Interview: Michael J. Foy

Today I have an interview with science fiction author Michael J. Foy. His new novel Ghosts of Forgotten Empires, Volume 1 is now available both in print and as an eBook and can be purchased here.

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Tell us a bit about your new novel, Ghosts of Forgotten Empires, Volume 1.

Well it’s kind of like a Sci-Fi Mystery Thriller Romance. But seriously it is a mash up of genres but it’s mainly Sci-Fi. The hero comes by some alien technology left over from an ancient interstellar war that he has to employ in a new cold war since the other side came by it too.

What inspired the idea for the novel?

A couple of things. It’s actually the novelization of a screenplay that I optioned to Hollywood about 20 years ago. It was called False Gods but never made it to the big screen. I’ve updated it and tweaked it where it would be fair to say it’s now a stand-alone sequel to my first book Future Perfect.

Can you elaborate on the role Star Trek plays in Ghosts of Forgotten Empires?

The hero, Cord Devlin, is a devoted fan of the show. He drives his handler crazy by citing it all the time. But the lessons from the show come in handy when trying to put the bizarre happenings in the story in perspective.

Like you, science fiction also plays a big role in my life. Are there any science fiction writers who have influenced you either stylistically or in terms of ideas? Any non-science fiction writers who you would consider influential?

You mean other than Michael K. Rose? ;-) But there are others too. I liked the early Asimov stuff like Foundation of course. And then I like some lesser known Sci-Fi authors like Julian May and Fred Saberhagen.

For non-Sci-Fi, I liked Robert Ludlum who wrote the Jason Bourne series and liked Clive Cussler’s older books like Raise the Titanic.

What's in store for Volume 2?

Cord will find out more about the ancient interstellar war that touched Earth. And he’ll find it out from an unlikely source, his uncle Jamie McCord. In the process he’ll discover some family secrets that his mother, his only surviving parent, kept from him. He’ll need the information to survive and overcome his enemies on the other side of the Cold War.

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Michael J Foy was born to Irish immigrants in upstate New York. At 4 and then again at 12 years old his parents moved the family to London for a year before returning to the U.S. and permanently settling in the Boston area. Michael graduated Northeastern University in 1979 with an engineering degree and worked in that profession until 1992. In 1993 he changed careers and became a recruiter servicing the publishing industry. He founded Publishing Search Solutions in 1997 where he has worked with various clients including special assignments outside of the media industry.

Since college Michael harbored the desire to write science fiction. In 1991 he sold an option for his first novel, False Gods, as a screenplay to Timothy Bogart the nephew of Peter Guber, Producer of Batman. Tim's California based production company adapted material for the big and small screens.

Michael has since published the Science Fiction novels Future Perfect, The Kennedy Effect and Ghosts of Forgotten Empires, Volume 1. 

You can visit him at his blog here.