Bookpleaures.com welcomes as our guest Michael Ryan Hahn. This is Michael’s debut novel and the first in a planned 7-part series, The Anthem of Ash & Pistols.

He previously wrote a standalone horror novella called Children of the Storm.

He recently released an adventure podcast in the style of old radio plays called Fire Pockets.

His stories aim to weave exciting action with humor and heart, with complicated villains—probably because of his upbringing. He comes from a big ol' raucous family, and he survived a shockingly bruising (but not altogether unfun) cadre of violently delinquent Boy Scouts to become an Eagle Scout. He loves fight scenes.

He lives in Los Angeles with his wife. In his spare time, he designs custom habitats for cats.

The habitats are highly popular with the cats.

Bee: Welcome Michael and thank you for taking part in this interview. What is your favorite scene in the book? Why?

Michael: I love the ending. And I can’t say why, because that would spoil it! But another favorite scene, probably a third of the reason I wanted to write this story, is the chapter concerning the wedding. The Punimin are throwing a wedding in secret, way out in the woods where they’re sure the Strelkie won’t catch them. It’s meant to be a clandestine affair, though they can’t help themselves from throwing the biggest, loudest, roaringest rebel party of their lives. They’ve all brought weapons with them just in case, even though they think they’re safe. The trouble is, someone in the family has betrayed them to the king…

Bee: Where do you get the names for your characters?

Michael: I have two rules for names in this book series. The first is that the names have to sound cool, and as easily pronounceable as possible. That’s just a taste thing. The second rule is more of a system. In this world, the Punimin surnames come first, and they have to do with your family’s trade. The Clock family makes clocks and calendars, the Pistol family shoots and fights ferociously, the Teeth family are dentists, the Irons are generally blacksmiths, and on like that. It’s important to Punimin to do it this way because all babies, both Punimin and Strelkie, are sorted at birth by “neutral examiners.” It’s a way the Strelkie control their society. They pick who lives in Strelkie City and who lives in the Punimin wilderness. Your culture is assigned at birth. Most Punimin families are more than half-adopted. So, the surname is especially important to the Punimin, as no one can tell at a glance whose family you were born in to. As for the Strelkie, their names are surname last, and have more to do with sounding impressive than meaning anything in particular. That society has no families—people are romantically partnered on three-month cycles in an effort to create the king’s ideal of a Unified Society. Children are rotated as well. It’s all about the king’s control. That’s why the names in Strelkie society are more about the individual—no one has a tribe. There are other continents and countries in the forthcoming books, and they have their own naming conventions as well. So, there’s quite a lot to it, but in the end, the names also have to be fun to say.

Bee: How completely do you develop your characters before beginning to write?

Michael: Some of them spring to life fully formed, with voices and dreams and fears intact. Other times, I begin with half an idea, and they tell me who they are. For example, I wasn’t expecting the villain of the second book to be who it is. That character just demanded it, and I followed. A few characters are based a little bit on people I’ve known, but really more as combinations of people. Those tend to be the ones who go running wild and become the bigger unexpected heroes or villains. Maybe because the chemistries of their characters aren’t quite mixed yet, and in my experimenting, sometimes they explode. I will say that when a character needs to die, I’ve noticed that I either tend to develop them in a way where their death will be tragic and severely effect another character’s road, or I try to make them really deserve it to the point where you might cheer when they get their satisfying comeuppance. 

Bee: How does being from a large family impact your writing?

Michael: I learned a lot about point of view as a kid. People joke every Thanksgiving about what on earth are they going to do when these familial cultures clash at the table. Well, that was every night for me for many years! I like to think it makes me aware of when I’m drifting too heavily into one point of view. And I know it keeps me from being neutral, because neutral is boring—unless it’s taking some kind of risk. But I like best when I can tell a story that makes people who completely disagree on something feel like they both perfectly relate to the same thing. They might relate for opposite reasons, but they relate the just the same. Something about that feels good.

Bee: Tell us about your cover. Did you design it yourself? 

Michael: I did! It’s based on my parents’ wedding photo. They have this silhouette photo I remember seeing every day of my childhood. I asked some family about it and they all remember it too. Something about the image just burned into our minds. So, I thought that would be great to use for the cover and to share. I added a slew of weapons, and they both thought it was great. I also wanted to have a painterly quality to the whole thing, so I went about doing that as well. I’ll also note that no AI was, or will ever be, used in my writing or cover designs. In fact, on the inside page, I have a logo called “M.F. Machine Free, No Artificial Intelligence Was Used.” It’s a declarative mark, very human-drawn-looking, professing my stance against letting machines replace our God-given creativity. I think tools are great, but replacing your mind with machines isn’t. Anyone is free to use that mark in their work if they want to.

Bee: What writers have you drawn inspiration from?

Michael: I’m a big fan of J.R.R. Tolkien, Kurt Vonnegut, Mark Twain, William Goldman, and Jerry Seinfeld. Can you imagine a lunch with all of them?

Bee: What was your first job?

Michael: I was hired as a kid to do yard work at a neighbor’s large property in the woods with this incredibly shifty gravel driveway on a ridiculously steep hill with death drop-offs on either side. I drove the truck off the driveway, down the side of the hill, and through the yard. I managed to not crash into the pond. That might’ve been my first driving lesson: gravity doesn’t care about what you think.

Bee: What do you do when you are not writing?

Michael: I’m a filmmaker first, so I’m often working on a film project (ALIEN THEORY) or a hilarious podcast (FIRE POCKETS). I’ve been doing a lot with construction lately, and helping friends with their creative projects however I can.

Bee: What book/s are you reading at present? 

Michael: I’m rereading (and reading some for the first time) Kurt Vonnegut’s entire collection of stories. And, frankly, I’m reading way too many tweets.

Bee: What are you currently working on?

Michael: Book II of The Anthem of Ash & Pistols. The ending of Book I is such that I think people will be completely surprised where the story goes from there. The writing is well into revisions now. And I’ve worked ahead on some of the other books, too. I’d like to release the whole series at a reliable clip, so no one has to wait too long to see what happens next. It’s looking good. I’m a deadline hound.

Bee: Thanks once again and good luck with all of your endeavors.

Michael: I’d just like to thank you for this interview and encourage anyone who enjoys Pistol Rose and her fight against tyranny to share as much. You can check michaelryanhahn.com for updates, and tag me @michaelryanhahn on Twitter. I hope this book stirs the good fire in your heart.

Follow Here To Read Bee's Review of Pistol Rose