About the author

Hi. I'm Mike.

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Thanks for your interest in Revenge of the Star Survivors. Here are a few details about me that could come in handy in some very specific circumstances. Say, if you are writing a book report about Revenge of the Star Survivors. Or if you are on Jeopardy! and the category is, “AUTHORS WHO WROTE REVENGE OF THE STAR SURVIVORS.” Or if you are just surfing the internet and are really bored. (If you are in the middle of reading the book and really bored … I guess I am in trouble.)

Anyhow, let’s start at close to the beginning: I have an aunt who says that when I was 2 years old, I could pull out the TV Guide and find the listing for Star Trek. I don’t know if that is actually true, but I want it to be.

I got interested in space early because my dad was an engineer who helped build space shuttles and Mars landers, which I thought was the coolest thing anybody could possibly do. His job meant that we moved a few times when I was a kid. I grew up in California, Colorado, Louisiana and Colorado again.

Moving can be fun. I think it taught me how to be comfortable in unfamiliar surroundings, a skill that I’ve used a lot as a journalist. Unfortunately, I was also an extreme dork. Which made being the new kid a bit of a challenge at times. If you find yourself in a similar situation, my advice to you is … well, just read Revenge of the Star Survivors. Maybe it will help.

Reading books always helped me cope. My favorites included the Chronicles of Prydain series by Lloyd Alexander; The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster; and anything by Judy Blume. If you and I ever meet, ask me about the time she tweeted about something I wrote about her. If I haven’t told you three times already.

I’ve spent most of my grown-up life as a journalist. I would have enjoyed making Mars landers like my dad, but he worked a lot harder at learning math than I did. But being a journalist can be fun, too. Once I got to interview William Shatner (he called me out for putting my pen in my mouth when I was trying to show that I was listening to him thoughtfully; if you ever interview a famous person, I suggest you find some other way of showing that you are paying attention.)  Another time, I got to meet Anthony Daniels, who played C3PO, when he stopped by the newsroom (he was actually there to talk to someone else; I’m only mentioning him because I have this nice photo of the two of us.)

For the past decade, a lot of my job has involved editing book reviews. That’s given me an excuse to go out and hear all kinds of really excellent writers talk about how they created their books, which is pretty much how I learned how to write mine. I even got to interview Norton Juster. I still get kind of excited just thinking about that. (If you have not read The Phantom Tollbooth, get off the internet immediately and go find a copy. Seriously.)

I am married; I have three kids; I like German chocolate and Chicago-style pizza; I am not much of a baseball fan but I do like college basketball (go Jayhawks!); and I remain an extreme dork, proudly.

And I hope you like the book. Thank you for reading this.