Q&A with Michael Mammay

From my Q&A with Michael Mammay, author of Colonyside:

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

I spent 27 years in the army, and I think that influenced my writing in a couple of different ways.

First, I try to inject a lot of realism into my soldiers and their battles. I try to give the reader the feel of what it’s like to be there, both in combat, and in the interactions between soldiers outside of combat. I think that’s one of the strongest elements of my writing, and it’s what a lot of my fans point to when they recommend the book to people.

Second, having fought in a lot of different places, I have some very strong opinions on war. Without giving away too much, let’s just say I’m not a big fan of it. The impetus behind most wars tends to be a lot less noble than we’d like to hope. At the same time, you’ve got some really decent people trying to do their best with it. And I think that makes for good stories.

What happens when you put a fundamentally decent person into an ugly situation? What happens when a person who wants to do the right thing is faced with a situation where maybe the right thing is...[read on]

Visit Michael Mammay's website.

Q&A with Michael Mammay.

--Marshal Zeringue