September 15, 2025 • 17 mins
“The Gift from Aelius is a sci-fi tale that explores the meaning of purpose and life and what it means to be alive.” - Michael Colon
ABOUT TODAY'S EPISODE
In this How To Write the Future podcast episode, host Beth Barany talks to sci-fi author Michael Colon about his journey of creative confidence and authentic storytelling through science fiction. Learn how his novel explores AI-human relationships with a refreshing optimistic perspective, challenging traditional sci-fi narratives while inspiring writers to trust their unique creative voices.
ABOUT MICHAEL COLON
My name is Michael Colon born and raised in New York City. I am a novelist and a freelance writer. My author's story is about hard work, perseverance, and believing in the power of imagination. My inspiration comes from various societal elements and my own life experiences. Outside of writing I enjoy working out, watching sports, and going on hiking trails with my wife.
MORE ABOUT MICHAEL: https://www.clippings.me/users/michaelcolon
ABOUT THE HOW TO WRITE THE FUTURE PODCAST
The How To Write The Future podcast is for science fiction and fantasy writers who want to write positive futures and successfully bring those stories out into the marketplace. Hosted by Beth Barany, science fiction novelist and creativity coach for writers. We cover tips for fiction writers and get curious about the future of humanity.
ABOUT BETH BARANY
Beth Barany, an award-winning fantasy and science fiction novelist, teaches novelists how to write, edit, and publish their books as a coach, teacher, consultant, and developmental editor.
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c. 2025 BETH BARANY
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
BETH BARANY (00:00):
Hey everyone.
(00:00):
Welcome to How To Write theFuture Podcast.
I'm your host, Beth Barany.
I'm a writing teacher,creativity coach, filmmaker,
editor and all the things, andobviously podcaster.
So I host this podcast, How ToWrite The Future podcast,
because I really care aboutcreating positive, optimistic
futures with our fiction.
I primarily help science fictionand fantasy writers.
(00:21):
This is a podcast for writersand for anyone who cares about
the future.
So today I have a special guest,Michael.
Colon.
Welcome.
MICHAEL COLON (00:30):
Thank you for having me on.
I really appreciate this.
Thank you.
BETH BARANY (00:33):
Oh, you're so welcome.
So just so everyone can get toknow you a little bit, I'm gonna
go ahead and read your awesomebio that you gave me.
I really like it.
So everyone please meet.
Mike.
Michael.
Michael Colon.
Colon was born and raised in NewYork City.
he is a novelist and freelancewriter, and his author story is
about hard work, perseverance,and believing in the power of
(00:55):
imagination.
His inspiration comes fromvarious societal elements and
his own life experiences.
Outside of writing, he enjoysworking out, watching sports and
going on hiking trails with hiswife.
So thank you again.
it's so fun to talk to someonefrom across the country.
I'm in the San Francisco BayArea and you're in New York
(01:16):
City.
How cool is that?
MICHAEL COLON (01:18):
Yeah, this is my first podcast where the host was
from the California state area.
this is fun.
This should be interesting.
BETH BARANY (01:26):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Time travel.
Woo.
We love all that.
MICHAEL COLON (01:29):
Actually like to visit, the state in general.
I've never been, so yeah, thatwould be pretty cool.
BETH BARANY (01:34):
Come on down.
It's gorgeous.
Just beautiful.
Uh, Yeah, I'm in this ideallocation the San Francisco Bay
area.
Most of the time.
It's just lovely.
You have two books that we'regonna highlight today.
So if you can, tell us, a littlebit about your first book, which
is called The Gift from aAelius, right?
Yes.
Okay.
(01:54):
So tell us a little bit aboutthe book.
Hold up the book cover.
I'm gonna put you in thespotlight there for us all.
Nice.
Can you say the title for us?
MICHAEL COLON (02:02):
Yes.
the Gift from Aelius.
BETH BARANY (02:04):
Great.
And, for those who aren'twatching on video, cause this is
an audio podcast as well, it's,you've got a, like a robot
shaking hands with a man withthis beautiful like storm clouds
in the background with alightning, like a lightning
strike hitting this desert likeearth structure.
Yeah.
Beautiful.
So tell us about this book.
MICHAEL COLON (02:25):
Definitely.
the Gift from Aelius is a sci-fitale, that explores, the meaning
of, purpose and life and what itmeans to be alive.
And the protagonist is a 1 9 1,a Codex unit, which is basically
artificial intelligence.
And, a 1 91 lives in the machinecity called Paradise.
(02:48):
Um, paradise is a machine citythat is at the far corner of the
planet in the middle of awasteland.
And humans basically, um, afterthey helped build the utopias of
the world, they were basicallylike, okay, we don't need you
guys anymore.
because could be a threat to usone day.
And all the leaders of the worldagreed they could have their own
(03:09):
place.
Just, they're not allowed toleave.
They have to stay within Thebordered walls and it's very
communistic.
Um, the Codex units aren'tallowed to basically think for
themselves.
They have to follow, a verystrict routine and way of life.
Now, a 1 91 is very different.
He's a dreamer.
A free thinker and he has abuilt-in love for human beings.
(03:33):
his goal is to escape paradise,which is kind of ironic that the
machine city is called Paradisewhen it's really not.
Maybe to the other Codex units.
It is because the way humanbeings are advertised, they're
like these animals or monstersand like they're gonna come back
and just wipe them off the faceof the planet one day.
(03:54):
but a 1 9 1 doesn't see themlike that.
So basically, uh, the main plotis him trying to lead paradise
and make it across the endlesswasteland to the human world and
try to reunite the two dominantspecies again for basically
world peace and the way it wasbefore.
BETH BARANY (04:13):
So the robot is the main character, the protagonist
of your story.
MICHAEL COLON (04:17):
Yes.
A 1 9 1.
so I purposely used Codex Unit'cause I feel like in almost all
sci-fi movies and TV shows orbooks, they're usually referred
to as robots and essentially itis.
But I wanted to write thissci-fi story very differently
where it's the opposite where.
(04:37):
it's not the typical case ofmachines enslaving mankind, I
wanted to have more of aspiritual element to it and give
a different twist to the genre.
BETH BARANY (04:46):
I, I really like that.
Uh, and it's, it's veryinteresting.
It feels like humanity we'reobviously in the thick of it,
trying to understand what is therelationship that we want to
have with these.
thinking machines that we'recreating.
So I really love that you're,helping us explore that from,
but from this, um, very peacefulperspective of why can't we be
(05:09):
friends, kind of thing.
MICHAEL COLON (05:10):
yeah.
Yeah.
Because the way I look at it,and you look at how things are
today, you know, AI is growingfaster and faster, and I can
understand how that could beintimidating for a lot of
people, but.
it doesn't necessarily have tobe like the ends of times, like
it could actually be a blessingand a gift.
I think it all depends on usbecause at the end of the day,
(05:32):
just like in the book, codexunits were made in the image of
its creator, which was mankind.
So, you know, how we grow andmature as a species predicates
to how AI will serve us.
BETH BARANY (05:46):
yeah, absolutely.
MICHAEL COLON (05:47):
yeah,
BETH BARANY (05:48):
I, I, I totally love what you just said because,
uh, it really is about us humansevolving and how, how can
humankind go to the next levelin which we are more conscious
of how we choose to use thesemachines and not let the
machines dictate as if peopletreat the machines like they
(06:09):
dictate to us.
But actually we designed them,so let us, find a better way.
So I really love that.
MICHAEL COLON (06:15):
Definitely.
BETH BARANY (06:16):
Yeah.
So let's switch to your, secondbook.
Let me just tell folks what itis called and then you can
introduce it and tell us alittle bit about it.
I love this title'cause it's,it.
It brings me back to childhood.
You call it The Greatest ComicBook Tale Ever Told, so I love
that.
Show us.
Excellent.
(06:37):
Oh, I love that.
Lemme put you in the centerhere.
There we go.
Greatest comic book.
Let me tell people what it islike.
Uh, it looks like a youngperson, a young man.
Standing in the middle of maybea neighborhood that's been
destroyed a little bit.
He's holding, it looks likemaybe a comic book or something.
And then above his head is twosuperhero figures, one in a red
(06:58):
cape, one in a blue cape, and asif like the angel devil kind of
motif.
Yeah.
Wow.
So tell us about this.
MICHAEL COLON (07:05):
Definitely.
So the greatest comic book taleever told.
Quite the title.
It took me a while to figure outwhat the title of this book was
gonna be.
and funny enough, this wasactually my very first
manuscript I worked on before myfirst published book, The Gift
of Aelius.
So I ended up getting aroundback to this and it went through
many iterations, but yes.
(07:26):
So you follow the story ofSonny, who's from Irontown City,
lives in a poor neighborhood.
And he lives with his adoptedsingle mother who's doing
everything that she can to raisehim.
she does everything that shecan.
And Sonny is obsessed with comicbooks.
It's his escape from the harshconditions and how he sees
(07:46):
himself as a person, very lowself-esteem, very hesitant, very
afraid of the world and peoplein general.
and as you follow his story andthe more.
He tries to figure out about hispast and like the orphanages,
he's the orphanage that he'sfrom, and, about his family
fiction starts to bleed intoreality.
So this is a very psychologicalurban fantasy.
(08:08):
Again, I feel like this does,like this book's genre is a mix
of different things.
It's its own thing.
But whoever's a fan of comicbooks, classic superhero tales,
but also you get that drama andthat deep psychological like
impactful, um, theme that.
(08:30):
Really touches the reader andthat, that was my goal with this
book was, you know, to reallyreach the reader's heart.
And the main theme of this bookis, as we go about our lives, we
could choose whether we could bea hero or a villain in our own
lives based on the choices thatwe make.
So, It's definitely anadventure.
It's fantasy, but the reader'sgonna get that sense of, wow,
(08:50):
like when I finished puttingdown this book, maybe my
perception towards my life willbe a little bit different.
BETH BARANY (08:56):
Yeah.
Oh, I love that.
And I read some of your reviewsfor both of these books and I,
it jumped out at me that somepeople were really, really
touched by this book.
It really moved them.
And I just thought it was sowonderful.
And, I'm really happy for you.
and I love that you also arereally helping people see that
they, have a choice.
That there is a choice between,do they wanna listen to the
(09:17):
devil on their shoulder or tothe angel on their shoulder?
And I just Exactly.
and I also noticed, in bothstories, your protagonists are
male and this story, it seemslike a young guy, a teenager,
maybe.
and I just also wanna say howthat's a wonderful, it feels
like you're doing some reallygood positive representations of
allowing young men to reallywrangle with these things and
(09:38):
think about them.
And I just think that's reallyimportant.
MICHAEL COLON (09:41):
Yes, I agree.
And I would say to add to thatin a way, both stories are like
an essence of me.
like with The Greatest ComicBook Tale Ever Told, um.
Sunny's story is Sunny's story,but like all artists and
writers, you pull from like bitsand pieces of like your
upbringing.
And you know, for me, beingraised in a single mother, uh,
(10:02):
parent household, you know, mymom is, you know, without my
mom, you know, I wouldn't,wouldn't know where I would be
today.
Also likes Sonny, you know,very, you know, hesitant.
You know, I didn't, I didn'tknow what my voice was.
I felt like.
You know what, what is mypurpose?
And you know, I had my escapestoo.
so in a way, like I feel likewriting this book was also very
(10:24):
helpful for me too.
with the Gift from Aelius, youknow, obviously, you know, we're
dealing with artificialintelligence and it's more
sci-fi, but even with the maincharacter, a 1 9 1, like, you
know, he feels like there's moreoutside of his community.
or his world then meets the eyeor what's being shown to him.
(10:46):
And for me growing up, I alwayssaw myself like, what else is
out there?
I just didn't know how to goabout stepping outta that
bubble.
So, um, these books that I wroteand the future books I plan on
writing, you know, it's, I dopray that like not only does it
entertain, but like it alsotouches the reader.
(11:09):
But it's also very helpful forme too.
So I feel like it's a goodshared experience.
BETH BARANY (11:13):
That's really wonderful.
and thank you for sharing withus a little bit about your past.
I'm always curious, like, what,what were the ingredients in
your life?
If you could name like, one keyinfluence from your past,
whether it's something you reador saw, or somebody, or a place,
that really influenced you as awriter today.
(11:34):
And this is one of the, Thelightning round questions, the
surprise questions for you.
Yeah.
what would that be?
MICHAEL COLON (11:39):
Oh, a hundred percent.
My mom, my mom is the influenceof my upbringing.
She taught me, you gotta workhard for what you want.
but she also, and it was a lotof tough love it, it was both.
but I feel like it made me thewell-rounded person that I am
now.
nobody's perfect.
But at the same time, in termsof like just pure impactful
(12:00):
influence, I would say my momand anybody who knows me
personally, it's like, yeah.
You know, like I, they, theyjust know right away.
Um, yeah, I would say how I wasraised echoes to the creative,
how I approach my creativeprojects today, which is, work
hard.
you deserve to like, putyourself out there like you
(12:20):
deserve, like these type ofthings, like why not you?
'cause we're all special in ourown ways.
So yeah, definitely my mom.
BETH BARANY (12:27):
That's great.
And, and why not you?
That's a great piece of advice.
Yeah.
For every writer listening tous, there's no one else like you
who's had exactly your lifeexperience.
just reaching out into listenerland out there.
What's one piece of advice youwould have to a writer who's
working on their science fictionor fantasy story?
and they might feel lost orconfused or not know exactly.
(12:48):
I don't know, not have completeconfidence in what they're
doing.
yeah.
What is some a piece of adviceyou would give them?
MICHAEL COLON (12:54):
Wow.
I would say for anyone who's,just starting out, writing their
first book, it's a very excitingthing.
And, they, the first thing I'llsay is, just be proud that
you're starting this journey.
it could be very intimidating.
It could seem like a lot, but Iwould say believe in yourself
first.
Because if you don't believe inyour work, then no agent or
publisher is gonna believe inyou.
(13:14):
And, you just have to keepworking hard and keep being
persistent.
the three things that I alwayspreach is hard work, faith, and
consistency.
And I feel like if you applythose three things, no matter
what creative project you'reworking on, It may not land you
exactly what you want, but it'sstill going to have a positive,
solution or answer.
like for me, when I was tryingto get my first book deal, I
(13:37):
don't know anybody in theindustry, I don't have a
master's degree in literatureor, literary arts.
I basically did research.
Did a lot of research, and wasopen to self-criticism and, just
being open-minded to tweakingthings.
And, you start to refineyourself.
It's like putting a sword in afire.
it may be uncomfortable and itmay burn a little bit, but after
(13:59):
a while you become accustomed toit.
You become sharp, not in thesense of sharp, as in your
work's gonna be perfect andanything like that, but sharp as
in like your mind and yourspirit.
Because there's gonna be a lotof rejection.
I've, and I'm sure you, me,other authors out there, like
the amount of email rejections,it gets to the point where you
just laugh after a while, andnot laugh in the sense of it's
(14:22):
funny, but because at the end ofthe day, you know that this is
just one step closer to thegoal.
And yeah, I would say I, there'sno one piece of advice.
I would just say know yourself,be genuine.
Be, be, uh, consistent and youknow, nobody can owes you
anything because at the end ofthe day, it's like you have to
(14:42):
have that love for the craft andthen that'll take you to where
you need to be.
BETH BARANY (14:47):
Well said, beautiful advice.
And just in full disclosure,I'm, I'm actually independently
published, um, but I stillbrought my work through lots and
lots of rounds of it, of editsand iterations and I wanted to
get basically.
To use a, a space metaphor likespace flight, like green A
across the board.
(15:07):
Like I had to get nine pe nineoutta 10.
People had to say, this isgreat.
I, if there could always be onewho it wasn't.
They're like, oh, this is notreally my thing.
Okay.
But I had to get everybody onboard.
All the beta readers, all thealpha readers, all the critique
partners, everybody, thestrangers, I would have random
people sometimes read my workwhen I thought it was almost
done, just to make sure.
(15:27):
I was really in the pocket, aswith my goal.
So just for those who areself-publishing, also, like I'm
not putting out shoddy work.
I really wanna make sure it isexcellent and to jump, go
through all the hoops of beingtraditionally published in any
form, being accepted, goingthrough revisions, all of that.
it's not easy.
So I just wanna give it a littleshout out to folks on that.
so as we wrap up, I have uh, onemore question.
(15:50):
For you and it won't be too, uh,out of left field.
Um, I always like to, latelyI've been asking my guests: What
does it mean for you to writethe future?
MICHAEL COLON (16:00):
That's a good question.
What does it mean for me towrite the future?
I think like any form of art,everybody's going to take it
different.
It's like when you go to amuseum, um.
You have lots of paintings.
everybody's gonna take somethingdifferent.
But at the end of the day, it'sgonna be impactful.
So what it means for me to writethe future, it means to continue
(16:24):
to put out my art as genuinelyas me as possible.
And the more genuine you arewith your art, the more people
are gonna want to continue totake from it and apply it to
their life.
Yeah, I, I would say that's howyou write the future is making
sure that you're as genuine andthat you're putting as much as
(16:46):
your, as much as your essence inthe work.
Because readers feel that, likethey could tell when something
is just kind of thrown ontopaper and when every word is it
just makes sense to where it is.
So I would say that's how youwrite the future.
BETH BARANY (17:00):
That's really great, Michael.
I love that.
So we're gonna wrap up here.
I'll have to have you come backwhen you, when you come out with
another book.
That's it for this week,everyone.
Write long and prosper.
And that's a wrap.
MICHAEL COLON (17:14):
Thank you, Beth.
BETH BARANY (17:15):
Thank you.
Awesome.
Awesome..
Hey everyone.
(00:00):
Welcome to How To Write theFuture Podcast.
I'm your host, Beth Barany.
I'm a writing teacher,creativity coach, filmmaker,
editor and all the things, andobviously podcaster.
So I host this podcast, How ToWrite The Future podcast,
because I really care aboutcreating positive, optimistic
futures with our fiction.
I primarily help science fictionand fantasy writers.
(00:21):
This is a podcast for writersand for anyone who cares about
the future.
So today I have a special guest,Michael.
Colon.
Welcome.
MICHAEL COLON (00:30):
Thank you for having me on.
I really appreciate this.
Thank you.
BETH BARANY (00:33):
Oh, you're so welcome.
So just so everyone can get toknow you a little bit, I'm gonna
go ahead and read your awesomebio that you gave me.
I really like it.
So everyone please meet.
Mike.
Michael.
Michael Colon.
Colon was born and raised in NewYork City.
he is a novelist and freelancewriter, and his author story is
about hard work, perseverance,and believing in the power of
(00:55):
imagination.
His inspiration comes fromvarious societal elements and
his own life experiences.
Outside of writing, he enjoysworking out, watching sports and
going on hiking trails with hiswife.
So thank you again.
it's so fun to talk to someonefrom across the country.
I'm in the San Francisco BayArea and you're in New York
(01:16):
City.
How cool is that?
MICHAEL COLON (01:18):
Yeah, this is my first podcast where the host was
from the California state area.
this is fun.
This should be interesting.
BETH BARANY (01:26):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Time travel.
Woo.
We love all that.
MICHAEL COLON (01:29):
Actually like to visit, the state in general.
I've never been, so yeah, thatwould be pretty cool.
BETH BARANY (01:34):
Come on down.
It's gorgeous.
Just beautiful.
Uh, Yeah, I'm in this ideallocation the San Francisco Bay
area.
Most of the time.
It's just lovely.
You have two books that we'regonna highlight today.
So if you can, tell us, a littlebit about your first book, which
is called The Gift from aAelius, right?
Yes.
Okay.
(01:54):
So tell us a little bit aboutthe book.
Hold up the book cover.
I'm gonna put you in thespotlight there for us all.
Nice.
Can you say the title for us?
MICHAEL COLON (02:02):
Yes.
the Gift from Aelius.
BETH BARANY (02:04):
Great.
And, for those who aren'twatching on video, cause this is
an audio podcast as well, it's,you've got a, like a robot
shaking hands with a man withthis beautiful like storm clouds
in the background with alightning, like a lightning
strike hitting this desert likeearth structure.
Yeah.
Beautiful.
So tell us about this book.
MICHAEL COLON (02:25):
Definitely.
the Gift from Aelius is a sci-fitale, that explores, the meaning
of, purpose and life and what itmeans to be alive.
And the protagonist is a 1 9 1,a Codex unit, which is basically
artificial intelligence.
And, a 1 91 lives in the machinecity called Paradise.
(02:48):
Um, paradise is a machine citythat is at the far corner of the
planet in the middle of awasteland.
And humans basically, um, afterthey helped build the utopias of
the world, they were basicallylike, okay, we don't need you
guys anymore.
because could be a threat to usone day.
And all the leaders of the worldagreed they could have their own
(03:09):
place.
Just, they're not allowed toleave.
They have to stay within Thebordered walls and it's very
communistic.
Um, the Codex units aren'tallowed to basically think for
themselves.
They have to follow, a verystrict routine and way of life.
Now, a 1 91 is very different.
He's a dreamer.
A free thinker and he has abuilt-in love for human beings.
(03:33):
his goal is to escape paradise,which is kind of ironic that the
machine city is called Paradisewhen it's really not.
Maybe to the other Codex units.
It is because the way humanbeings are advertised, they're
like these animals or monstersand like they're gonna come back
and just wipe them off the faceof the planet one day.
(03:54):
but a 1 9 1 doesn't see themlike that.
So basically, uh, the main plotis him trying to lead paradise
and make it across the endlesswasteland to the human world and
try to reunite the two dominantspecies again for basically
world peace and the way it wasbefore.
BETH BARANY (04:13):
So the robot is the main character, the protagonist
of your story.
MICHAEL COLON (04:17):
Yes.
A 1 9 1.
so I purposely used Codex Unit'cause I feel like in almost all
sci-fi movies and TV shows orbooks, they're usually referred
to as robots and essentially itis.
But I wanted to write thissci-fi story very differently
where it's the opposite where.
(04:37):
it's not the typical case ofmachines enslaving mankind, I
wanted to have more of aspiritual element to it and give
a different twist to the genre.
BETH BARANY (04:46):
I, I really like that.
Uh, and it's, it's veryinteresting.
It feels like humanity we'reobviously in the thick of it,
trying to understand what is therelationship that we want to
have with these.
thinking machines that we'recreating.
So I really love that you're,helping us explore that from,
but from this, um, very peacefulperspective of why can't we be
(05:09):
friends, kind of thing.
MICHAEL COLON (05:10):
yeah.
Yeah.
Because the way I look at it,and you look at how things are
today, you know, AI is growingfaster and faster, and I can
understand how that could beintimidating for a lot of
people, but.
it doesn't necessarily have tobe like the ends of times, like
it could actually be a blessingand a gift.
I think it all depends on usbecause at the end of the day,
(05:32):
just like in the book, codexunits were made in the image of
its creator, which was mankind.
So, you know, how we grow andmature as a species predicates
to how AI will serve us.
BETH BARANY (05:46):
yeah, absolutely.
MICHAEL COLON (05:47):
yeah,
BETH BARANY (05:48):
I, I, I totally love what you just said because,
uh, it really is about us humansevolving and how, how can
humankind go to the next levelin which we are more conscious
of how we choose to use thesemachines and not let the
machines dictate as if peopletreat the machines like they
(06:09):
dictate to us.
But actually we designed them,so let us, find a better way.
So I really love that.
MICHAEL COLON (06:15):
Definitely.
BETH BARANY (06:16):
Yeah.
So let's switch to your, secondbook.
Let me just tell folks what itis called and then you can
introduce it and tell us alittle bit about it.
I love this title'cause it's,it.
It brings me back to childhood.
You call it The Greatest ComicBook Tale Ever Told, so I love
that.
Show us.
Excellent.
(06:37):
Oh, I love that.
Lemme put you in the centerhere.
There we go.
Greatest comic book.
Let me tell people what it islike.
Uh, it looks like a youngperson, a young man.
Standing in the middle of maybea neighborhood that's been
destroyed a little bit.
He's holding, it looks likemaybe a comic book or something.
And then above his head is twosuperhero figures, one in a red
(06:58):
cape, one in a blue cape, and asif like the angel devil kind of
motif.
Yeah.
Wow.
So tell us about this.
MICHAEL COLON (07:05):
Definitely.
So the greatest comic book taleever told.
Quite the title.
It took me a while to figure outwhat the title of this book was
gonna be.
and funny enough, this wasactually my very first
manuscript I worked on before myfirst published book, The Gift
of Aelius.
So I ended up getting aroundback to this and it went through
many iterations, but yes.
(07:26):
So you follow the story ofSonny, who's from Irontown City,
lives in a poor neighborhood.
And he lives with his adoptedsingle mother who's doing
everything that she can to raisehim.
she does everything that shecan.
And Sonny is obsessed with comicbooks.
It's his escape from the harshconditions and how he sees
(07:46):
himself as a person, very lowself-esteem, very hesitant, very
afraid of the world and peoplein general.
and as you follow his story andthe more.
He tries to figure out about hispast and like the orphanages,
he's the orphanage that he'sfrom, and, about his family
fiction starts to bleed intoreality.
So this is a very psychologicalurban fantasy.
(08:08):
Again, I feel like this does,like this book's genre is a mix
of different things.
It's its own thing.
But whoever's a fan of comicbooks, classic superhero tales,
but also you get that drama andthat deep psychological like
impactful, um, theme that.
(08:30):
Really touches the reader andthat, that was my goal with this
book was, you know, to reallyreach the reader's heart.
And the main theme of this bookis, as we go about our lives, we
could choose whether we could bea hero or a villain in our own
lives based on the choices thatwe make.
So, It's definitely anadventure.
It's fantasy, but the reader'sgonna get that sense of, wow,
(08:50):
like when I finished puttingdown this book, maybe my
perception towards my life willbe a little bit different.
BETH BARANY (08:56):
Yeah.
Oh, I love that.
And I read some of your reviewsfor both of these books and I,
it jumped out at me that somepeople were really, really
touched by this book.
It really moved them.
And I just thought it was sowonderful.
And, I'm really happy for you.
and I love that you also arereally helping people see that
they, have a choice.
That there is a choice between,do they wanna listen to the
(09:17):
devil on their shoulder or tothe angel on their shoulder?
And I just Exactly.
and I also noticed, in bothstories, your protagonists are
male and this story, it seemslike a young guy, a teenager,
maybe.
and I just also wanna say howthat's a wonderful, it feels
like you're doing some reallygood positive representations of
allowing young men to reallywrangle with these things and
(09:38):
think about them.
And I just think that's reallyimportant.
MICHAEL COLON (09:41):
Yes, I agree.
And I would say to add to thatin a way, both stories are like
an essence of me.
like with The Greatest ComicBook Tale Ever Told, um.
Sunny's story is Sunny's story,but like all artists and
writers, you pull from like bitsand pieces of like your
upbringing.
And you know, for me, beingraised in a single mother, uh,
(10:02):
parent household, you know, mymom is, you know, without my
mom, you know, I wouldn't,wouldn't know where I would be
today.
Also likes Sonny, you know,very, you know, hesitant.
You know, I didn't, I didn'tknow what my voice was.
I felt like.
You know what, what is mypurpose?
And you know, I had my escapestoo.
so in a way, like I feel likewriting this book was also very
(10:24):
helpful for me too.
with the Gift from Aelius, youknow, obviously, you know, we're
dealing with artificialintelligence and it's more
sci-fi, but even with the maincharacter, a 1 9 1, like, you
know, he feels like there's moreoutside of his community.
or his world then meets the eyeor what's being shown to him.
(10:46):
And for me growing up, I alwayssaw myself like, what else is
out there?
I just didn't know how to goabout stepping outta that
bubble.
So, um, these books that I wroteand the future books I plan on
writing, you know, it's, I dopray that like not only does it
entertain, but like it alsotouches the reader.
(11:09):
But it's also very helpful forme too.
So I feel like it's a goodshared experience.
BETH BARANY (11:13):
That's really wonderful.
and thank you for sharing withus a little bit about your past.
I'm always curious, like, what,what were the ingredients in
your life?
If you could name like, one keyinfluence from your past,
whether it's something you reador saw, or somebody, or a place,
that really influenced you as awriter today.
(11:34):
And this is one of the, Thelightning round questions, the
surprise questions for you.
Yeah.
what would that be?
MICHAEL COLON (11:39):
Oh, a hundred percent.
My mom, my mom is the influenceof my upbringing.
She taught me, you gotta workhard for what you want.
but she also, and it was a lotof tough love it, it was both.
but I feel like it made me thewell-rounded person that I am
now.
nobody's perfect.
But at the same time, in termsof like just pure impactful
(12:00):
influence, I would say my momand anybody who knows me
personally, it's like, yeah.
You know, like I, they, theyjust know right away.
Um, yeah, I would say how I wasraised echoes to the creative,
how I approach my creativeprojects today, which is, work
hard.
you deserve to like, putyourself out there like you
(12:20):
deserve, like these type ofthings, like why not you?
'cause we're all special in ourown ways.
So yeah, definitely my mom.
BETH BARANY (12:27):
That's great.
And, and why not you?
That's a great piece of advice.
Yeah.
For every writer listening tous, there's no one else like you
who's had exactly your lifeexperience.
just reaching out into listenerland out there.
What's one piece of advice youwould have to a writer who's
working on their science fictionor fantasy story?
and they might feel lost orconfused or not know exactly.
(12:48):
I don't know, not have completeconfidence in what they're
doing.
yeah.
What is some a piece of adviceyou would give them?
MICHAEL COLON (12:54):
Wow.
I would say for anyone who's,just starting out, writing their
first book, it's a very excitingthing.
And, they, the first thing I'llsay is, just be proud that
you're starting this journey.
it could be very intimidating.
It could seem like a lot, but Iwould say believe in yourself
first.
Because if you don't believe inyour work, then no agent or
publisher is gonna believe inyou.
(13:14):
And, you just have to keepworking hard and keep being
persistent.
the three things that I alwayspreach is hard work, faith, and
consistency.
And I feel like if you applythose three things, no matter
what creative project you'reworking on, It may not land you
exactly what you want, but it'sstill going to have a positive,
solution or answer.
like for me, when I was tryingto get my first book deal, I
(13:37):
don't know anybody in theindustry, I don't have a
master's degree in literatureor, literary arts.
I basically did research.
Did a lot of research, and wasopen to self-criticism and, just
being open-minded to tweakingthings.
And, you start to refineyourself.
It's like putting a sword in afire.
it may be uncomfortable and itmay burn a little bit, but after
(13:59):
a while you become accustomed toit.
You become sharp, not in thesense of sharp, as in your
work's gonna be perfect andanything like that, but sharp as
in like your mind and yourspirit.
Because there's gonna be a lotof rejection.
I've, and I'm sure you, me,other authors out there, like
the amount of email rejections,it gets to the point where you
just laugh after a while, andnot laugh in the sense of it's
(14:22):
funny, but because at the end ofthe day, you know that this is
just one step closer to thegoal.
And yeah, I would say I, there'sno one piece of advice.
I would just say know yourself,be genuine.
Be, be, uh, consistent and youknow, nobody can owes you
anything because at the end ofthe day, it's like you have to
(14:42):
have that love for the craft andthen that'll take you to where
you need to be.
BETH BARANY (14:47):
Well said, beautiful advice.
And just in full disclosure,I'm, I'm actually independently
published, um, but I stillbrought my work through lots and
lots of rounds of it, of editsand iterations and I wanted to
get basically.
To use a, a space metaphor likespace flight, like green A
across the board.
(15:07):
Like I had to get nine pe nineoutta 10.
People had to say, this isgreat.
I, if there could always be onewho it wasn't.
They're like, oh, this is notreally my thing.
Okay.
But I had to get everybody onboard.
All the beta readers, all thealpha readers, all the critique
partners, everybody, thestrangers, I would have random
people sometimes read my workwhen I thought it was almost
done, just to make sure.
(15:27):
I was really in the pocket, aswith my goal.
So just for those who areself-publishing, also, like I'm
not putting out shoddy work.
I really wanna make sure it isexcellent and to jump, go
through all the hoops of beingtraditionally published in any
form, being accepted, goingthrough revisions, all of that.
it's not easy.
So I just wanna give it a littleshout out to folks on that.
so as we wrap up, I have uh, onemore question.
(15:50):
For you and it won't be too, uh,out of left field.
Um, I always like to, latelyI've been asking my guests: What
does it mean for you to writethe future?
MICHAEL COLON (16:00):
That's a good question.
What does it mean for me towrite the future?
I think like any form of art,everybody's going to take it
different.
It's like when you go to amuseum, um.
You have lots of paintings.
everybody's gonna take somethingdifferent.
But at the end of the day, it'sgonna be impactful.
So what it means for me to writethe future, it means to continue
(16:24):
to put out my art as genuinelyas me as possible.
And the more genuine you arewith your art, the more people
are gonna want to continue totake from it and apply it to
their life.
Yeah, I, I would say that's howyou write the future is making
sure that you're as genuine andthat you're putting as much as
(16:46):
your, as much as your essence inthe work.
Because readers feel that, likethey could tell when something
is just kind of thrown ontopaper and when every word is it
just makes sense to where it is.
So I would say that's how youwrite the future.
BETH BARANY (17:00):
That's really great, Michael.
I love that.
So we're gonna wrap up here.
I'll have to have you come backwhen you, when you come out with
another book.
That's it for this week,everyone.
Write long and prosper.
And that's a wrap.
MICHAEL COLON (17:14):
Thank you, Beth.
BETH BARANY (17:15):
Thank you.
Awesome.
Awesome..
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