Michael Carrier, author

Michael Carrier never had a doubt that he would become a writer of fiction. When, as a journalism student in college, his professor required him to write his own obituary, he wrote that when he turned fifty years of age he would begin writing fiction. The professor was not pleased that Michael wanted to delay his career, and so challenged the rationale. Michael simply told him that he would not start writing novels until he had accumulated an appropriate inventory of life experiences.

However, his professor, who happened to be the editor of a national weekly magazine, gave Michael a job writing for him. For two years (while still in college) Michael wrote or edited sometimes up to three articles a week.

Later he edited the Student Association Newsletter at the Graduate School of Hebrew and Cognate Learning (University of Pennsylvania).

From 1993 until 1998 Michael wrote a column that appeared in a few small magazines, and in 2006 he published his first book: “WIND.” It was a compilation of forty of the articles from his column.

In 1998 he founded “Goodschools.Com,” arguably the first real blog on the Internet. On his site he published articles regarding various aspects of education, and provided a forum for his readers to comment. He maintained that blog until 2006. It was at that point he decided to begin writing fiction. And because the blog was such a lightning rod of controversy, he decided to pull it off of the web.

Since that time he has published fourteen books of fiction, all centered on his main character, Jack Handler, a retired Chicago homicide detective. He is currently working on the fifteenth: “To China with LOVE.”

Regarding his comment to his journalism professor that he would not begin writing fiction until he had built up an adequate inventory of life experiences–he has definitely honored that commitment.

Michael has at different times in his life driven truck throughout the US, hustled pool and gambled poker from Texas to Montana, traveled the country hitchhiking, spent five years in Greenwich Village’s East Side, delivered diamonds for a diamond wholesaler in New York’s diamond district (he disguised himself as a down-and-outer), tended bar at a New York nightclub, climbed dozens of water towers throughout the US, panned gold, skydived, and worked for over two decades in private security. Oh, and yes, it is true–Mike and his wife did drop in on the Woodstock concert. It was, however, totally by accident. They had been backpacking in the mountains nearby and wondered about all the commotion.

Michael holds a Master of Arts degree from NYU, and has done an additional two years of postgraduate work at the Dropsie College of Hebrew and Cognate Learning in Philadelphia, where he was put to work inspecting incoming mail and packages for threats.

Currently Michael shares his time between his three seasons home on Lake Superior and Grand Rapids, MI.