Mike Hartner was born in Miami in 1965. He’s traveled much of the
continental United States. He has several years post secondary
education, and experience teaching and tutoring young adults. Hartner has owned
and run a computer firm for more than twenty-five years. He now lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with his wife and child. They share the
neighborhood and their son with his maternal grandparents.
Mike’s
latest book is I, Angus (The Eternity Series
Book 4).
For
More Information
About the Book:
During a time of civil strife and purging the North has
lost more men to Wars then it ever did to Nature.
Angus has grown up learning that his life is better off
with only him and a family. But is that really in
The North needs someone to build community.
But first, Angus needs to be forged... beaten, shaped,
bolded and trained.
Watch as Angus hits both lows and highs across the lands of England,
Scotland and France,
before meeting a challenge of new land.
BUYING LINKS:
Thanks for this interview, Mike Hartner. Can we begin by having you tell us about
yourself from a writer’s standpoint?
From a writer’s
standpoint I’m constantly learning new things about characters, and
conversation, and points of view. And
I’m trying to incorporate that into my next book.
When not writing, what do you like to do for relaxation
and/or fun?
The question’s a bit backwards. Writing is my relaxation and fun.
Congratulations on your new book! Can you give us the very
first page of your book so that we can get a glimpse inside?
It is a few days
before my fifteenth birthday, and I have been scrubbing the castle floors all
morning. I stand and the wind blows hard in my face, moving my reddish-orange
hair from in front of my hazel eyes as I stretch my 5-foot 7-inch frame and
look out the window.
The sky is dark and gloomy, but I can’t smell the rain yet, so I know
a long time will pass before it pours down on our shire in North Scotland. In the far
distance, I observe something moving toward our castle. It’s not long before I
recognize my da’s charger. I can see others giving chase, although they’re
quite a ways back. I run to open the gate and lower the drawbridge. I yell for
my sister Janet to help me, because cranking it upright in a hurry is no small
chore for one person.
The drawbridge has just been lowered when the hooves of Da’s horse,
Spirit, come galloping across it. My sis does her part, and we quickly raise
the bridge and race to the stallion and its rider. We arrive to hear the sound
of arrows hitting the drawbridge and men yelling imprecations.
The heavily lathered stallion stands impatiently. On the horse’s back
is its owner, Sir Donald Mackenzie, my da’. He is doubled forward, holding on
to the mane, with an arrow in his upper left shoulder and another sticking out
from his right calf. He wears a blue bonnet, along with a plaid kilt depicting
our family’s lineage. A true archer, Da’s bow dangles on his back, diagonally
between his shoulders.
The men on horseback, of which there are four, think better of trying
to ford our moat, and they ride off. Lucky for us they don’t know that at that
moment we are alone in the castle. Sis and I remove Da’ from the horse, and
supporting our father between us we hurry him to his bed, where she begins
ministering to his wounds.
I wonder what has caused this terrible event? My father had left
several days ago with my much younger sister, Alice, to take her to a
neighboring laird who had offered to have her schooled. I had watched my da’
the night before give Alice a family
heirloom. It wasn’t much, but it was a locket that his great-grandmother had
passed down to my grandmother who had passed it down to my mother, who was no
longer with us. I remember Da’s telling us once that the tiny case had been
given to our family on the occasion of an aunt’s marriage into the Clan
MacDonald. I’d seen the engraving it held: two shields together, with their
crests, one on the front, one on the back. And I recall Alice's telling him,
as he fastened it to her neck, that she’d forever wear it proudly.
I’d learned, however, not to believe much of what Alice said of late, as
she was always coming up with whatever she thought would gain her purchase. But
Alice was the oldest daughter—now eleven while
Janet, who is every bit as tall as her and twice as strong, is but nine—so the
keepsake rightfully should go to her.
Da’ was onto her though, and I think he’d worked out something with
Laird MacLaren to see that she learned manners and honor as much as anything.
Aye, but I also thought it might do her good to get set down a peg, as the
MacLarens were wealthy landowners and not to be trifled with. It crossed my
mind as well that Da’ hoped she might find a man of some stature someday who’d
marry her, which would solve all the problems with Alice’s odd ways, as she
never seemed happy with what Da’ provided for her. No matter, she would be
schooled, and if nothing else she’d see other girls her age and how they acted.
She would come back a better person—if she chose to return at all, which I
highly doubted.
Da’s ride should have been a day out and a day back, with a day
in-between to enjoy the hospitality of the laird. You see, this is the North of
Scotland, and all of our families know each other, and no one just comes and
goes, even if they are not related.
My da’ is hurt bad, and even with Janet and me by his side, the
conditions are grim, as there is only so much we can do. I bring him food when
sis has it ready, but I take it away when it isn’t touched four hours later.
All he can do is let out an occasional groan.
Would you say it’s been a rocky road for you in regards to
getting your book written and published or pretty much smooth sailing? Can you tell us about your journey?
The journey to
publish has been fairly consistent. I
went through the processes during the run up to the publish of I, Walter. And I listened to the feedback that I
received. The gist of the replies was
that there were two many cross genres in my writings, and nothing stood out to
make it easier for them to sell. So, I
went with a small publisher:
Eternity4Popsicle Publishing. And never looked back.
If you had to summarize your book in one sentence, what
would that be?
I, Angus is the story of Angus Mackenzie, a Scottish
lay-priest.
What makes your book stand out from the rest?
I believe that what
makes I, Angus stand out, much like
the rest of The Eternity Series, is that all of these books deal with the human
condition.
If your book was put in the holiday section of the store,
what holiday would that be and why?
I think that I, Angus,
like the rest of The Eternity Series, feed the soul, and as such can be placed
in any holiday’s section. Because I,
Angus is less of a romance and more of historical fiction, his story is
more likely in the section around Christmas for the uplifting struggle to help
others; or Summer Reads, for the
independent spirit in the story.
Would you consider turning your book into a series or has
that already been done?
Definitely. That’s already been done. This is book four in the series. And book 5
is being worked on.
What’s next for you?
Next is book five. I, Alice should be a
challenge to write.
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