Michael Stephen Fuchs Q&A
“…I do expect I’ll go to my grave believing stories are how we learn to be human.”
Have you read Michael Stephen Fuchs’s series, ARISEN : Raiders? Maybe this is the first you’re hearing of it—in which case, where have you been?!— but more likely, you’re one of the legions of rapt fans who are about to get what has felt like a very long time coming: the audiobook version of Dead Men Walking, narrated by the inimitable R.C. Bray.
If you ask us, Bray is the perfect narrator for a series of such dizzying intensity, one that fans have described as both thoughtful and utterly harrowing. ARISEN : Raiders (along with its predecessor, ARISEN) is a true military sci-fi epic which spans the globe and is set during a zombie apocalypse; and folks, this is truly some edge-of-your-seat reading, or as will soon be the case, listening. Seriously. Just wait till you hear what R.C. Bray does with this!
If you're among those who haven’t yet experienced the thrill of either the main series, or the prequel series we’re discussing today, know that Fuchs's ARISEN : Raiders series works as a standalone. That said, you do need to start with volumes 1 and 2, (the audio version of which was also performed by Bray, and are available together for just one credit, lucky you!) so make sure to grab those before diving into this one.
Now, we know you want to hear more about Dead Men Walking, and we are here to deliver! So with that, we invite you to settle in and enjoy our interview with Michael, where we discuss the origins of this incredible series, writing life, and more!
DSF: Congratulations on the launch of book 6 in the "Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes" series! How does it feel to reach this milestone?
SR: It’s an amazing feeling. When I wrote book one, “The Worst Ship in the Fleet”, I never expected it to take off like it did. Now, I have awesome readers who are constantly asking me when the next book in the series will come out because they’ve fallen in love with the characters just as I have.
DSF: What can readers expect from this latest installment? Are there any major plot twists or new characters introduced?
SR: The end of book five, “The Worst Detectives in the Federation”, revealed a pretty big twist for one of our characters. She’ll be integral to “The Worst Traitors in the Confederacy” and is one of the titular ‘worst traitors’ in the story. We also introduce a few new bad guys and a little more of Brad Mendoza’s backstory. All in all, it’s a thrilling ride with space battles, gun fights, and even a car chase in a 1964 ½ Ford Mustang Convertible!
DSF: How has the series evolved from book 1 to book 6? What significant changes or developments have occurred in the storyline or characters?
SR: When I first started writing this series, I began with a cast of very broken characters—all the main characters have either done terrible things or had terrible things done to them. “Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes” is a redemption story, and as the series evolves, we see all the characters really starting to come into their own. This is especially true of Brad Mendoza and Jessica Lin, but now they have an ensemble cast supporting them, each with their own backstories and trials to overcome.
Most of all, however, the story has evolved from a small naval battle in a single star system to a galaxy-spanning thrill ride that sees our ‘dead heroes’ get in way over their heads. The best part is that even we, the readers, don’t know just how far this entire thing goes, so we get to put together pieces of the mystery along with Brad and Jessica.
DSF: Can you describe any challenges you faced while writing this series, especially with keeping the plot fresh and engaging over multiple books?
SR: I think the biggest challenge is writing fast enough. I have a ton of faithful and enthusiastic readers who are always hungry for more. And I have a number of storylines in my head that really just need to get out and onto the page. So, it’s a continuous challenge to write fast enough to satisfy both the readers and my own need to tell this story. But overall, it’s just a lot of fun, and I feel that there’s so much that these characters can do that keeping the story fresh isn’t an issue yet.
DSF: How have the main characters grown since the first book? Are there any particular character arcs that you are especially proud of?
SR: When we first meet Brad Mendoza in book one, he’s a drunk and a loser who is haunted by past mistakes and lets his guilt spoil his entire personality. You’re supposed to dislike him at the beginning, and a lot of readers definitely do. But over the course of that book and the series, he evolves and changes in unexpected ways. I think the best part of it is that we all have a little Brad Mendoza in us. We’ve all done things that make us feel guilty or made mistakes that we have trouble reconciling with the person we want to be. So, seeing Brad overcome his imperfections and demons really gives us all hope. And that’s the main message of the series: we can always hope to be better. Nothing we do disqualifies us from becoming a good human being; we just have to be willing to put in the work to change.
DSF: Who is your favorite character from the ARISEN : Raiders series and why?
MSF: Probably Master Sergeant Saunders, the senior NCO (later, commander) of Team 1. He’s one of the few Marines never even mentioned by name in the main series but who completely came to life in this prequel/spinoff series. He’s both a complete badass and a total hardass but in an amusingly sardonic way that beautifully counterpoints Master Gunnery Sergeant Fick (the series consensus favorite character, and an even more amusing hardass).
DSF: How did you research topics in special operations military to write ARISEN : Raiders? Do you have a specific background in these subjects?
MSF: I do not have that honor. I do have the honor of being able to count as friends a tiny handful of people in and out of the special operations community who have helped me and the work in indispensable ways. But mainly, like most writers, I write from research. This is the wall of military books:
DSF: What is one thing that has surprised you while writing the series?
MSF: Probably that I could do really great work in a way that wasn’t all-consuming and ultimately self-destructive. (As alluded to above, finishing the main series literally nearly killed me, not least since I basically had to put myself into isolation for a year to generate the focus needed to do work of that complexity and quality.) A lot of readers, to my great pleasure and surprise, actually like Raiders better than the main series. And the process of producing it was much less bloody.
DSF: What is your favorite part about writing within this genre, and do you see yourself breaking out of this subject to explore other types of stories?
MSF: I don’t care about this genre, or any genre, really. As one of the members of Alpha team put it in Book One, the least interesting thing about a zombie apocalypse is the zombies. What’s really gripping and wrenching and awful was what it does to the survivors. I’m interested in my characters and their humanity (and their superheroism). It’s axiomatic that all drama is human drama. And the core themes of human life and survival are timeless. (The dead and the apocalypse are just forces of antagonism.) That said, after another ARISEN prequel/spinoff series—ARISEN : Operators, which I’m working on now, or rather not working on right now—I have a special-operations military NON-zombie apocalypse series lined up.
DSF: Finally, every author’s favorite question…How did you get into writing and why did you choose to become an author?
MSF: Because I’m an idiot. For many years, I imagined there were two types of people: those who had written and published novels, and those who had not. And, even more bizarrely, that it was critically important to any happiness or success I was going to have that I get into the first group. If I’d had the vaguest idea how long it was going to take, or how hard it was going to be, I’m sure I never would have persisted. Now, getting to wake up every morning and do this work certainly beats what was my day job for many years (web development and IT consulting), but it’s also a hell of a lot harder than my day job was. That’s actually why I’m answering these questions right now—it’s easier than writing. Everything is! But I do expect I’ll go to my grave believing stories are how we learn to be human. And, despite the difficulty, or impossibility, of telling even a single great, original story, it’s still an incredible privilege to get up every day and try.
Check out the complete ARISEN : Raiders series on audio here.
