M.L. Swift, Writer

It’s time for Melissa Maygrove’s Follow Fest, which means it’s also time to DANCE!

Remember my post during the Gary Fest Anti-Fest Blog Fester’s Fest? It festered, I guess.

You must confess, Follow Fest is similar to the Speed Dating Fest I made up for that…um…er…fest (what do you want? gala? fête? extravaganza?). Writers go meet and visit other writers briefly, however, Melissa’s is for real and NOT one to miss!

She removed that awkward goodbye kiss at the door, which improved it tenfold, and took out the trolls. As a matter of fact, if you weren’t purposefully following the link list, you’ve stumbled across the fes…er, event now.

I’ll keep this brief so we can move along, visit, meet, and follow others. Try out some people you don’t know. It’s all about mixing and mingling.

DING! The start bell sounds and we’re off like a herd of turtles.

What’s your name?

Lessee…My pen name is M.L. Swift, but my friends call me Mike. Yes, the last name, Swift, is real. Someone once asked, “Mike Swift…did you change your name to that? It sounds so show biz, like Tom Cruise. ” No, it’s all the real me.

The reason for choosing ML as my pen name is because Mike Swift sounds too crime-novelist and Michael, too romance-writer for me. It’s the same if I were to go by my middle name, so I decided on my initials. ML is easy, generic, and non-committal.

Fiction or Non-fiction?

I write fiction and non-fiction, and currently have my hands stirring both pots of stew. Although my stated genre is MG/YA, we’ll see…depending on my mood, my writing takes many forms, and my adult fiction is rather intriguing. Whatever gets published first and does well will be the deciding factor.

Our lives are surrounded by stories: in the rustle of the trees, the song of the wind, the hum of the city, the mystique of the stars. Once an idea strikes, I let the story choose the path it wants to travel.

Published?

I haven’t even considered it yet. Slow and steady wins the race. There’s a first draft sitting in wait for a total rewrite (practically) that I scribbled for NaNoWriMo2012. It needed a rest, as did I. Thank goodness—it’s been a heck of a year.

Last year was the first time I participated in NaNo and mainly patchworked a series of scenes together. It’s probably my worst piece ever, but then again, there’s been no edit at all—other than the decision to change the archetype of the protagonist, which, in turn, will change the storyline a bit. Plus, I’d like to age him. But I can use much of what I’ve already written: phrases, words, events, characters, subplots.

This year I’ll take part in NaNo again and write a fictional story that draws from my previous dog’s life, or at least uses his traits and breed. He was a beautiful springer spaniel that…well, I don’t want to spoil it for you. I’m also contemplating an adult novel which delves into the supernatural.

Many interesting thoughts…time is but the enemy.

To Follow Me:

• Facebook Writer’s Page
• Bloglovin’
• Feedly
• Twitter @mlswift1
• Google+
• About.me Page
• Pinterest
• Email Contact

And for WordPress accounts, there’s a “Follow” button in the top left of the navbar.

Be sure and check out my hundred-word contribution to Write A Short Story With Me (100 Words at a Time) that posts TODAY at NOON (EDT) over at The Magill Review. There are only six other writers left to contribute; go see how it’s shaping up!

Peace,

ML Swift

ML Swift is a writer of Middle Grade, Young Adult, and Adult fiction, although he dabbles in many genres.

An Alzheimer’s caregiver for the past ten years, he has published several articles on The Alzheimer’s Reading Room, the largest online website catering to that community, and is writing a novel about his experience in caregiving.

He resides in Florida with his dogs, Rameses and Buster, attempting to reclaim his side of the bed.