Michael Schulkins

Biography

Michael Schulkins was born and raised in California, and although he has checked out repeatedly, he has of course been unable to leave. He lives with the love of his life in a classic mid-century modern house in Silicon Valley, just an iPhone’s throw from Apple Galactic Headquarters. Michael attended several universities and eventually emerged with two degrees in physics, one in music composition, and minors in math, political science, philosophy, and poker. He subsequently spent twenty years teaching physics, and now writes full time. His novels include the comic crime capers Mother Lode and Sting Suite, and the out-of-this-world political satires Beltway and Up A Tree: A Jobs and Plunkitt Galactic Adventure. All of Michael's books will give you a good laugh, but they'll also make you stop and think.

Smashwords Interview

What's the story behind your latest book?
I’ve been a science fiction fan all my life, but until Up a Tree: A Jobs and Plunkitt Galactic Adventure came along, I had never written any. And I still may not have, because instead of inspiring that classic sense of wonder at the mysteries of the universe, Up a Tree shamelessly hijacks the tropes of science fiction and turns them into a vehicle for humor and satire.  There isn’t a lot of humorous or satirical science fiction abroad in the galaxy these days, presumably because science fiction usually takes place in the future, and you can’t make fun of things that haven’t happened yet. But I wanted to make fun of the here and now by abusing the there and then of science fiction. The big question was whom I should put in the vehicle. Inspiration came when I thought to combine two disparate influences: P G Wodehouse’s Jeeves and Wooster stories and Keith Laumer’s Retief stories. Everyone knows Jeeves (or at least they should), Retief maybe not so much. Retief is sort of an intergalactic James Bond who travels to interesting and amusing alien planets, saving the inhabitants from the predations of politicians and other fools. So, through the magic of science fiction, Jeeves and Wooster are reborn as the iBot servant Jobs and his master Galactic Senator Braydon Gorebush Plunkitt XII, who travel the galaxy saving the alien races of the United Systems of the Spiral Arm (Armericans) from the predations of politicians, Senator Plunkitt, and other fools. Up a Tree is the first of those galactic adventures.
What motivated you to become an indie author?
I have loved reading for pretty much as long as I can remember, especially fiction, so at some point I decided I had to try my hand at writing it. When I did, I found that I really enjoyed both the process of writing, and the results. I hope you do too.
Read more of this interview.

Where to find Michael Schulkins online

Books

Beltway
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 150,830. Language: English. Published: March 2, 2018 . Categories: Fiction » Humor & comedy » Satire
It's not the real world . . . it's Beltway. Before he knows what hit him, regular guy Clement Green has fallen down the rabbit hole and finds himself in Beltway, the nation's capitol as you've never seen or imagined it before.
Sting Suite
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 115,490. Language: English. Published: March 1, 2018 . Categories: Fiction » Thriller & suspense » Crime thriller, Fiction » Humor & comedy » Black comedy
When world-class con artist John Law discovers a congressional committee has frozen the $97 million he scammed from Uncle Sam, he heads straight for the belly of the beast: Washington DC.  Law draws hard-drinking, skirt-chasing US Senator Frank Mahoney and his straight-arrow chief of staff Tom Beckman into an elaborate scheme designed to trick Mahoney into getting Law’s millions out of stir.
Mother Lode
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 87,530. Language: English. Published: March 1, 2018 . Categories: Fiction » Thriller & suspense » Crime thriller, Fiction » Humor & comedy » Black comedy
Put a dollar in the slot, pull the handle, then try to follow the action as the plots start to spin out of control. Mother Lode delivers a jackpot of laughs, surprises, suspense, and deadly fun as a pack of charming, ruthless, and insane characters all try to beat the Biggest Slot Machine in the World.

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