- Love the title Witches Protection Program- How did you come up with it?
The idea of a secret government
agency that protects witches was born out of the one place I do all
my thinking. The bathroom. I was in my bathroom one lovely evening
in the fall of 2014 and gazed at my wife’s pile of trashy magazines. Since I’m
more inclined to read a screenplay or novel while doing my duty, I figured I
could take a break and peek through some entertainment pop culture. I
flipped the pages and noticed a picture called Wetless Protection Program in some script font above Neil
Patrick Harris’s head. I think it was NPH. But in my eyes, I read it
as Witches Protection Program and said, what a great title. I then
realized I goofed and it said Wetless, not Witches. What a silly idea. A
government agency that protects witches. I turned the page to some
story about Brangelina or whatever, and my eyes popped open. I turned the page
back to Wetless. That’s it. I got my next book idea. Witches Protection Program.
I began creating the story that night and within a week of that fortuitous
encounter in my master bathroom, I had a full beat sheet following the
adventure of Wes Rockville and Morgan Pendragon.
- Wes, the protagonist is dyslectic., why did you make that part of his character?
Perfect heroes are rarely heroes. Heroes must have
flaws, tics, issues, that they must overcome. That’s what life is all about. We
are all heroes and have to overcome the obstacles in life. I wanted people to
identify with Wes and his struggles because we all have them. It really is that
simple. If I would have made Wes into this beefy hunk that could solve a riddle
by snapping his fingers, the readers wouldn’t identify with that. Wes has to
have real human issues, and not being able to read is one of them.
- Does Morgan Pendragon embrace her witch skills?
Well, you’d have to read the book to find out, but
the short answer is YES.
- Both the frog and gummy bat scene were hysterical if not a little mocking of magic. Why did you write them that way?
I have a
wicked sense of humor and I wanted to incorporate everyday items that readers
are familiar with (i.e. frogs, gummy spiders…etc…). I wanted readers to see the
gummy worms come to life in their minds, to see Wes and Morgan shrink down to
frogs to break into the Pendragon labs in Jersey. I wanted the readers to feel
that if Wes and Morgan can go through this, they could as well. I didn’t want
the magic to feel cheesy or fake. So I used real things to make it feel real to
the readers.
- If it was made into a movie, who do you see playing the main roles?
Easy. Channing Tatum as Wes. Christoph Waltz as
Alastair. Zendaya as Morgan. Charlize Theron, Cate Blanchett, or Halle Berry
(whoever is available) as Bernadette. Emma Stone as Scarlett. They can
reach out to my film agent with their availability.
- You built a world where witches exist alongside everyday people. Do you see this as even possible?
Absolutely! I drive around NYC frequently and I’m
always wondering if the woman who just passed my car was a witch, or if that
dude in a business suit is a warlock (hint, hint at the WPP sequel). That
happens more times than you can imagine.
- Everyone loves the character, Junie. What made her so enjoyable?
Junie is a mish-mash of my great-aunt Junie, and
my aunt Marilyn. The real Junie has since passed, but my aunt Marilyn is a
character in real life. She is gruff, cool, funny as hell, and will tell you
exactly how she feels. And if you go to her house, she’ll cook you something
right off the stove (just like Junie in WPP). I feel safe with Marilyn, who is
a Bronx native and she’ll tell ya about it.
- Where do you find the characters you write about? Are they pure invention?
Characters speak to me. Most characters have a
piece of me in them. But others are actors/actresses in my head or people I’ve
known my entire life. For example, I’m no cop. I can’t shoot anything if
I tried, but Wes is. And he is based on this friend of mine who is an NYC
Police Officer. I incorporated Channing Tatum, and voila, Wes is born. Alastair
was an amalgamation of Christoph Waltz in Django Unchained and my own father. A
stern, yet sympathetic father figure who will stop at nothing to protect his
family, and what is right in this world. All my characters are mishmashes.
- The book was originally published under the author Micheal Phillip Cash, your pen name. Can you give us the back story.?
It’s a pretty incredible story that I have a hard
time believing. I wrote Monsterland and
self-published it in 2015. My mom is my publicity manager and she blitzed the
bloggers with my book. That fall I was reading a book called Selling a Screenplay by Syd Field.
In the book, there was an entertainment attorney named Susan Grode
who seemed very knowledgeable about the publishing and film industry.
I told myself, when I receive my first contract, I’m going to reach out to her
to see if she could help me. About two months later, I received a post on
Facebook from an agent in London who asked to represent me. I said
sure and asked him to send me a contract. I emailed Susan and
introduced myself and mentioned that I had someone who wanted to rep me and I
was hoping she could read this contract. She told me before I sign with this
London agent, why don’t I meet her friend in Brooklyn,
an agent named Nick Mullendore with Vertical Ink Literary
Agency. I met Nick for lunch and he signed me that day as his client. That
evening, Susan brought me on as her client as well. Nick began trying
to sell my book Monsterland to the big publishers and, it was rejected.
Throughout his attempts of selling, he had a call with
a film agent and he was pitching her a romance novel. She said
she wasn’t really into romance and was looking for something with monsters. He
sent her my book Monsterland, she read it over a weekend, and we had a call
that Monday. She told Nick and me if we get the book published, she will get it
into a producer’s hands to make into a film. Nick found a publisher called
WordFire Press owned by Kevin J. Anderson, who has written all the Star Wars
and Dune canon books. WordFire signed me to a two-book deal for Monsterland 1 & 2. After the deal
was signed, my film agent did what she promised and got my book
into the hands of a billion-dollar grossing producer who is now shopping my book
to certain studios. In two years, I went from a self-published author to
a published author with a literary agent, an entertainment attorney,
a film agent, a two-book publishing deal, a publicist, and a producer
who is interested in turning my book to a film. It’s been one wild ride,
to say the least.
- Is this version different?
A few things have changed, but not much. However,
there are some changes. The script I submitted to my agent who is shopping it
around to the studios now is NOTHING like the book.
- What are you working on now?
LOTS of projects! I have 5 manuscripts completed
including Monsterland 3. A few new screenplays I’m playing with. Exciting
things on the horizon, so stay tuned.
Witches
Protection Program
by
Michael Okon
Genre:
YA Urban Fantasy
Wes
Rockville, a disgraced law-enforcement agent, gets one last chance to
prove himself and save his career when he’s reassigned to a
232-year-old secret government organization.
The
Witches Protection Program.
His
first assignment: uncover a billion-dollar cosmetics company’s
diabolical plan to use witchcraft for global domination, while
protecting its heiress Morgan Pendragon from her aunt’s evil deeds.
Reluctantly paired with veteran witch protector, Alastair Verne, Wes
must learn to believe in witches…and believe in himself.
Filled
with adventure and suspense, Michael Okon creates a rousing,
tongue-in-cheek alternate reality where witches cast spells and wreak
havoc in modern-day New York City.
Michael
Okon is an award-winning and best-selling author of multiple genres
including paranormal, thriller, horror, action/adventure and
self-help. He graduated from Long Island University with a degree in
English, and then later received his MBA in business and finance.
Coming from a family of writers, he has storytelling in his DNA.
Michael has been writing from as far back as he can remember, his
inspiration being his love for films and their impact on his life.
From the time he saw The Goonies, he was hooked on the idea of
entertaining people through unforgettable characters.
Michael
is a lifelong movie buff, a music playlist aficionado, and a sucker
for self-help books. He lives on the North Shore of Long Island with
his wife and children.
Follow
the tour HERE
for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!
No comments:
Post a Comment