Meet Michael James Gallagher, Author of Tsunami Connection
Michael James Gallagher is the debut author of a political intrigue thriller, Tsunami Connection, part one of the Spy Stories and Tales of Intrigue Series, soon including Harlots All and The Returning Legions.
When not writing or dancing tango, Michael spends his time developing hilariously informative Internet-ready learning modules for his adult students studying in their homes. Planning and editing numerous language textbooks complements his writing experience. He has encouraged high school dropouts to realize their academic dreams for 30 years in Montreal, Canada. (Amazon)
BBB: What inspired you to become a writer?
MJG: For years I wrote journals of a very personal nature, and then 3 years ago I decided to write a thriller. The experience liberated the amount of word flow in me. I was writing about something imaginary instead of something deeply personal. I did it to prove it to myself too. In my 20s I spent 3 years travelling around taking notes. My time in Israel left a mark on me and I always knew I would write about the area around Saint Katherine’s Monastery in the Sinai. Writing about it in a fictional setting, as opposed to a personal experience, set me free to realize my life-long dream of writing. Credit where credit’s due though: Amazon’s Jeff Bezos democratization of book publishing for Indie writers made the dream of an unknown writer feasible.
When not writing or dancing tango, Michael spends his time developing hilariously informative Internet-ready learning modules for his adult students studying in their homes. Planning and editing numerous language textbooks complements his writing experience. He has encouraged high school dropouts to realize their academic dreams for 30 years in Montreal, Canada. (Amazon)
BBB: What inspired you to become a writer?
MJG: For years I wrote journals of a very personal nature, and then 3 years ago I decided to write a thriller. The experience liberated the amount of word flow in me. I was writing about something imaginary instead of something deeply personal. I did it to prove it to myself too. In my 20s I spent 3 years travelling around taking notes. My time in Israel left a mark on me and I always knew I would write about the area around Saint Katherine’s Monastery in the Sinai. Writing about it in a fictional setting, as opposed to a personal experience, set me free to realize my life-long dream of writing. Credit where credit’s due though: Amazon’s Jeff Bezos democratization of book publishing for Indie writers made the dream of an unknown writer feasible.
BBB: How did you come up with the idea for your book, Tsunami Connection?
MJG: As an obsessive reader of spy and intrigue thrillers, the time around September 11th seemed ripe with possibilities. With all due respect for the fatalities and families of victims of the Boxing Day tsunami, God rest their souls, the horrific event spawned a novel in me. What if some evil source of power caused the tsunami? Well! That’s what Tsunami Connection is all about. Grab a copy to find out more.
BBB: Tell us about your main character Kefira.
MJG: In Hebrew Kefira means ‘lioness’. She is an outward lioness with some inward baggage. The notion of childhood trauma intrigues me as a writer and a person. I know a woman who arrived in Auschwitz as a child, but you would never know it talking to the adult. Others having lost a parent in childhood spend a lifetime getting over it. Kefira succeeds against long odds, yet her decision-making process and emotional center remain troubled in adulthood. She is a super spy with a soft inside, a character type inspired by the heroine of The Debt, a movie which opens the door to a new niche in the espionage writing game, that of authentic people who happen to be cast into the limelight by reality. You won’t catch her saying: “Shaken not stirred.”
BBB: What do you think readers will enjoy most about your book?
MJG: Reviewers say that the author “...puts a picture in the mind’s eye...” Personal travel journals and detailed research contribute to the sense of the here and now in Tsunami Connection. Kefira’s love of tango and the dancing scenes in Buenos Aires represent the new niche facet of the book. My sincere conviction supports readers wanting to experience characters with real passions not just spies with technical skill sets. Obviously the pace of the world building in the book and the dramatic evolution in personality of the main actors will keep people turning the pages.
MJG: As an obsessive reader of spy and intrigue thrillers, the time around September 11th seemed ripe with possibilities. With all due respect for the fatalities and families of victims of the Boxing Day tsunami, God rest their souls, the horrific event spawned a novel in me. What if some evil source of power caused the tsunami? Well! That’s what Tsunami Connection is all about. Grab a copy to find out more.
BBB: Tell us about your main character Kefira.
MJG: In Hebrew Kefira means ‘lioness’. She is an outward lioness with some inward baggage. The notion of childhood trauma intrigues me as a writer and a person. I know a woman who arrived in Auschwitz as a child, but you would never know it talking to the adult. Others having lost a parent in childhood spend a lifetime getting over it. Kefira succeeds against long odds, yet her decision-making process and emotional center remain troubled in adulthood. She is a super spy with a soft inside, a character type inspired by the heroine of The Debt, a movie which opens the door to a new niche in the espionage writing game, that of authentic people who happen to be cast into the limelight by reality. You won’t catch her saying: “Shaken not stirred.”
BBB: What do you think readers will enjoy most about your book?
MJG: Reviewers say that the author “...puts a picture in the mind’s eye...” Personal travel journals and detailed research contribute to the sense of the here and now in Tsunami Connection. Kefira’s love of tango and the dancing scenes in Buenos Aires represent the new niche facet of the book. My sincere conviction supports readers wanting to experience characters with real passions not just spies with technical skill sets. Obviously the pace of the world building in the book and the dramatic evolution in personality of the main actors will keep people turning the pages.
BBB: Are you currently working on another book?
MJG: My second novel called Harlots All finds Kefira working in a Europe transformed by the imposition of Sharia Law. Paradigm-shifting nano-technological developments, employing personal nano suits that permit individuals to communicate without words dominate a series of connected flashbacks in which Kefira has reunited her team of sleuths, incorporating even her arch enemy. Book 2 of the Spy Stories and Tales of Intrigue Series juxtaposes a group of committed individuals against the ‘fait accompli’ of a wave of Chinese invaders arriving on foot. Look for it in September on Amazon.
BBB: How can readers connect with you?
MJG: Website: http://www.michaeljamesgallagherauthor.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tsunamicmichael
Goodreads author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6929462.Michael_James_Gallagher
Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/michaeljames.gallagher.7
MJG: My second novel called Harlots All finds Kefira working in a Europe transformed by the imposition of Sharia Law. Paradigm-shifting nano-technological developments, employing personal nano suits that permit individuals to communicate without words dominate a series of connected flashbacks in which Kefira has reunited her team of sleuths, incorporating even her arch enemy. Book 2 of the Spy Stories and Tales of Intrigue Series juxtaposes a group of committed individuals against the ‘fait accompli’ of a wave of Chinese invaders arriving on foot. Look for it in September on Amazon.
BBB: How can readers connect with you?
MJG: Website: http://www.michaeljamesgallagherauthor.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tsunamicmichael
Goodreads author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6929462.Michael_James_Gallagher
Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/michaeljames.gallagher.7
