Winterview with Author Max. W. Miller

To celebrate 13 weeks of winter, Hàlön Chronicles will be conducting one interview a week for 13 weeks. Join us on the hashtag #13Winterviews, or check out our right-side blog hop to sneak a peek at all the wonderful authors and artists I’ll be interviewing in the coming weeks.

Hosted by: K. J. Harrowick

Without further ado, Science Fiction, Fantasy & Paranormal Author: Max W. Miller.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I am African American, Southern author living in Raleigh, North Carolina. During the worst personal crisis of my life, I picked up a pen and found solace in writing out grief. I had an epiphany about the one thing that has been a part of my life since childhood. Through tough times and joyous occasions, from then to now, and every transitional period in between, some form of written expression had drizzled from my pores. Soon, my grief-writings turned into positive messages in the form of science fiction, fantasy, and paranormal stories.

My moment came at a time after I’d closed my flower shop and went to real estate school. After becoming a real estate broker, I realized I didn’t like driving around disgruntled home-seekers all day. That’s when I hunched my back and continued my creative climb. I finally grabbed hold to and understood the brightest fire burning inside me and the only way to feel fulfilled was to Own-It. Embracing this fire pushed aside the monetary compensation of other jobs and careers. I began to write on a consistent basis—not sporadically like I’d done throughout the years.

Today crisis abated I am free to create incredible award-winning science fiction, fantasy, and paranormal book series about imaginary worlds, vivid characters, and their nemeses.

What types of books do you write, and why?

Science Fiction, fantasy and paranormal with a focus on my true life experiences with what most would call paranormal. It is quite reasonable to believe that every day, real people like you and me encounter the scientifically unexplainable. At some point during a lifespan, the paranormal awakens, shakes its shoulders, and walks into one of life’s many crises. My books explore all of these entities and how they could be interacting with us.

In Savannah, Georgia where I was born and raised, I struggled for many years trying to understand the reasons for my dreams and visions that foretold of future events. I have come to believe that the human spirit is forever connected one to the other, whether embodied or disembodied.

I can remember One night as a scared, shy little girl, my eyes were opened to see into another realm. Lying on my bed in this state, the terror that monsters were peering through the darkness waiting to eat me had dissolved. I became mesmerized by silky sheets of fluffy floating rainbows, bold and colorful and waving down at me from the ceiling. While I watched, this phenomenon gently lulled me into a peaceful sleep—totally calm—monsters gone.

In my late teens, I seriously questioned my sanity when some dreams began to come true, and from time to time, my opened or closed eyes would glimpse an entity who shouldn’t have been there. Although the appearance became sketchy over time, the actual encounter lingers in the unforgettable part of my brain.

There have been times while knowing I lie on my bed, mental awareness overtakes me, I am somewhere else, and something is coming. I wonder what would it be this time—echoey footsteps, will it enter my room move slowly or in a big hurry, or would my invisible visitor be bold enough to materialize? Relax, this is my real Paranormal life.

Since other family members were prone to have similar experiences, it took me a good while to understand that not every family in America had these supernatural-normal events taking place—like when one of my brothers (who will remain nameless) saw an angel in the upstairs hallway at the duplex on Dundee Street. The brother, who I fear for my life to name, took off running as if his life depended on him getting away from the glorious visiting messenger. The angel says something like: “Wait, don’t leave,” but my brother probably heard, “Run for your life before I kill you.” The incident is one of many family jokes.

There had been times when I understood the reason for an encounter; many times I’m not sure why all the bits and pieces of information come. My friend said, “Sometimes the messenger comes to you on behalf of someone else.”

What were your early influences, and how does this manifest in your work today?

I grew up in a family of dreamers and vision-seers, literally. There was always a supply of supernatural events to hear about, whether it was a brother running from an angel or an evil spirit/the devil chasing someone. Needless to say as well as what I glean through meditation has a profound effect on my stories. Every story begins with a thought triggered by something seen naturally, through a dream or vision, or perhaps both.

I write down the characteristics of my protagonist (leading character), his or her back story, the story I want to tell and the one I’ll tell next. And then I’ll find more than one antagonist whose job is to stop my hero. A strong protagonist will have a back story and unfinished business moving forward at the end of Book 1. Through dreams and visions, I have been able to provide quantifiable information that has brought realism to my fiction books.

Regardless of how the world evolves, it seems that aliens, ghosts, and the others shall never leave.

Are there aspects of the craft that excite you more than others?

The raw draft that creates a story. My books are multicultural in nature reaching beyond the border of Earth into worlds layered inside other worlds. People of any race can see a ghost or even be a ghost or a dark skinned, red-headed teen can be a superhero and make a decision to risk her life to save Earth. Inside the realms of dreams, visions, and intuitive thinking an unparalleled journey takes place where a family of death angels finds themselves caught in between where imagination meets truth.

What books or websites are your go-to places while editing?

I have two go to sites that are critical to my editing process, merriam-webster.com and thesaurus.com. These sites help me improve my manuscript by building a strong vocabulary, and an ample supply of words to choose from.

Tell us about your writing space (music/snacks/interruptions/etc).

I have an office in the back section of my family room, with an antique desk that I use for writing. The wall directly in front of my desk is filled with a juxtapose of posted notes of inspiration, book editing notes jotted on a white board and a desk calendar my honey hung to track my writing schedule and appointments. During the day the room is filled with white noise from the television and an abundance of light, but I must admit I am very much a night rambler and that’s when my characters choose to take center stage, Unexplainably the dark of night fuels my creative process. It helps to have an active imagination too.

Tell us about your current WIP or your latest book release.

Through a series of events that took place in 2016, I’ve set aside a couple of my book series and my circle (consisting of my husband and my technical, bestie, who sticks with me through thick and thin, arguments and laughter) and I are focusing in on the death angel series who has garnered quite a bit of interest through contests and booksellers. I know in the past I have simply taken on too many series at one time so I’m filing it down to one and I feel good about that!!!

My Hub is where most of my activities can be found it is www.MaxWMiller.com I can also be found on most social media platforms as MaxWMiller My books are available on amazon.com

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Okay, seriously… I’ve known Max for years, and she is an AMAZING WOMAN! Be sure to follow Max and keep updated on all her latest releases:

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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Before you leave, don’t forget to check out all the amazing Winterviews Authors. 🙂