If you wish to support Michael in his quest to win the award, and would like to vote, you can do so by visiting www.albertareaderschoice.ca , selecting Cinco de Mayo
and pushing vote. You are allowed to vote once every 24 hours from any IP address. Once you have voted, please tweet “Viva Cinco de Mayo! I voted for it. Join all of us in supporting Cinco – a book for the people of the world!" When we see that, we will know that your vote came from this blog post. CONTEST: One lucky person who posts a question in the comments section will win a signed copy of Cinco de Mayo, sent out at the end of the month. Be certain to include your contact information.
They’re all vampire stories
by Michael J. Martineck
I’m thrilled Patricia’s letting me guest blog - despite the fact that my novel, Cinco de Mayo, hosts no undead – as it gives me the chance to discuss my belief that vampires remain constant in literature because . . . all writers are vampires.
In Cinco de Mayo everyone in the world is suddenly and inexplicably paired with someone else on the planet. Each person receives a full dose of the other’s memories. When asked, people recall two names, two first kisses, two complete lives. The novel follows several pairs as they deal with the new-found intimacy, or try to stay alive. Some people have learned a bit too much.
To write a novel that spans the globe, I had to feed on people I’ve known over the years, friends and acquaintances from across the world. I felt like a vampire, sucking out experiences, feelings, emotions, most of the time from unwitting victims. Hell, I was frequently unwitting. I collected pieces of people’s lives long before I knew I would write this book. I’m betting a lot of writers prey on people they know, overhear on the bus or observe, in a dim restaurant, through the corner of the eye.
This novel is hard to classify – a shot of science fiction, some paranormal, the pace of a thriller – in the end, all novels are the same. They’ve all vampire stories, as written by vampiric writers.
About the book
Cinco de Mayo tells the powerful tales of individuals around the world and their “others”:
A transit worker whose sudden knowledge of one of the leaders of the Aryan nation marks him for death.
A rich playboy from Abu Dhabi who vows to save his “other”, a child slave in a carpet factory in India.
A New York advertising executive who suddenly gets a new view on his own life through the eyes of a blind railroad worker in China.
An abused housewife who suddenly has the skills and knowledge of a Swiss Air Marshall.
There is a Cinco de Mayo story for everyone, a character in this book that you care about, maybe even love…a life that speaks to you and touches your heart.
No matter where you may be…
16 comments:
Hi, Michael.
You're a new author for me but not for long. Cinco de Mayo sounds quite unique and interestings; I look forward in reading it.
Thanks,
Tracey D
booklover0226 at gmail dot com
I'vevnever read anything by Michael but this sounds like an interesting book.
sgiden at verizon.net
Wow. Cinco de Mayo sounds really original! I would love to try it out! I look forward to giving it a try in the very near future :)
hense1kk AT cmich DOT edu
Hi, Michael. You are a new author for me also. Your book sounds really good. Please enter me in contest. Have you wrote any other books? Tore923@aol.com
This like a truly original story. I would love to read it.
twoofakind12@yahoo.com
Wow what an interesting concept. So any person can be paired with anyone else, and now has all their memories? Neat!
juliecookies(at)gmail.com
Hi Michael, your book sounds like an interesting read. I really like the cover, although some might find it cheesy. Where you involved in the process of deciding which cover to use? And who did it? Thanks in advance for your reponse.
hrududu AT hotmail DE
Hi, Michael,
This book sounds right up my alley. As a Spanish teacher, I'm curious about the title. Would it reveal too much if you talked about why the book is called Cinco de Mayo?
Thanks and best wishes--looking forward to checking this one out!
Sandy Rainey
rrainey@columbus.rr.com
Tore,
I wrote The Misspellers a few years ago. Urban fantasy for 9-12 years olds, though I think older people should like it. Maybe even younger people. Baby's could chew on it for instance.
Gconoy,
I'm glad you like the cover. It's by Tomislav Tikulin. I wasn't involved in the process, but I love the retro feel. It immediately reminded me of the paper backs that got me into the genre in the first place.
Hi Sandy,
I started the book on 5/5/5 - totally by coincidence. I'd been thinking about the novel for going on ten years and decided on that day to write a book. When I wrote the date it seemed like a good working title. The longer I lived with it, the more I liked it. It's a holiday after all, and a happy one, so, it stayed.
This sounds like a very interesting concept.
I would like to see if Michael manages to pull it off successfully so please enter me in the giveaway if it is open worldwide.
Thanks.
Carol T
buddytho {at} gmail DOT com
Cinco de Mayo sounds interesting! Love the story ideas....Why did you pick Cinco de Mayo as the title? Is the date significant in the book?
Meredith,
Cinco de Mayo happens to be the day I started writing the book. I toyed with some other titles, but this one worked out the best.
Just the people-pairings the post shared were so unique and such total opposites. How long had this story been inside of you waiting to be written? You're a brand new author for me and reading your blog post is a nice introduction.
bookcat1010 at gmail dot com
Sounds like a very interesting concept.
kaiodan@gmail.com
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