Author Mike Manos on "God's Poor"

Everyone loves a good mystery, preferably one that keeps them guessing till the end. While murder mysteries of this ilk tend to be the most prevalent, religious and historical ones are becoming similarly sought after, thanks to writers like Dan Brown. Not all historical fiction writers can, however, claim to be scholars as well, like Mike Manos, author of God's Poor. 

A scholar of both history and archeology, the research put into God's Poor took four years to compile. No one said shaking up the foundations of religion in a novel was going to be easy. The story is built around the sudden deaths of pregnant women, world panic, the quest for immortality,  and a dangerous heresy, good fodder for a conspiratorial thriller.

Currently, Manos is touring the blogosphere through Pump Up Your Book Promotions for the entire month of November, and I was able to interview him via email for a closer look at how God's Poor was birthed. 

LB Examiner: As a scholar of History and Archeology, what made you decide to write a novel?

M.M.: It was the fascinating history of the first centuries of Christianity and the powerful heresies that rocked the Church.

LB Examiner: If you could describe you're novel, God's Poor, in one word, what would it be?

M.M.:Extraordinary.

LB Examiner: What real-life stories or experiences, if any, inspired you to write this book?

M.M.:The inspiration behind my book is the survival of the heresy of the Paulicians, under different names, till our days.

LB Examiner: What is your writing routine like? How long did it take to write?

M.M.: I usually write during the night since I have to work in the daytime. I needed four years of painful research in order to complete my novel, GOD’S POOR.

LB Examiner: When I was first acquainted with your novel, it was described to me as similar to Dan Brown, plot-wise. Do you agree or disagree?

M.M: Of course there are similarities, since the story of a heresy has a lot of religious elements. But my book has a supernatural touch without a central hero, so the plot is quite different.

LB Examiner: What was more ardous in composing this novel, the writing or the research?

M.M.: Both, if you consider that I needed four years to complete it

LB Examiner: What authors, if any, do you aspire to be like?

M.M.: It was the book about the old heresies written by Panteleimon, the late Bishop of Corinth, Greece, that inspired me to write GOD’S POOR.

LB Examiner: What advice would you give to burgeoning writers, struggling with their first novels?

M.M.: Work hard, do your research, never give up.

LB Examiner: I hear you also dabble in poetry. Who are you're favorite poets? Did any of their work inspire your fiction?

M.M.: My favorite poets are Rabindranath Tagore and Joseph Rudyard Kipling, but my book wasn’t inspired by any of their poems.

LB Examiner: Thank you so much for interviewing with me, Mike. Best of luck on your virtual tour with Pump Up Your Book!

M.M.: Thank you very much.

God's Poor is available on Amazon, and you can read more about his tour here.