Stephen Flanagan

Stephen Flanagan is a writer from Sligo, Ireland, who currently lives in Seattle, Washington. M-World is his first novel and he very much hopes you like it. He currently works on artificial intelligence applications for Microsoft, and has previously worked at Google and a Silicon Valley startup called Wand.

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FAQs

Why did you write M-WORLD?

I like stories where everyone has reasonable motivations (even if they're evil ones), and I love stories where the hero goes on a crazy adventure they weren't expecting. When I look at the kinds of books I like to read, they're hopeful stories driven by science and history, where the characters face tough decisions and hard challenges, but come out better people at the end. (Or at least, those that survive do.) At the moment though the most popular stories seem to revel in their bleakness and lack of hope, and that's not for me. So I guess I'm just writing what I want to read.

Is there a sequel to M-WORLD?

Not yet, but there might be. If you'd like one, head to my website at www.stephenflanagan.com and sign up for updates.

Are you working on another book?

Yes. Tentatively titled The Dawn Road. Tentatively set for release by end of 2019. It'll be a series, and part one will be called 'The Dawn Road: Exile'. Maybe.

Are you a full-time writer?

I am not. When I was growing up my father worked as a maths teacher and my mother was a librarian, and from them I inherited a love of both technology and story. So I'll probably always travel in both worlds, helping to build and use technology as a day job while also writing adventure stories that are driven by what technology is or could be.

Who are your favourite writers?

Michael Crichton, Iain M Banks, Kim Stanley Robinson, Neal Stephenson, F Scott Fitzgerald, Bill Bryson, Stephen King (when I can handle it), HP Lovecraft, JRR Tolkien, Walter Isaacson, Raymond Chandler, Lee Child, some of Clive Cussler... I read what I love reading, and that tends be fictional adventure stories and non-fiction books about history and technology. If I was to curate a reading list for a class, it would be an extremely confusing class for most people.

Do you have a social media presence?

I am a reasonably regular contributor to Reddit's Writing Prompts subreddit under the name HouseBlendMedium. (Those words were written on a coffee jar on my desk when I needed a username.) Other social stuff is somewhat TBD.

Got any advice for aspiring writers?

I am in the advice-receiving business when it comes to writing, rather than the advice-dispensing business.