Hastings Missoula and 2016

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I’m happy to announce that Hastings Missoula and I will be celebrating the new year with the first author event of 2016.

The event starts at 2pm. I’ll be signing copies of my debut novel THE PULLER, and challenging customers to arm wrestling matches for shots of whiskey (okay, I won’t be doing this, just the signing).

Also, Facebook contacted me a couple days ago and hit me up with the verified public figure badge. This feels kind of weird, but I’m digging it. Therefore, I’ll be posting much more news over there. Stop by and say hello, I’d love to see you there:

Official Facebook fanpage

I also just started an Instagram account, where I post a good deal of my nature photos along with writing images:

Instagram

Best,

– Michael

2015

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It’s been an interesting year. Okay, it’s been a crazy year. Absolutely crazy.

I really don’t want to go into a detailed, point-by-point rehash. So many writers get caught in the meta. Quite honestly it’s a waste of time and boring.

My debut novel, The Puller is in the wild. I honestly never thought the story of Matt Kearns would end up overseas in Germany, let alone being optioned for a Hollywood movie. I just wrote what I wanted to read and worked my ass off.

It’s that simple.

The book was critiqued by one person and one person only: Sarah Welsh, whom I dedicated the novel to for reasons I won’t divulge.

I wanted to launch my debut in an arts friendly town, and Missoula was the place. I’d passed through this town for years, always knowing I’d live here one day. Well, I made that happen in 2015. No regrets at all.

The media here was warm and receptive. Garth at Shakespeare and Company was awesome. So was Barbara at Fact and Fiction. John at Hastings made me feel at home.

Continue reading →

The Puller launches in Germany

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I’m extremely pleased to announce that my debut ‪novel‬, THE PULLER has officially launched in Germany today. It’s always been a dream of mine to get a book into the German public.

Thanks to Steffen Janssen, Andreas Schiffmann, and the staff at Luzifer Verlag for their hard work.

By the way, the reason for the title change is that “Puller” is slang in German, lol.

I’m digging the new cover, too:

Trapped-Gefangen-Michael-Hodges-3D-350

The Dry Lake

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It’s almost been one year since I moved to the great state of Montana.

Living here has always been a dream of mine. I love the space, the majestic variety of megafauna, the forested slopes and the clear streams.

It’s been great for my writing career. I launched my debut novel in the friendly arts town of Missoula, and the media was supportive. Along with the debut novel, I scored a Hollywood movie deal.

However, it hasn’t exactly been good for my writing. While in the Chicago suburbs, I felt the crush of overpopulation, of 10 million people bearing down on me. I saw nothing but endless strip malls and too many cars to count. This crush propelled an anxiousness that produced eight novels…most about trapped people (not surprising).

But Montana removed all that, and therefore my “inspiration”. I don’t feel trapped here. I don’t feel squeezed in. Even on Brooks and Reserve I can see the Lolo National Forest. Lesser national forests are six hours from Chicago. This acts as a release valve, and I don’t feel as compelled to sit down at the keyboard like I used to.

Until now.

This past week, I started a new novel called “Dry Lake”. It’s based in Missoula, as it should be. A long time ago Missoula was an enormous lake, but no more.

Sometimes things come back….