GLORY DAYS received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author JP Michaels.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
GLORY DAYS, 10/23/20.
What’s the book’s first line?
“No word, yet?” Chantal Brown assumed as she arrived with two paper cups filled with coffee.
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
GLORY DAYS is about the 25 year class reunion of one of the last high schools in Mississippi to be integrated. Told in both flashbacks to their senior as well as the reunion, the alumni come face to face with their roles in history when an unexpected visitor shows up with a paid ticket he received from an anonymous source. His name is Tyrone Bennett, a black graduate of their class who was just released from prison after the NAACP won an appeal to get him a new trial. His alleged victim: Lucy May Watkins, a white classmate whose body was founded brutally murdered the day after graduation. Is Tyrone guilty of her murder? If not, who is? And could the real killer be among them at the reunion? Only by visiting the ghosts of a well-hidden past will the answers to these questions be found.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
The scene in the book where Tyrone unexpectedly shows up to the reunion popped into my head out of nowhere and after playing out the scenario, I realized I had a book that I had to write.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
To learn about how the period of integration really unfolded in the South from all points a view, in particular the young adults who would be responsible for whether the Civil Rights Act would succeed or fail in this country.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
The main character is not based on any particular figure. Like millions of Americans who came of age in the 1960’s, he’s an ordinary person who grew up in an extraordinary time and debates whether his role in history was a positive or negative one.
If they made your book into a movie, who would you like to see play the main character(s)?
Considering these characters are played at two different points in their lives, I’m not sure I can accurately cast the roles as both teenagers and adults. I can say that Michael Bradford (the lead) makes me think of Brad Pitt. Tyrone Bennett would be Idris Elba and Rachael Wiecz would be Michael’s love interest, Megan Whitestone.
When did you first decide to become an author?
As soon as I learned to write.
Is this the first book you’ve written?
Second of four novels, so far.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
Hotel Auditor.
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
It varies depending on inspiration.
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?
The best is writing at your schedule. The worst is not writing with an advance. 😉
What’s a great piece of advice that you can share with fellow indie authors?
Get the first sentence on the page even when you don’t feel like writing. You’d be surprised how quickly you feel like writing once you have something on the page.
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
Yes, of course. I’d love for someone else to figure out how to promote my books.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
I’d like fame and fortune, but mostly, I just want to make people feel the way I feel after finishing a great book.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
Nelson DeMille. I’d never have thought of writing a novel were it not for him.
Which book do you wish you could have written?
None. I’d rather write my own great book and not be robbed of the chance to read someone else’s great book.