My name is Michael, “Mike”, Gonzales, and I want to start by thanking Chloe and the Authors’ Lounge for this opportunity. I’ve been asked to talk about my novel, The Secret of the Island.
The story takes place in the year 1899. The Spanish American War ended in Dec of `98 and all assumed peace was at hand and America could celebrate having liberated the Cuban people.
However, another war began in the new territory of the Philippine Islands.
Two competing newspaper reporters, Mr. Jeremiah Wilkerson, and Miss Bede Mistry are racing to get to the Philippines and so end up on the same tramp steamer. All other vessels have been booked by the Army.
The Captain and crew of the old steamer are not the cream of society, and the first mate, a gentleman, warns them to be on their guard.
A fearsome storm dooms their ship and they are wrecked on a strange Island, the passengers scattered.
The mate, the two reporters, and a fourth man who had been a slave aboard the wrecked vessel, band together to defend themselves against the weather, the flora, the fauna, and the captain and his surviving crewmen.
When the captain discovers their location the battle is commenced. They find they have but one avenue of escape. Taking it leads them to an incredible discovery and turns their struggle to survive into a surrealistic journey.
Growing up I became a lifelong devotee of the celebrated fictionist, Jules Verne.
Authors in the 19th century wrote differently than modern writers.
Their prose was extremely flowery, and their readers expected a great deal of description of the distant lands the author set his story in.
Why? In the eighteen hundreds, there were few photographs to be found in books or newspapers. Illustrations were drawn or woodcuts.
Today, thanks to TV mostly, when I say vast desert, tropical paradise, or the surface of the moon, a mental image pops into mind so wordy descriptions are not necessary.
As I wrote tried I tried to strike a medium to keep this story moving.
I was born in southern California in the 20th century.
After High School, I joined the Army and became a tank crewman, eventually as an NCO, a tank commander, and then a tank section sergeant.
The Army sent me to college and made an officer of me. I served as an Armored Cavalry Platoon Leader and then in several other capacities, Plans and operations, Intel, Personnel, maintenance, and others.
As a military leader, I had to become many things, among them a teacher, counselor, administrator, and a technically and tactically proficient cavalry officer.
After the Army, I became the curator of a large military history museum, where in addition to caring for the large collection I again became a teacher and administrator. Also, a researcher, tour guide, conservator, exhibitor, and more.
My mixed bag of experiences, the places I’ve been, and the things I’ve seen, both good and bad, now add greatly to the worlds I build and lend a degree of realism to my storytelling that I hope will keep you, dear reader, riveted
In addition to The Secret of the Island, I have twelve other novels available on Amazon, both as trade paperbacks and on Kindle. You’ll find Sci-Fi, Space Opera, and Fantasy stories to select from.
Please visit my page, mikegonzalesauthor.com, and follow me on Facebook, GonzoFiction.com
Thank you.
