Witches Protection Program by Michael Okon - Book Tour + Giveaway
Witches Protection Program
by Michael Okon
Genre:
YA Urban Fantasy
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.
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.
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.
tongue-in-cheek alternate reality where witches cast spells and wreak
havoc in modern-day New York City.
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.
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.
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.
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!
1 Comments
I love the combo of 'witch' and a badge. What fun!
ReplyDeletePlease try not to spam posts with the same comments over and over again. Authors like seeing thoughtful comments about their books, not the same old, "I like the cover" or "sounds good" comments. While that is nice, putting some real thought and effort in is appreciated. Thank you.