Michael Bernhart is an award winning author (none of the awards for writing – alas – but it’s still early days) who has published extensively on international development and public health – primarily service quality. His credentials for this written outpouring are a PhD (from MIT!) and four decades of international work – currently 50 countries and counting.
The journey from writing funding proposals to pure fiction was a short one. The result is the Max Brown tetralogy which traces the arc (from age 10 through 66) of a man who earnestly tries to avoid trouble, but whose behavior – or events – repeatedly drops him into it. Each of the four novels finds Max fighting bad guys and struggling with a new existential crisis – or crises – as he grows up in these trying times. Manhood used to be a birthright; now it seems to be an unending series of challenges.
Dr. (why not use it?) Bernhart started this project before the internet could serve up virtual experiences to authors. The contextual information and situations come from service as a pilot in the USAF, living in Asia, Europe and Latin America, and inexplicable success at snaring women well out of his league. These remarkable similarities with the main character noted, he insists the work is not autobiographical. It’s wish fulfillment.
Bernhart currently lives in a yurt on a mountaintop in northern Georgia with one ex-wife, two daughters, and three cats. He still flies his vintage plane, although more cautiously than before, and he’s unshakeable in his conviction that he’s God’s Gift to Aviation. He keeps a shotgun, not a pistol for home defense (read the books; you’ll see why).
VISIT THE WEBSITE
21 Things You Should Know About This Author
What book have you gifted the most? Rarely gift a book unless specifically asked for. Why? I’m already trying to shove my peculiar literary interests down others’ throats with my own writing.
What is the one productivity tool you use every day? Alcohol. Strange discovery: I can move the plot along in interesting directions after I’ve had a few in the evening. Then I clean up the ms in the harsh light of dawn.
What word do you misspell most often? I never misspell a wurd.
What three things do you do to be a successful writer? When success arrives I’ll let you know.
What are the titles of the last two books you have read? Flaubert’s Parrot by Barnes and Sapiens by Harari.
What is your favorite word? “Dismissed.” Military veterans will understand.
What do you use more often – a dictionary or a thesaurus? Neither. A liberated author invents the words he or she needs. Shakespeare minted 2,000 new words. Even W Bush made up several dozen (although none of his appear to have taken root).
What would you name the autobiography of your life? I Should Have Known Better.
What is your ‘go to’ munchie or drink while writing? Whatever’s on hand. A mistaken derivative of Freudian theory: writing is an oral activity. Then . . . maybe it really is; I make a lot of trips to the larder.
Is a picture worth a thousand words? Elaborate. I do use pictures in my books, sometimes for emotional impact, sometimes to push a narrative that I can’t express in words without being heavy-handed.
What animal are you most similar to? The frumious bandersnatch. Why? I have no idea.
How would your best friend describe you? “An outstanding human being and a fabulous lover.” You can see why she’s my best friend; she doesn’t allow honesty to get in t...
