Fantasy, MondayBlogs, Mythical Books, Mythology

Writing Update: A Dragon at the Gate

January 16, 2015 By Michael G. Munz 2 Comments

A Dragon at the Gate

No one still really knows WHAT is in that ship.
That will change.

My writing on A Dragon at the Gate, the third and final book in The New Aeneid Cycle cyberpunk series, proceeds apace.

Wait, am I using that word correctly? *looks up “apace”* Hmm. “With speed?” “Quickly?” Let me start this over:

My writing on A Dragon at the Gate, the third and final book in The New Aeneid Cycle cyberpunk series, proceeds semi-apace! [Read more…]

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Filed Under: A Dragon at the Gate, Books, Featured, Writing Tagged With: Booktrope, Cyberpunk, Geek Interest, New Aeneid Cycle, Science Fiction

Upgrade Your Story Podcast

October 23, 2014 By Michael G. Munz Leave a Comment

Last week I had the pleasure of chatting with UpgradeYourStory.com’s Ally Bishop (and, briefly, her dog) about writing, comedy, and Zeus Is Dead: A Monstrously Inconvenient Adventure. The interview went up the Upgrade Your Story podcast yesterday.

Head on over there and have a listen!

Michael G. Munz Interview on the Upgrade Your Story podcast!

Click my noggin to go to Upgrade Your Story  and hear why I said, “I’m sorry I killed that guy.”

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Filed Under: Books, Press, Writing, Zeus Is Dead Tagged With: Interview, Mythology, podcast, UpgradeYourStory

Pacific NW Blog Hop!

September 29, 2014 By Michael G. Munz 1 Comment

So once more, awesomebassador and fellow Booktrope author Tiffany Pitts–check out her novel Double Blind–has taken it upon herself to give me things to do. (If I don’t do what she says, bad things happen. It’s best if I not elaborate.) This time, it’s the Pacific Northwest Writers Blog Hop! So here I go…

1) What am I working on?

A Dragon at the GateIn terms of writing, I’m chipping away at the third novel in The New Aeneid Cycle, which is my cyberpunk series. It’s tentatively titled A Dragon at the Gate, and I hope to have it ready for publication by mid- to late-2015. I know people are eager to see how the series ends, especially after the final chapter of A Memory in the Black. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Writing Tagged With: Authors, Booktrope, Cyberpunk, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Blog Tour Recap!

August 19, 2014 By Michael G. Munz Leave a Comment

Last Friday marked the final day of my first ever book tour—the online tour for the release of Zeus Is Dead. It lasted July 21st to August 15th, and by all accounts was a success. Okay, so I haven’t caught up with Fifty Shades of Twilight Fanfic yet, but if I may quote our tall friend from Twin Peaks…

The Giant - Twin Peaks

“A path is formed by laying one stone at a time.”

The tour was a great experience, and it was suggested that I put a cap on it with a post about what I learned along the way. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Books, Featured, Writing, Zeus Is Dead Tagged With: blog tour, Book Tour, Booktrope, Fantasy, Geek Interest, Mythology, Twin Peaks

A Dragon at the Gate (early excerpt!)

August 9, 2014 By Michael G. Munz Leave a Comment

With all the work I’ve had to do amid the launch of Zeus Is Dead, it feels like it’s been months since I’ve been able to get any real work done on writing my current work-in-progress, the third and final installment of my sci-fi series The New Aeneid Cycle, tentatively titled A Dragon at the Gate. Yet this weekend I’m finally plunging back into it.

My first step: reacquaint myself with the characters and what I’ve written so far. I’m in the midst of re-reading the eleven chapters I’ve written thus far, and as I read Chapter Four it occurred to me that I could share an excerpt with all of you. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: A Dragon at the Gate, Books, Featured, Writing Tagged With: Excerpt, Science Fiction

My Writing Process (blog tour entry!)

May 12, 2014 By Michael G. Munz 3 Comments

So a couple of weeks ago a fellow writer named Eric M. Ralph (who has the death sentence in twelve systems for aggravated punnery) asked me to talk about my writing process as part of a greater blog tour that’s spreading across the Internet: The Writing Process Blog Tour! (Cue fanfare, streamers, balloons…maybe a unicycling monkey in a Lara Croft cosplay for some reason…)  His invitation to action ended with “Don’t make me destroy you,” so of course I said yes!

Eric M. Ralph (bow tie sold separately)

Eric M. Ralph
(bow tie sold separately)

But first, a little about Eric: He does lots of stuff™! He also likes to write: books, short stories, poetry, speeches, and really disturbing puns. He has a self-described odd sense of humor, a blue and orange bow tie, and a novel: And God Said…An Absurd Tale of Love, Power, and Paperwork. (Hey, I should check that out…) You can find his own part of the tour here, but ignore any libelous codswallop about me that you find there.

And now, on with the content!

What am I working on?

I’m working on two things at the moment. (Well, three, if you count this blog entry. Though maybe that only counts if it’s RIGHT this moment—in which case I’m only working on this entry and nothing else but—okay, I’m over-parsing the question, aren’t I?) So, yes, two things: Working with my publisher (Booktrope) on the final part of the publishing process for Zeus is Dead: A Monstrously Inconvenient Adventure (my comedic fantasy about the Greek gods returning to public life in the modern day), and writing the third and final book in my cyberpunk series The New Aeneid Cycle.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Humor nozzle for writing Zeus Is Dead...

Humor nozzle for writing Zeus Is Dead…

It’s written by ME! (Boy, what a silly question!) Okay, so honestly I always think this is a bit of a loaded question. Every author brings their own unique perspective, voice, and nuance to any story they tell. A good deal of what comes from me is likely my sense of humor, which ranges from deconstructive to just plain goofy. There’s less of it in The New Aeneid Cycle, as those are serious novels (though certain characters within them have a sense of humor that’s informed by my own), but the humor nozzle is on full blast for Zeus is Dead. I had so much fun writing it.

I’ve also found that I have a thing for the concept of memory and of Greek mythology…

Why do I write what I do?

martin-freeman-sherlock-typingSome writers write to give voice to their deepest yearnings, strongest opinions, or universal truths they feel cannot be expressed in any other form. While such things do find their way into my writing, my primary motivation is simply to tell a good story. I write to entertain, both myself and my readers. I love to grab a reader’s emotions, pull them to the edge of their seat with excitement, laughter, or intrigue, and keep them there for as long as I can.

I confess I also take a special delight in making a reader curse me at the end of a chapter because they just can’t help but turn the page. (If a beta-reader wants to beat me over the head because they just finished a chapter and I haven’t yet written the next one, I consider it a success.)

How does my writing process work?

Dramatization. May not have happened.

Dramatization. May not have happened.

Heh. “Writing process.” Like it’s so organized. …Well, okay, so it kind of is. I tend to front-load the work in the sense that I prefer to plan things out ahead of time:

  1. I get my premise, which can often take a long while as I search for an idea that excites me enough to keep me interested the entire time it will take me to write a novel.
  2. Sketch the main characters, create a “step sheet”/outline that shows the flow of both character arcs and plot progression, and a general bunch of notes about the setting itself to help inform the writing.
  3. Actually write, using the step sheet and character sketches as a guide. This does NOT mean such things are inviolate. On multiple occasions I might come up with new ideas as I go (and certain parts of my outline might simply say “whatever seems to make sense for the characters at this point”), change directions, or even discover that the characters themselves have tapped me on the shoulder (or punched me in the face) to say they’d do things differently.
  4. Edit, revise, agonize, improvise, and probably eat some pizza.

Next on the tour…

Rachel Frost: An author, artist AND musician, Rachel is in the midst of writing a sequel to her first NA novel (Tsirash), in between a multitude of art and music projects. Nevertheless, she still has the good taste to play lots of video games.

Mary Lynne Gibbs: A former city-dweller now ensconced in Kentucky farmland, Mary is both an author and an actress. Her interests lie in fantasy, scifi, paranormal, and adventure fiction (so hey, she’s got excellent taste), and in creating worlds with strong female characters.

J. Edward Neill: J. Edward is a dark fantasy writer living in the southeastern United States. Among his inspirations are Dan Simmons’ characters, Shakespeare’s truths, and Tolkien’s wordiness. You’ll find no elves or dwarves in his writing, but epic tales written for adults with sharp (and slightly twisted) minds.

Gareth S. Young: Gareth is a lover of all the stuff and most of the things (that’s a direct quote), as well as a watcher, listener, thinker, and dreamer (that’s another direct quote). His psychological thriller Monsters, with a 4.4 rating on Amazon, is set in my own backyard in the shadow of Mt. Rainier (that’s a sentence I mostly wrote myself).

Look for their contributions on May 19th!

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Filed Under: Writing Tagged With: Authors, blog tour, Booktrope, Interview, Writer, writing

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Memory of Dragons: A Contemporary Fantasy Adventure

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Zeus Is Dead: A Monstrously Inconvenient Adventure

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Zeus Is Undead: This One Has Zombies

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A Shadow in the Flames (The New Aeneid Cycle Book 1)

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A Memory in the Black (The New Aeneid Cycle Book 2)

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A Dragon at the Gate (The New Aeneid Cycle Book 3)

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Mythed Connections (short story collection)

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Four Fantastical Ways to Lose Your Fingers

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