Michael Thompson has been a journalist, producer and media executive for the last fifteen years. He is a savvy business podcaster and digital talent! Michael was one of the most humble, genuinely connecting and open authors I’ve met in person. How to be Remembered is Michael’s debut novel 💫
Michael, your debut novel ‘How to be Remembered’ is so unique, heartfelt and perfectly-paced. I loved Tommy as the main character! How did the idea of Tommy’s diverse life come to you?
The idea for the novel – this concept of a boy being forgotten every year on his birthday – came from two places. The first was social media, and the sometimes stupid things people post online. Those posts usually end up deleted, but it forms part of their digital footprint – it’s probably still there, somewhere, floating around in cyberspace. It made me wonder how many people would like to just have that footprint wiped, to be forgotten entirely. And I went from that to the opposite – what about somebody who just wanted to be remembered, and something was preventing that. The other inspiration for the novel came from the situation I found myself in when I started to write. I’d just finished at one company, having worked there for more than a decade. When I left, I was sure I’d be missed. But the business moved on, somebody replaced me, and I was forgotten (in a professional sense, at least).
With that basic idea, I then started writing about Tommy – and the rest of his life just seemed to flow. I really wanted to focus on the ordinary things that we take for granted – having friends, relationships, a job. Because a year is long enough to build those relationships and those connections, and then to lose them on his birthday every year seemed like it had plenty of potential.
I feel like I’ll never forget the date of January 5th because of Tommy! Why in particular did you choose the date of January 5th? Why not any other date?
Good question! I needed a date that was in the school holidays (when Tommy was a child). I thought the Reset (which is what Tommy calls it) would be a lot easier to write around if he wasn’t at school. I also wanted it to be in that dead zone around Christmas / New Year, where all the days start to blend together. I landed on January 5, and stuck with it!
Every time I explain the premise of How to be Remembered to friends, SO many say, ‘I hope that it becomes a movie!”. If you could choose a main character to play Tommy on screen, who would it be and why?
Fingers crossed it becomes a movie! The film rights have been picked up by a Hollywood production company, so there’s a chance, but a lot of books get optioned and that’s as far as they go. If it was to make it to the big screen, I think I’d be okay with pretty much anyone playing Tommy – it would just be such a thrill to see it happen. Having said all that, Tom Holland would be terrific, or Austen Butler (who played Elvis). Tommy’s story covers quite a broad age range, up to his mid/late 30s, and I think either of these actors have the right look for Tommy. Tommy is kind, naive, optimistic, resilient – and I think either of these actors could do it well. Clearly I’m aiming high here, just picking out A-list names!
Michael, thank you so much for joining me on Author Talks 🎤 It has been an absolute pleasure to host you and meet in person! I cannot wait to see what your writing future holds, oh and watch How to be Remembered on the big screen someday 😉💫
You can find Michael’s novel, How to be Remembered via this link: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/q4m2Kq
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