Interview with Michael Skeen

Author of The Cost of Justice

Where are you from originally and where do you reside now?

I am originally from Florissant Mo. and currently only live a few miles west of there in O’Fallon Missouri. Both locations are suburbs of St. Louis.

If you currently reside somewhere besides where you were born, what’s the story that lead from there to here?

I worked as a police officer for more than 30 years and most of those years I worked in O’Fallon Missouri.

What made you decide to write and publish your first book?

I retired from my career as a police officer and at first, I enjoyed traveling with my wife but eventually, it got expensive and we each had some health issues. I did some volunteer work but found it just wasn’t enough to stay busy and to feel I was accomplishing something that expressed my beliefs. As a police officer, I wrote thousands of police reports which were factual but also descriptive of what I saw at crime scenes.

I decided to write some fictional short stories simply as an exercise for my mind and to keep busy. Friends that I showed the stories too were encouraging and urged me to write more.

It took me more than two years to write my first novel based on those short stories. The stories had been based on political pundits warnings what would happen if the president or Congress took certain actions. In the novel those actions are taken and consequences follow.

How would you describe your books to first time readers?

These books are political thrillers. They involve politics but those also show actions that occur because of policies enacted. In the series; The Cost of Freedom, The Cost of Liberty, and The Cost of Justice, the reader will experience epidemics, espionage, kidnapping, murder, world war, nuclear explosions, the invasion of the United States and the fight to retake our country. Hopefully, once you start the series you will find it difficult to stop.

Who do you feel is most likely to connect with the topics you write about?

Anyone interested in world politics. Even though the first book was written between 2010 and 2012 and published in 2014, the character that becomes president is faced with many of the problems our current president is faced with. Neither political party wants to work with him and he has to pull strings and find a way to work around Congress while world politics becomes a huge issue.

What unexpected or surprising thing did you learn during the process of writing and publishing?

I wanted to make these books realistic so I decided to do quite a bit of research. I learned it was not the difficult task I remember when I was in school. I could not believe how much information is readily available on the internet and easy to obtain. I also learned that self-publishing is an expensive task. It takes enormous patience but the end result can be very rewarding.

If you could, what advice would you give to your past self before embarking on this journey?

I would have spent more time attempting to find a literary agent to sell my books to a commercial publisher. I didn’t write and publish these books with the idea that they would make me rich (and that is a good thing). I just would have liked to break even in sales but getting your books in stores takes a real professional because there are many books out there and limited space on book store shelves.

How many people would you ideally like to reach with your books?

I would love to see millions of people read and enjoy my books, but realistically I would be thrilled if thousands read them. When anyone asks me about book sales I am known to say I am on the Amazon Popular Author list but I am over 700 thousand from the top–but I am on the list.

What has been the biggest challenge and frustration during the process to date?

Marketing — Marketing — Marketing This has been the toughest challenge for me. Hiring professional marketing help can be as expensive as the original publishing costs and trying to do it on your own is very difficult. I feel my books are good but getting that information to others has been very difficult.

What’s your biggest strengths when it comes to book a) writing, b) publishing and c) marketing?

I feel that my research and descriptive writing were my biggest strengths in writing and I think the topics in the books are interesting and timely. In publishing, I felt that my patience and ability to work with the publisher’s representatives helped to make the books a success. In marketing, I feel like I have a lot to learn and I am trying to keep an open mind when trying to work with people who are not interested in working with independent authors.

What’s your biggest weakness when it comes to book a) writing, b) publishing and c) marketing?

I didn’t work on a regular schedule while writing but had a tendency to work only when the urge hit me. In publishing, I did not stick with the same publisher for each book but experimented with whoever gave me the best deal. The savings was not worth the quality that was lost. In marketing, I failed miserably and had more weaknesses than I could list.

When do you think you will write your next book?

I want to get away from this series and I am exploring several ideas right now. I hope to publish my next book in late 2020.

Are you self published or did you use a hybrid publisher, or a traditional publisher?

Self Published.