Mik Murdoch author visits Strathmore

Shannon LeClair
Times Reporter

 

Author of the Mik Murdoch series, Michell Plested, will be in Strathmore this Saturday, Dec. 6 at Assist Business Centre for a book reading and signing.
Plested is based in Calgary and has been writing for years. He has published a number of short stories, anthologies and e-magazines. The first book in the Mik Murdoch series, ‘Boy Superhero’ came out in August of 2012.
“My son read the first book and really loved it, and couldn’t wait for the second book, so we went to Michell’s book signing in Ponoka in August or September, and he’s phenomenal and I really like the books too, and I think they’re great for kids,” said Grace Schouten, owner of Assist Business.
“We’re going to put a few snacks out and normally what Michell does is talk a little bit, read some of the book and then answer questions and mingle afterwards.”
Plested, who has been writing “forever,” said Mik Murdoch is the first novel he has had professionally published.
“The book is about a boy who decides one day that he is going to be a superhero in a small town, and for anybody who has ever read comic books, you probably know that that’s not usually how it works, you don’t usually decided you’re going to be a hero, it just sort of happens,” said Plested.
Superheroes are usually exposed to some sort of weird radiation or are in a lab accident, or from some strange planet, that sort of thing. Normally it’s something external to the character that causes them to become a hero.
“In the case of Mik, I guess his external event is his dad takes him to watch Spiderman at the movies, and Mik being an eight-year-old boy, comes back and he is so enthusiastic about the concept of being able to climb walls and swing between buildings and lift cars, that he has decided that his small town of Cranberry Flats needs to have a superhero,” said Plested.
Cranberry Flats has a population of about 3,500 people and of course, like every small town, needs a superhero. Mik is trying to achieve super powers primarily, and become a hero. He thwarts some criminals along the way, and solves a couple of mysteries, but what he discovers by the end of the book is that being a hero isn’t all about power.
“It’s one of those stories that I think every writer has that is a burning story in the back of their mind that they just need to write at some point, that was one of mine because I was a comic book fan when I was growing up too,” said Plested.
The second book came out this past August and is a book about what happens to Mik after he realizes his lifelong dream of being a superhero, and what happens when he actually achieves powers.
“He achieves powers and they throw his entire life into turmoil,” said Plested.
The third installment in the series is expected to come out in 2015. There will be six books in the series; however, Plested said there is a character in the series that will have a spinoff series of her own at some point.
“That’s the beautiful thing about something like this, if you’re able to write interesting characters they kind of speak to you, and you just want to keep writing them,” said Plested.
Assist Business Centre is located at 755C Lakeside Blvd. Plested will be there from 1 p.m. until approximately 4 p.m. For all of the schools that helped advertise the event, Schouten said they have been entered into a draw for a set of Plested’s books for the school library. The draw will be done on Saturday. There will also be copies of Plested’s books on sale for anyone interested.