An adolescent adult and proud of it.
I spent a very pleasant half hour or so with Panoramic Publishing’s first ever client, Bruce Michael, chatting about life, books, and publishing in general.
Bruce is the author of The Tale of an Adolescent Adult, his first published book, which is a collection of entertaining stories and reminisces from his life.
Tell us a little about yourself and your background.
Where do I start?
I grew up in a semi-rural village in the south-east of England, and up until about ten years ago I never moved more than around 5 miles from that village, but early working life involved extensive travel around Europe and much further afield. I’ve also holidayed in some far-flung destinations, so consider myself to be fairly well-travelled.
My wife and I had always had a dream to move to Greece, and came up with a plan to make it happen when I was 50. We missed it by a couple of years, but have been living happily here ever since.
I worked in the refrigeration industry since school, and am now semi-retired, working as a consultant in the same industry, which I can do remotely.
Back in the UK, I have one son (who I’m very proud of), a beautiful daughter-in-law, and two gorgeous grandchildren.
What inspired you to write your first book?
It’s something I’d been planning to do for many years. I first started scribbling some notes 20 years ago, but didn’t get past the first chapter. Then life got involved and the project got forgotten.
Now in my 60s with a bit more time on my hands, I decided it was time to start again, this time determined to finish.
The reason I decided to do an autobiographical book was because apparently I’m unable to write fiction – I recall from my school days when we had to write stories, being told by various teachers that they were rubbish!
Did you find the writing process easy, or were there times you agonized over a blank page for what seemed like an eternity?
I actually did find it quite easy. Because it’s a kind of autobiography it was easy to recall the memories, especially as I’d decided to only include good and funny memories, with none of the trials and tribulations of life. But I made the classic mistake of writing a paragraph, then spending half an hour reviewing and changing it, which then made it harder to move onto the next part. It interrupted the flow, I guess.
Which genres make up your preferred reading matter of choice?
Crime thrillers and thrillers with a supernatural edge (think Stephen King, Dean Koontz, etc.). I also enjoy factual books, like travelogues and science-based exploration types.
Is there one particular book that you’d simply have to have with you on a desert island?
Yes! The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn and Hal Iggulden. It’s basically things you do as a kid, but useful things – like how to make a fishing hook, how to build a camp, how to tie knots and make catapults, as well as lots of historical things, like battles. So, the book is full of useful tips for survival, and loads of interesting scientific and historical facts that would help to pass the time.
Why did you choose to self-publish?
It seemed the easiest and fastest way to physically get my book published, as opposed to trying to find an agent and publisher willing to take the book on.
Were there any aspects of the self-publishing process that caught you off-guard? Perhaps things you hadn’t even considered before beginning?
Yeah, even picking the ideal size for the book was something I hadn’t really thought about. Strangely, although I’ve read a lot of different kinds, shapes and sizes of books, in my head I assumed it would be a standard size for print-on-demand.
Then the cover and overall layout; of course I realised I’d need a design for the front cover, but I hadn’t really thought beyond that, so struggled a bit to come up with the blurb for the back cover. My book includes line illustrations, which I commissioned and had inserted into the manuscript, but hadn’t given thought to how that would work once the book was sized and formatted for publication, which meant some of them needed to be re-sized or repositioned slightly.
I have to say, Kim was most helpful in resolving all of these issues to come up with the perfect solution, and I’m delighted with how the published book looks.
Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me, Bruce. I wish you every success with your book.
I grew up learning that life had four phases:
Childhood; lots of fun as long as you behaved
Teenager; occasional misbehaviour allowed (but never on a Sunday)
Middle Age; started at thirty, and you wore a tie for going out
Old Age; from age sixty. Tartan slippers and a dressing gown every Christmas.
Thankfully things have changed. Now I wear Nike trainers and hoodies as my going out outfits, but I suppose that is the purpose of this book, I refuse to grow up. I still laugh at fart jokes and draw knobs on steamed up mirrors, drink too much and stay out far too late, despite the protests from my ageing body. As has been said many times, you are only here once, so why not live the best life with family, friends and fun.
This book is sort of an autobiography, although I have tried to stick to the amusing bits and left out the heartache and drama of growing up. Whilst everything in the book actually happened, circumstances and timings may have been altered to protect the guilty.
The aim of the book was to scratch an itch, and to make the reader chuckle at least once on every page – let’s hope I have succeeded.
The Tale of an Adolescent Adult
By Bruce Michael
Paperback £7.99
Kindle £2.99
“Great book, thoroughly enjoyed and had a few belly laughs along the way! Love how the writer ‘digresses’.”
5* Amazon review
