Welcome to the Saturday Spotlight, a weekly feature that shines the light on Indie and Debut authors. This week I have the pleasure introducing readers to:

MICHAEL LOYND

~Author of All Things Irish~

I have an insatiable curiosity about all things. I love a good adventure. I am Clark Griswold when it comes to family vacations. I don’t have cable.

What inspired you to write All Things Irish?

My inspiration came from my wife, who worked one holiday season at this quaint Irish shop and came home each night with the most entertaining stories. The women who worked there were a bewitching, tight-knit cast of characters, who lived and breathed all things Irish. They reminded me of the Celtic version of the loveable Southern beauty shop ladies in Steel Magnolias. It recalled another peculiar Irish shop from summers I spent in Door County, WI. I remembered it as this charming, but out-of-place outpost in the middle of the most diehard Scandinavian hinterland outside of Norway. The contrast intrigued me. My subsequent curiosity uncovered a story filled with hilarious characters and quirky subcultures—all of which unfolded like a Fannie Flagg novel. It was too great not to write about, so I began with a big smile on my face.

If you could pick a song to encapsulate the mood of your book what would it be and why? 

Finnegan’s Wake. It’s a funny Irish song about quirky Irish people based on a story by quintessential Irish author James Joyce. You can’t get more Irish than that. 

Have any authors or books inspired you or your writing? 

Every book I read on some level. If it’s bad, it helps me learn why, and if it’s good, it teaches you to write better. I love a good story. There is so much to understand about telling one and I love every opportunity to learn.

Three of your favorite things? 

A good story, a great laugh, and good friends. It sounds corny, but it’s true. Starbucks is fourth.

*Tina will agree with you on this one, Starbucks half passion half black tea is awesome.

What do you want readers to walk away with after reading your book? 

A big smile. That’s my goal. I want them to have a lot of fun, and perhaps gain a little more insight about life.

Whats on the horizon, more books, new projects? 

My next book is Gossiping With A Witch. I LOVE this story. It’s a redemptive tale about dealing with heartbreak, based on Teddy Roosevelt’s outrageous daughter Alice, who early in life suffered so much heartbreak that she closed herself to love. Her mother died in childbirth, her father emotionally abandoned her, her stepmother never forgave Teddy for being his “second choice” and took it out on Alice, and Alice refused to let it keep her down, masking her pain by rising up to become the Paris Hilton of her day and ruling Washington society for most of the 20th century. What’s so intriguing is that Alice’s redemption did not come until her 70s, when her only child committed suicide and she was left to raise an 11-year-old granddaughter who blamed Alice for her mother’s death. That’s where the story begins.

Michael Loynd is the author of All Things Irish: A Novel, and the upcoming Gossiping With a Witch (the inspired true story of Alice Roosevelt Longworth). Married to his high school sweetheart, they live in St. Louis with their four children.

a Rafflecopter giveaway