My next interview is with science fiction and fantasy author Mike Jack Stoumbos, author of The Baron Would Be Proud.

Tell us about yourself! What would you like readers to know about you?

Mike Jack Stoumbos: My name is Mike Jack Stoumbos! I am an emerging author disguised as a believably normal high school teacher, living in western Washington with my wife and our parrot.

I am most excited to announce that this summer, one of my stories will be appearing in the Galactic Stew anthology. My novel, The Baron Would Be Proud, can be found on Amazon. I am currently seeking an agent for a new science fiction novel.

Alexis: I’m a teacher in my day job too! Middle School History and High School Music.

What book or books have most influenced you as a writer?

Mike Jack Stoumbos: The novel (and the film) Cloud Atlas were both massive, jaw-dropping WOWs for me as a storyteller. I know they’re not everyone’s cup of tea, so I don’t go around recommending them, but they seriously changed how I look at what I story can be and what it can inspire.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (series) has had a major impact on my writing in terms of tone and style, just as the classic science fiction greats have influenced content. I most enjoy my own writing when I’m building on science fiction concepts in the tradition of Asimov and Heinlein, but I’m using nuances of language like Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett. My first published novel, The Baron Would Be Proud received a lot of Pratchett comparisons from early readers.

Alexis: Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams are some of my favorite authors! I find Pratchett’s work in particular such a fascinating combination of incisive wit and dark realizations with such a huge dose of sympathy, kindness, and warmth to make it funny.

What are some tropes of fiction in your genre that you love/hate? Why?

Mike Jack Stoumbos: In science fiction (and sometimes fantasy) there is often an item or device with incalculable power that people fear or vie to control. As a reader, I get thrown off by the notion that anything can be that powerful or that it can’t be reproduced, especially if it’s technology. I know it’s easier for building an adventure, but I think it’s too easy.

I love the motley crew trope in pretty much any story as long as there are reasons for them to work together beyond money or meeting in a tavern.

Who is your favorite character in your book? What do you like about them? (or, which character do you hate most and why)

Mike Jack Stoumbos: In The Baron Would Be Proud, I did not create any characters I hated. (I can’t say I’d invite all of them to dinner.) My favorite is “the thin man” named Fletcher, a minstrel with a quick tongue and an ear for foolishness. He is simply the most fun to write for, and the one who inspires me to laugh out loud most often.

What are you doing to de-stress during the pandemic? Is there any coping mechanism you’d recommend (or NOT recommend)?

Mike Jack Stoumbos: I am singing! Those who know me in person know that I am always singing, and during more public time periods, I can be found at karaoke venues. However, as I must sing from home, I’m recording myself and posting on Youtube.

Covers, parodies, and originals, from the relative comfort of my home studio. One that has resonated a lot with the general public has been “COVID Home” inspired by a Beach Boys song.

Like many, I recommend having a schedule that isn’t so loose you feel like you’re waiting for the paint to dry, and not so rigid that you’re stressing over completing it. I don’t recommend spending long periods of time on social media, (unless you’re an emerging author or other artist and you need to play the exposure game.) 

Alexis: I love playing music and I think it’s a great way to de-stress and get your emotions out. I’ve been learning ukulele and teaching it to my daughter, and it’s so much fun.

What do you like to do other than read or write? Do you have any interesting hobbies?

Mike Jake Stoumbos: (The Mike Jack also draws!) I do concept art for everything that I write. Some of the sketches are very refined. Others are quick scribbles that I need to get out of my system or use as reference. As a teacher, I diagram on the whiteboard while I teach, and I draw on the whiteboard while I decompress from teaching. I draw a lot of whiteboard dragons, and non-whiteboard dragons...

The drawing, paired with the writing and the performing make an excellent combination for roleplaying games. (And, yes, I GM/DM, and home-brew enough content and mechanics to confuse myself.)

And finally, I enjoy partner dance, usually blues or blues fusion. I am a jack of all trades, hopefully beginning to master a few.

What TV shows/Movies do you like to watch or stream? 

Mike Jack Stoumbos: I really enjoy Survivor, Leverage, and Avatar: The Last Airbender, as well as (most of) the Star Trek series. One of my favorite movies is Galaxy Quest, to the extent that I have a Galaxy-Quest-referencing tattoo. I am always ready to rewatch Jurassic Park, Star Wars: A New Hope, or The Truman Show.

Do you like playing board games or role playing games like D&D? If so, which games do you like best?

Mike Jack Stoumbos: I do enjoy board games and role-playing games. Terraforming Mars is one of the coolest concept executions I’ve played. My wife and I have played a ton of rounds of Sentinels of the Multiverse.

I’ve actually even written a few games and created playable prototypes. I attempted to publish a game called NINJAS!!, a deduction and risk-taking game that played a little like moving battleship; though it was well received locally, we did not manage enough funding to launch it. Perhaps I’ll try again when I have more of an online presence.

Alexis: Cool! I love role-playing games. My husband and I played Scythe for a while, and now we’ve started a game of Vampire The Masquerade with some of our friends.

Do you like Greek/Roman/Norse/Asian/African mythology or folklore? What’s your favorite myth? 

Mike Jack Stoumbos: As a (half) Greek American, I felt a strong connection with Greek mythology while I was growing up; as an adult, I grew much more in touch with my Mum’s English and Scandinavian roots. My novel The Baron Would Be Proud is a single story made up of pieces of many mythologies and folklores and spun together in a way that the Baron Munchausen would appreciate. Of my published stories, one features a wild-west tall-tale (“Haunting at High Noon” in Cursed Collectibles). In July of 2020, Galactic Stew will feature a culinary approach to a Welsh fable of a great golden dragon, titled “A Real Llywelyn Scone.”

I personally delight in retelling or depictions of myths and classic stories that allow for ambiguity surrounding the supernatural or divine intervention side. The tales of the Trojan War fascinate me, and I think the movie Troy does an excellent job of creating circumstances that would turn into these larger than life myths with gods and curses.

Alexis: I think one of the powerful messages of Homer and other Greek poets is that the gods are so ambiguous and yet so powerful and vivid. I remember the scene in the Illiad where Hephaestus fights a river god in an epic contest between fire and water. I could easily imagine battlefield fires raging out of control, and how terrifying that would be to the soldiers of Troy or Mycenae.

If you write scifi, what technology or innovations or scientific discoveries have inspired your work?

Mike Jack Stoumbos: I have fun playing with almost-AI technology, whose emergent behaviors and strange logic create farces and miniature comedies of errors. I also make a lot of assumptions about the direction of VR technology, and take stabs at the possibility of interstellar travel via wormholes.

Alexis: Cool! I’m also fascinated by the possibilities of AI. I think if/when the AI singularity happens, it’s not going to be what we expect. Our understanding of an emerging intelligence is so limited, in part because I think people tend to think in black and white—logical vs. emotional thinking, good vs. bad AI. But I doubt any true super intelligence would be like that.

Find Out More About Mike Jack Stoumbos

Books: The Baron Would Be Proud and Galactic Stew

Website: https://www.mikejackstoumbos.com/

Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube