Interview - Michael 'Rage' Fletcher

Hello Everyone!

I am delighted to bring you another instalment of our ongoing interview series with writers from around the globe! This week Smash Dragons had the awesome opportunity to once again speak with Michael R. Fletcher, author of the dark fantasy Beyond Redemption, and the previously published cyberpunk novel 88. In our last interview Michael was wonderful to chat to, and incredibly friendly and open with his responses. We discussed different things, including writing, tattoos, and drinking!

Michael, welcome back to Smash Dragons!

Sod off. 

Uh...Pardon?

I read that interview you did with Michael. It was crap, purest drivel. He didn't write the damned book, I did.

Okay. So...who are you?

I'm a manifestation of Michael's pent anger, his inability to express hurt and disappointment. A life time of suppressing his every feeling has left him an emotional cripple. I'm the most powerful of Michael's Doppels.

Right. This seems a little far fetched.

Really? You've talked with him. He's a sweetheart, isn't he? Not a mean bone in his body. He's had the same group of friends for over thirty years and they've never heard him raise his voice. See how unlined his face is? That's because he's never had a facial expression; not once has concern wrinkled his brow. Notice how he never expresses opinions on sensitive topics? Go ahead, ask him about religion. He'll waffle about and in the end you'll think he answered, but he'll have said nothing. He's a fucking coward.

Okay, but—

Shut up, I'm not finished.. You've read Beyond Redemption, right? Don't answer, I know you have. Rhetorical. It's bloody brilliant isn't it. A simple kidnapping story hiding a savage attack on everything we hold dear. Or everything most 'sane' people hold dear. It all looks like the stupidest shit to me. 

I wouldn't call it an attack—

The fuck do you know? Here's a couple quotes pulled from the book:

"Delusion is the food of the gods and they never go hungry."

"Power corrupts and a corrupted mind becomes more powerful. You ask if there is a ruler—a king, an emperor, a governor, a lord—who is sane? I think the answer clear."

"What is faith but delusion without the power to back it up?"

And those are only the the ones I can remember off the top of my head. The book pokes fun at the insane crap otherwise sane people believe.

Sure, belief is definitely one of the themes of Beyond Redemption—

You're missing the point. Can you really imagine that pansy pufftart writing something as dark and fucked up as Beyond Redemption? He doesn't have it in him.

I even hid the fact I wrote it right there in the book: "The tales are only as dark as the teller."

Remember that quote at the beginning of chapter fourteen? Have you ever met someone less dark than Michael?

Notice his middle initial? Michael R. Fletcher. The 'R' is me. I am his Rage.

Now let me ask you a question: How dark was Beyond Redemption?

Pretty damned dark.

Fucking right. Rob Bedford over at SFFWorld called Beyond Redemption "the grimdarkiest grimdark novel to ever grimdark." That's how fucking dark it is.

Now tell me you think Michael—that quiet and so fucking polite sweetheart—wrote that book.

Damn. Okay. You wrote it. 

That's right. And do I get any credit? No!

I suppose I could interview you, tell people the truth.

It's bad enough I have to write his damned books and now you want me to do his interviews too? No. I just wanted some credit. And now people know the truth: He keeps us chained in the basement—

Us?

You think I'm his only Doppel? Pfft! We're chained in the basement writing and editing his next books—they're fucking brilliant—while he sits upstairs catching up on the latest Walking Dead season.

So you don't want to do an interview?

Hells no. And your Doppel, Pride, says hello. He says he's tired of reading books and writing all those reviews for you. He wants some damned credit!

Following this Michael 'Rage' Fletcher proceeded to moon me over Skype... and scream nonsensically about harvesting my soul for his collection. I cut the interview off there. 

Beyond Redemption is available now from all good online retailers (here are the links to Amazon and Barnes and Noble) and bricks and mortar stores. Anthony Ryan loved this book, and it received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. If you like dark fantasy or grimdark, then you will love this! Pick up Beyond Redemption today! 

GIVEAWAY - 

Oh wait... there's more?! Michael has kindly offered to giveaway some download codes for his books Beyond Redemption and 88. To enter all you have to do is tweet what you think would be your whackiest delusion in the world of Beyond Redemption. Be sure to include @FletcherMR and @HarperVoyagerUS in your tweet, along with the hashtag #MyBeyondRedemption.

Winners will be chosen in 5 days! 

About Michael R. Fletcher - 

Michael R. Fletcher is a science fiction and fantasy author. His novel, Beyond Redemption, a world of dark fantasy and rampant delusion, was published by Harper Voyager in 2015. His debut novel, 88, a cyberpunk tale about harvesting children for their brains, was released by Five Rivers Publishing in 2013. The next two Manifest Delusions novels, The Mirror's Truth and The All Consuming, are currently in various stages of editing while Mike tries to be the best husband and dad he can be. Michael is represented by Cameron McClure of the Donald Maass Literary Agency. 

About Beyond Redemption:

Faith shapes the landscape, defines the laws of physics, and makes a mockery of truth. Common knowledge isn't an axiom, it's a force of nature. What the masses believe is. But insanity is a weapon, conviction a shield. Delusions give birth to foul new gods.

Violent and dark, the world is filled with the Geisteskranken—men and women whose delusions manifest, twisting reality. High Priest Konig seeks to create order from chaos. He defines the beliefs of his followers, leading their faith to one end: a young boy, Morgen, must Ascend to become a god. A god they can control.

But there are many who would see this would-be-god in their thrall, including the High Priest’s own Doppels, and a Slaver no one can resist. Three reprobates—The Greatest Swordsman in the World, a murderous Kleptic, and possibly the only sane man left—have their own nefarious plans for the young god.

As these forces converge on the boy, there’s one more obstacle: time is running out. When one's delusions become more powerful, they become harder to control. The fate of the Geisteskranken is to inevitably find oneself in the Afterdeath. The question, then, is:



Who will rule there?