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Detroit Native Michael Coburn Reinvents Himself as a Writer atop the Collapse of the Motor City (Detroit, Michigan May 26, 2009) — Like Ben Affleck and Matt Damon who 12 years ago wrote their way to fame with Good Will Hunting, Michael Coburn has taken some of the big Hollywood themes of love, murder and revenge and hopes to ride his trilogy of life in the mythical city of Arklanden, to a successful career on the big screen. The Tethered Heart is a straight from the gut novel. It is a dark, romantic thriller that one reviewer called a “Fantastic read...well suited for the sci-fi/thriller/action type reader who enjoys Conroy/Grisham/Vonnegut with spice.” Michael’s reinvention as a writer is the result of the somewhat unlikely confluence of two forces—the flat lining of the auto industry where he had worked for his entire career, and a long simmering childhood passion to create stories. With limited options to stay working in a city with double-digit unemployment, he stopped looking and started writing. While rising from the physically demanding job of loading furnaces to ultimately becoming the President of a steel treating company, Michael had stored up for years visceral memories of people and places, some real and some the stuff of imagination. Without the collapse of the auto industry, he might never have taken the risk, but with nothing to lose, and belief that he had both the discipline and the talent to succeed, he began day by day to fill up the blank page with soulful, angry, displaced and courageous characters. Dave Gorzelski, of Harmonie Park Press and publisher of The Tethered Heart explains, “We have been an academic book publisher for over 60 years. As a publisher of music reference works, we found ourselves wanting to promote Michigan authors, expanding our publications to titles in the general marketplace.
There was some apprehension as we accepted HPP’s first romantic thriller, but as we took hold of the manuscript, and began to thumb through the pages, we found it hard to put down. The writing makes you believe in the story and the end leaves you wanting for more. Fortunately, for all of us, the author has promised to deliver a trilogy.
During these difficult economic times, especially here in Michigan, it is with great pride we promote Michigan’s newest author.”
With such powerful and intriguing characters, the best advice Michael got was not to write specifically to attract Hollywood producers, but he could not resist thinking that some day Isabella and Karl and the haunting city of Arklanden would fill the silver screen. Like the pioneers before him, he has reason to look west to California and imagine what could be. If you are searching for a great feature story out of the past two years of national angst, then this author will give you a whole other way of looking at what bubbles up when the economy goes into a sinkhole. You may learn more about Michael by visiting his website at www.michaelcoburnbooks.com and www.thetetheredheart.com. The Tethered Heart is available on line at www.Harmonieparkpress.com, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and everywhere that great books are sold. |
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MEET AUTHOR MICHAEL COBURN: |
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A graduate of Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, with a degree in English, and a stint at Wayne State University Law School and MBA program, he spent much of the next fifteen years working his way up from loading furnaces and sweeping floors to the President at Hoover Steel Treating Company. A few years ago, the Midwest was hit by the first wave of an economic meltdown that wasn’t even yet real for most of the country. He was forced to sell his company and what came next for him in the auto industry was short-lived. A midlife longing and the opportunity to make something of his empty days, Michael not so much reinvented himself as he completely trusted in his ability to transform his own experiences into a gritty and powerful look at the underbelly of city life. Sitting at his dining table, slowly he began to map out a trilogy set in the fictitious city of Arklanden, which involves characters in an almost mythological struggle to survive despite being underdogs in an unforgiving world. While he spent much of his adult life in the streets of Detroit, in school he had found rewards in creative writing and theater. As he grew up, he developed a fascination with the rhythms of city life, the drug and flesh trades, the mob, the corruption of city officials and what it does to those who live and work within its boundaries. Those themes naturally found their way into his writing. Today there is refuge for Michael in a cabin by a lake in Northern Michigan, a swim in its icy waters or a trip to the gym that tones his body and steels his mind to the tasks. It is a discipline that makes all things possible. While there are at least two more books to write in the trilogy, he imagines writing other books that take him away from the street life and into a gentler place where love comes easier to his characters. He lives near Detroit with his wife. Michael has put together a play list of his favorite songs that he listens to while writing. You can find it at www.thetetheredheart.com. |
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» Download Michael's Photo | » Download "Meet Author Michael Coburn" |
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QUESTIONS FOR THE MEDIA: |
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1. Could you briefly discuss the origin of your interest in writing and how that culminated in The Tethered Heart, your first novel to reach publication? 2. What hurdles did you confront before seeing The Tethered Heart in print and how did you get past them? 3. What’s the best piece of advice you've ever received with respect to writing? How did you implement it into your work? 4. What inspires you to write? 5. How do you develop your plots and characters? Do you use any set formula or a pre-organized plot line? 6. Is there a character in The Tethered Heart that is closely related to you? If so, how? 7. On your Web site, it is clear that music is a big part of your writing process. Tell us about some of the music you listen to as you write and what influence it has on your work. 8. Do you have a daily writing schedule? Can you tell us about it? 9. What is most frustrating about writing? Most rewarding? 10. Why did you select Harmonie Press as the place to submit your first novel? 11. Could you tell us a little bit about your second book in the trilogy? 12. What advice would you give beginning writers? |
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WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE TETHERED HEART: |
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1. “Exciting Storyline from a Great New Author.” 2. “Great New Author.” 3. “Coburn’s Cold Blooded Beauty.” 4. “Electrifying, Racy and Full of Intrigue!” 5. “I Love This Book.” |
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» Download "What Others Are Saying About The Tethered Heart" |
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TALKING POINTS: |
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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ARKLANDEN, The Fictional City in The Tethered Heart Arklanden is an "ancient, gothic city" at least 200 years old. • It is on the Pacific Northwest coast of the United States. • The population is nearly ten million. • It is built around a large bay, The Bay of the Ark, and is framed in by massive break walls. • Two rivers flow from the mountains to the east into the bay: The Great Ark River on the north side that cuts through the exclusive area known as The High Banks and the southern Arklanden River, which flows from two rivers, that meet just beyond the eastern border. • I-90 comes into the city from the northern side of town. The railroads come in on the southern side. • Arklanden International Airport is located in the southeast area of the city and further east is wine country and, even further, cattle country. • The city is divided into areas referred to as The New Development Center, Technology Park, The High Banks, The Warehouse District, Old Town Manufacturing, The Wharfs and The Center for Arts. • A mixture of old and new buildings gradually rises in magnitude from the foothills of the east to peak and crescendo upon the shore of the bay. |
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FACT SHEET: |
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Category: Urban Fiction PUBLISHER: Books available through Ingram and Baker & Taylor PUBLICITY: |
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Michael Coburn has all of the right stuff to become an urban legend: he’s mentally tough, can bench press 300 pounds, and he’s a smart risk taker who played the odds when it came to making money and pushing his way to the top in one of America’s toughest cities—Detroit.
