Heather’s Bookshelf: Author Interview with Michael Weems

What inspired you to write “When Emily Went Missing”?

Weems: I wanted to tell a story about a character overcoming disabilities, anxiety, and depression. Ruth feels like an outsider given what happened to her and her mother and the disability she was left with from The Incident of the story, but we see her first avoiding, but then facing and overcoming some of her obstacles. We also see some of the other characters trying to cope with past mistakes they made and we learn that even some of the "bullies" of the tale are multi-faceted people who realize some of their own flaws but have difficulty in addressing and resolving them.

How did you come up with the names of your main characters?

Weems: I knew I wanted an inclusive story with characters from all different backgrounds, but one that still felt like a melting pot, which is how I like to think of our society. In the story we have classmates from all different backgrounds packed into this small Texas town, but they're all still "small-town" people who have grown up together. While we have hispanic, white, black, asian, etc. characters, the hope is such differences fade quickly into the background of the story as it is hopefully their personalities and actions that define them as a character in the book. The names chosen just try to represent different people who make up the story so they were chosen at random. I just tried to imagine the character speaking out loud and then assigned a name I thought might fit.

Is there anything that you want readers to know about you, your writing process or your book?

Weems: Like my first book, The Ghosts of Varner Creek, I use the idea of "ghosts" as a metaphor. Ghosts can represent the past - things we wish we could change or things that happened we simply have no power to change, yet "haunt" our steps day to day. Resolution is sometimes found by addressing these ghosts instead of avoiding them, much like Ruth's change in how she deals with the "ghosts" of her story.

Are there any tips that you would like to share with other aspiring authors?

Weems: Write for yourself. Don't worry about if anyone else will read it or if others will like it. Just write something you like. And if you finish a book but no literary agents express interest in representing it, don't be afraid to self-publish. Very few writers are ever going to hit big success. I have not, and if I never do, that's still okay. I write for a creative outlet and for fun. If someone is putting too much pressure on themselves then it is just that much easier to become discouraged. If you enjoy writing just keep at it - write, write write, but do it for yourself and don't worry about if it ever goes anywhere. If you get discouraged and quit, it definitely won't. But When Emily Went Missing is kind of a good example. I like this book. I'm glad I wrote it. Even if only three other people ever read it, I'm still really glad I wrote this book because I'm proud of it and I like it.

What is your favorite genre, book, and/or author?

Weems: The irony is my favorite reading genre, fantasy, is not what I have typically written. I like Brandon Sanderson, Will Wight, Michael Manning, RW Krpoun, Andy Peloquin, Ursula Le Guin, and many others in that vein. I thought Battle Mage by Peter Flannery was one of the best books I've read in the past few years.

What are you working on next?

Weems: This year I recently finished Redeemer, The Conclave Book 1, my first go at a fantasy type novel. It's out now. I think my next book will likely be a return to Foxglove for a sequel for Ruth and the My Haunted Garden series.

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