Select Page

Michael Jason Brandt

Epic Fantasy Author

I was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in scenic western Maryland, which I totally failed to appreciate as a child (seriously, folks, it’s beautiful and rich with history). I had a lot of interests as a kid, ranging all the way from books to other kinds of books. I played sports, of course, but once I discovered that my future careers as a professional soccer and tennis player were hampered by the small fact that I wasn’t particularly good at them, I did what any logical bookworm with a budding passion for writing would do–I got a degree in business and computer programming (from the obscurely excellent Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania) and went to work for the megacorporations that run the world with ruthless ineptitude.

I spent a decade (in Empire Asunder terms, a tenyear) in IT, first as an analyst and later in management. The work took me from Harrisburg to Texas, then Omaha to Chicago, then America to Spain. I got to spend a lot of time seeing the country and world at large, and base a lot of my writing on experiences and stories I picked up in those days (as I’m sure many readers have already guessed, the twelve kingdoms are heavily influenced by the languages and cultures of Europe). I did enjoy those years tremendously–the work was challenging and rewarding, the people I met were amazing, and the travel was transformational to me as a human being.

I also felt like I was losing my soul doing a job that basically boiled down to making money for faceless (and often heartless) stakeholders. So I left the business world to return to school, studying what every logical bookworm with a latent passion for writing would–international relations. I was blessed with the opportunity to study at George Washington University, close to my family, and The London School of Economic and International Relations–two of the best schools in the world, where I got to meet and learn from many more amazing people. I really love history, politics, and foreign policy, and was looking forward to launching my second career when the migraines came.

For the better part of two full years, I battled with a migraine every single day. (As an aside, I’d say to anyone else who suffers from them: hang in there… It can take a painfully long time, but eventually you’ll find some relief.) Useless for most of my waking hours, I did what any frustrated bookworm who felt like a failure would do–I started writing just to feel productive at something. I spent about eighteen months on the novel that turned into Plagued, With Guilt. At the same time, I started outlining a bigger project to tackle next. When Kirkus Reviews liked my first book, I decided maybe my writing was good enough to keep going. Forget business, computers, and IR… I was now a storyteller.

That’s where we are now. With Empire Asunder set to go for nine books, I think this writing gig will keep me busy a while. Maybe I should have been doing this all along…but half the fun of life is figuring things out the hard way, right?