Today I welcome my friend Michael Rupured. I've had the pleasure of spending time with Michael at a few cons and events. He's not only a great author but a very sweet man. Cover Artist: Alexandria Corza I’m a bit of a slow learner. For nearly fifty years, I believed penning a novel to be beyond my ability—like climbing Mount Everest, competing in the Olympics, and singing in public. I was wrong. On June 19th, DSP Publications releases my fifth novel, The Case of the Missing Drag Queen. A career in academia had always satisfied my writing compulsion. On a whim, I started the Crotchety Old Man blog in 2008 and was encouraged by my “fans” (family and friends from high school) to write a book. The result was a 110,000-word, all-tell, tell-all memoire sitting in a folder on my computer. Writing it, however, was very therapeutic and led me to the Athens Writers Workshop where I was encouraged to try writing a novel. A desire to show gay life at different times was the motivation behind my first three novels. Until Thanksgiving is a trip back to 1996 and an homage to my time in Washington, DC. No Good Deed shows how society viewed homosexuals in 1966, and Happy Independence Day depicts the 1969 Stonewall uprising that launched the gay liberation movement. After Whippersnapper, I hit a wall. My ideas didn’t go anywhere. The well would run dry a few chapters in, leaving great characters with no place to go. Eventually I quit trying. My “ah ha!” moment came months later when I stumbled across something online. Turns out, a novel is supposed to revolve around a main character’s literal or figurative journey. Imagine my surprise! That very afternoon, I mapped out Luke Tanner’s journey. With detailed profiles for all the characters in hand, I started writing. The Case of the Missing Drag Queen is the result. You could say it’s my first real novel. I’m slow, but I do—eventually—figure things out. Most things. Or at least, that’s what I tell myself. Blurb Broke, saddled with a mountain of debt, and dependent on his Aunt Callie's support, aspiring writer Luke Tanner has returned to Kentucky to put his life back together after a failed five-year relationship. On his twenty-fifth birthday, Luke meets diminutive Pixie Wilder, a long-time performer at the Gilded Lily. After headliner Ruby Dubonnet doesn’t show up, Pixie takes her place as the star of the show—a motive that makes her a suspect in Ruby’s disappearance. Luke reluctantly agrees to help his new-found friend clear her name. He and Pixie set out to find the missing drag queen, and in the process, put themselves in danger. Purchase Meet Micheal Michael Rupured writes stories true enough for government work about gay life from the 1960s to today. This life-long Southerner was born in Fayetteville NC, grew up in Lexington KY, and after 18 months in Washington DC, moved to Athens GA where he’s lived since 1999. By day, he’s senior faculty in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences at the University of Georgia. He’s an avid fan of the Georgia Bulldogs, the Kentucky Wildcats, and any team playing the Florida Gators. In his free time, Michael tinkers with his garden, plays with Toodles (his diabetic chihuahua), and keeps up with his many friends around the country. Previous novels include Until Thanksgiving (thriller), No Good Deed (mystery/thriller), Whippersnapper (regional), and Happy Independence Day (historical). Visit his website, follow on Twitter and Goodreads, like his Facebook page, or shoot him a message ([email protected]).
Comments are closed.
|
Welcome to My World
|