Meet the Author: Mike D. Cooley

Author Mike D. Cooley

Author Mike Cooley says his writing is action oriented. He likes jumping right into the thick of a story and then “going for broke.” He says he stays away from overly-descriptive scene-setting because that’s not the way he thinks. “I am very visually oriented as well and I like exploring human nature and psychology.”

Mike says he is heavily influenced by writers like Phillip K. Dick, James Tiptree Jr., Harlan Ellison, and Roger Zelazny, although he doesn’t think he writes like any of them.

Mike says many of his stories are very character-centric, and his inspiration comes from everywhere. “Ideas are all around us. I’ve never had a shortage.” Continue reading “Meet the Author: Mike D. Cooley”

When the Cover Goes Wrong – Comic Book Edition

We know the right cover is important for a book. It’s important for any book really, and that includes comic books. Below are some that fell short of the mark (I hope so, anyway). Continue reading “When the Cover Goes Wrong – Comic Book Edition”

Update on Upgrade

My own novel, Upgrade has gotten really great reviews, but sales have been dismal. My wife became inspired upon reading the article on the importance of cover design, and wanted to do a new cover for the book. We went through three iterations of possible covers. Though the book is definitely not what one would call erotica, it does contain a fair amount of steam. This, coupled with a tidbit of information from another author, whose sales tripled after he put a “cute chick” on his book cover, guided the initial cover designs.

I floated these cover proposals in one of my book groups and asked the opinion of the people who had read the book. I wanted to know if they thought the cover to be an accurate “advertisement” for the contents. Without exception, they all said these covers were not right for Upgrade. Continue reading “Update on Upgrade”