Inspiration is a funny thing. It can come to us like a lightning bolt, through the lyrics of a song, or in the fog of a dream. Ask any writer where their stories come from and you’ll get a myriad of answers, and in that vein I created the WHAT (What the Hell Are you Thinking?) interview. 

Today’s guest for the WHAT is Michael C. Bland, author of The Price of Rebellion which was named “Best Science Fiction” in the 2022 Indies Today awards.

Ideas for our books can come from just about anywhere, and sometimes even we can’t pinpoint exactly how or why. Did you have a specific origin point for your book?

The idea started when I was riding the “L” in Chicago one day. Everyone’s faces were buried in their phones as the train roared from one stop to the next, and I thought, “I could strip naked and no one would notice.” Yet the subway car had cameras on the ceiling—so someone could be watching without my knowledge. From there, I wondered if that someone could be watching with malicious intent—to blow up the train, hold us hostage—and if so, how could I protect myself.

I then imagined living in a world where virtually every moment was watched. We’re moving closer to that future already, with more cameras being installed every day. If I did something wrong—or if someone I loved did—how could I protect them? What could I do?

These questions were the origins of The Price of Safety, and they continue with the second book in the trilogy, The Price of Rebellion. (You don’t have to read the first to read the second. The Price of Rebellion stands on its own, and contains quick summaries of what you need to know from the first book, though the experience is richer if you read The Price of Safety first.)

Once the original concept existed, how did you build a plot around it?

The plot stemmed from two focal points: family and technology. I know, weird focal points. I wanted to explore what the world would be like in the near future, with the technology developed, the risks they bring, and the ways they can work both to the characters’ benefit and detriment. But I wanted to ground the story, not just for myself but for the reader. We will still have family in the future, still have loved ones and will fear for their safety. I wanted that mix of sci-fi and family dynamics, as I haven’t found a lot of that in this genre.

Have you ever had the plot firmly in place, only to find it changing as the story moved from your mind to paper?

Yes, I’ve had the plot shift under me more than once. With The Price of Rebellion, the plot changed dramatically when I started to outline the plot in detail. I have to outline each novel, not only because that’s how my brain works but the future I’ve created has a lot of interwoven “rules” for a lack of a better term. As I started to build out this plot, I realized there was a major event that not only was a surprise, it changed the entire trajectory of the story. There were other changes to the plot as well, but each one had to serve the overall narrative. This meant I had to reject some ideas as they didn’t fit, but this also led to other ideas that made The Price of Rebellion stronger.

Do story ideas come to you often, or is fresh material hard to come by?

I have a ton of ideas. New ones hit me all the time. However, that doesn’t mean they’re any good, and even those that are viable rarely come fully formed. Some are just snippets, and others are vague. In the end, I might have one great idea for every fifty bad ones, but that’s how my mind works, and I welcome each idea, as they’re part of my process. 

How do you choose which story to write next, if you’ve got more than one percolating?

I gravitate toward ideas that have interesting hooks. Then I start developing the top ideas, to see which ones generate enough inspiration and excitement to expand into a full story. After I’ve developed the ideas to the point where they seem viable, I craft blurbs of the potential stories, and from there, I determine which story I want to focus on. A novel can take two to three years to work on, so I want to make sure I choose the best story to focus on. 

I have 6 cats and a Dalmatian (seriously, check my Instagram feed) and I usually have at least one or two snuggling with me when I write. Do you have a writing buddy, or do you find it distracting?

I don’t have a writing buddy. We have two small Chinese Crested dogs, but they mostly follow my wife around, so my distraction level is minimal…though the puppy will occasionally appear with a toy, hoping I’ll play with him. That becomes a distraction, but he’s too cute to resist.

Michael C. Bland is a founding member and the secretary of BookPod, an online book support group. “Elizabeth”, one of his short stories, won Honorable Mention in Writer’s Digest 2015 Popular Fiction Awards contest, and two of the short stories he edited have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. His debut novel, “The Price of Safety,” reached #7 in Amazon’s rankings for Dystopian novels and received Finalist awards three times: by the Indie Book Awards for both Science Fiction and Thriller, and by National Indie Excellence Awards for New Fiction. The second book in the planned trilogy, “The Price of Rebellion” was named “Best Science Fiction” in the 2022 Indies Today awards.  He currently lives in Florida. Learn more about Michael via his website: https://www.mcbland.com/