“Sticks and Stones break bones…
but words bend Minds.” -
Michael Otis
Michael Otis was here,
Michael Otis was here,
Writer Or MAdMan?
Maybe I am just as mad as they come… no one who aspires to turn a dying art into a career is that much sane after all. Be that as it may, is man not redeemed by his passion? For me, that passion is writing, and I would starve before I put down the pen.
Writing for me has always been a form of expression. In the words of my late grandmother who I miss dearly, “it is better to grow up out of a broken home than in one.” When I was very young writing became the tool I used to voice the things I could not bring myself to speak. It became like a bucket I used to drain the darkness from within me. I write not just because I love it, but because I am compelled to; in the same way one is compelled to breath air.
In my first years of university, like many others, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. As cause, I a took the road most taken: a safe path that does not inspire wonder, a path that ends with you confined to a cold cubical with only the wonder being how your life became so grey. I was enrolled in a business management program, and was on track to join the family business.
At the time, I really did believe that this is what I wanted. However, G-d Laughs when man makes plans. In my third year of university, at the ripe age of nineteen, I suffered from my first psychotic episode and was diagnosed with Bipolar shortly after… this illness has nearly costed me my life. When I realized that tomorrow is not promised I dropped out of that business management program to pursue the thing I love most: Writing.
My First Novel:
The Gifted
After my first hospitalization I began to write my first novel: The Gifted. A book that CANREADS describes as “a gripping debut that positions Otis as a bold new voice in YA speculative fiction, presenting readers with a thought-provoking reading experience.”
To be honest, while I appreciated such a positive review, I did not care for the validation. The Gifted was not written with the intent to be praised. To be truthful, it is a novel that I wrote with the intent to win back something I had lost with my mind at the time.
The Gifted is many things, all of which I coated heavily in fiction to keep hidden its true intentions. Firstly, It is commentary on the organized religion I found my self pursuing when I was unwell. More specifically, it is centered around the pointless game of “us and them,” that people from all walks of faith tend to play. Secondly It is a book that I wrote in order to come to terms with my mental illness. Where I no longer viewed it as a disability, but as a “gift.” Lastly, and I think most apparently, it serves as a three-hundred and twelve page cryptic love letter to someone I no longer know. Where the Idea of love knowing no bounds, or love conquering all is clearer than still water.
My Second Novel:
(Coming Soon)
Song of Seasons
If I want to keep the theme of honesty on this website, I will have to tell you that originally this was a book that I wrote never knowing if another person would ever see it… It was so difficult to write, costing me my health and sanity. I figured the best place for it was in a file locked away on my computer collecting dust. In other words I had let it go; before even giving it a chance I began to work on my next novel.
At the time of the book launch for The Gifted, the only person who had read the rough manuscript for Song of Seasons was my mother. She was the one to bring it up to my Publicist, Chris Reed, there and then. He was more than open to reading it, and after a little nudging from my mother, I was open to sending him a copy. To keep things short, some emails lead to many more, and now the book is set to be released in early 2026.
Without any spoilers: Song of Seasons is meant to encapsulate the feeling of having lost after love, and the courage it takes to find it again. I would classify this novel as highly experimental in both its style and content. It is written very poetically, with even actual poems embedded within the text. It is a short and heavy read, that takes its readers on a emotional journey through the lens of change.
Read These:
Read These:
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