Who are your favourite authors?
J.D. Salinger.
H.G. Wells (For The Man Who Could Work Miracles)
Terry Pratchett
Emma Smith (For inspiring me to actually write a book)
Saki (for The Lumber Room) and Richard Adams. I also love the Mersey poets from the sixties.
What are your favourite books?
The Catcher in the Rye. J.D. Salinger
The colour of Magic. Terry Pratchett
One of the books I'd take to my Desert island would be “The Mersey Sound” which features Adrian Henri, Roger McGough and Brian Patten
What is your favourite genre of writing?
I like general fiction and am happy to read most genre's as long as the plot is a believable one. This doesn't exclude fantasy such as the Ann McCaffrey Dragon books because they work by their own rules. One of the first books I remember really enjoying reading was Catcher in the Rye, which, oddly enough was a set book for an English lesson.
How old were you when you started reading?
I can't really remember when I started reading, but it became far more enjoyable after I left school and I could simply enjoy a book for what it was.
Do you use a pen name?
My parents were originally going to call me Peter Michael, but on seeing me, neither thought the first name really suited, so they swapped them, and I became Michael Peter Nye on September 6th 1956. I have used the name for all my artwork and minor publications since graduating from Sunderland Polytechnic in 1981. I feel that it would be a little bit disloyal to Mum and Dad to use any other name.
How old were you when you started writing?
I was 24 when my name first went on a self published book of poetry "65 as yet" which sold in the North east for a while. Thirty yeas later I started writing Mayfly, and had not written much in the years between. Now I find these characters stomping around in my head, so I've written sequel after sequel to let everyone know what they are doing. With each book in the family ( I prefer not to refer to the books as a series) new characters arrive to trample more bits of my brain. To be honest, I'd miss them if they left or had never existed. I use the word "existed" as, to me, these characters appear as real people, each with an individual personality which they reveal as I write. Maybe they do exist in a parallel universe and all of this time I have been writing some kind of odd science fiction. Maybe I'm actually one of the characters and I am blissfully unaware of it. Who knows... As long as I'm not the odious Joseph Dean Westbourne or any of the other baddies I don't really mind.
What was the first thing you wrote.
When I was at school I tried writing about a somewhat curmudgeonly character I created called Clarence W. Warence. The stories were awful, but part of his essence reappears in the form of Dave Harris in the Mayfly books. Apart from that there's "65 as yet" from my days at Sunderland Polytechnic and (though not writing) the illustrations for Janice's first published work "The Door" in the mid eighties.
Did someone inspire you to write (i.e. an author, teacher, relative)?
There are a lot of inspirations,including Emma Smith, who is references occasionally in my writing) but when I finally confessed, my wife Janice was the greatest source of support and inspiration to get that first book out there. She again encouraged me to write each of the further books.
What part of the country do you live in?
I live in Penwortham Lancashire, UK.
What do you do for a living?
For most of my working life I have been an I.T. support person running my own small company, though I have qualifications in electronics and a degree in Fine Art. Both of my children view me as and artist and musician, and, I guess a writer too now. I.T. is a strange environment and seems to have been filled with people from really diverse backgrounds, most of whom appear to have fallen into it more or less by accident. With the advent of each new version of Windows, I think that it will soon be time to step off the edge of the precipice and become a full time writer (Windows 11 may just be that final push!) Who knows.
Are you married, have children?
I've been married for 39 years and have two grown up children, both in work.
Is it easy for you to find time to write?
It's not hard because generally I write in short bursts. I'll get an idea for where the story is progressing and then sit down and write, when time permits until I have done enough to get the idea out of my mind.
Do you have a favourite place to write?
Recently I have sat on the sofa with a laptop, but Mayfly was mostly written either in the garden office/music room, or sitting in the car.
Are there certain times of the day you find most productive for writing?
Early mornings, late evening and mid afternoon seem to suit, though any quiet period that there is enough time to fire a computer up will do. I keep all my work on memory stick so I can use just about any machine available. I write on computer as my handwriting is appalling and I'm not that good a typist. One may as well embrace technology if it actually makes your life easier.
