Every Story Opens Another Door.

I've been fascinated by stories for as long as I can remember.

As a kid, I spent countless hours watching classic Universal Monsters and Hammer Horror movies, exploring strange new worlds aboard the Enterprise, and losing myself in books filled with fantastic creatures, impossible adventures, and people making spectacularly questionable decisions.

Some kids wanted to grow up to be astronauts, firefighters, or professional athletes.

Me? I wanted to explore strange worlds, battle monsters, and boldly go where no one had gone before.

Unfortunately, NASA wasn't hiring vampire hunters, and Starfleet still hasn't returned my calls.

So I became a writer.

I'm the author of novels, novellas, and short stories spanning horror, science fiction, fantasy, steampunk, and dark urban fantasy. My published works include Hollywood Cowboys, Kiss of the Traitor, Dead Town, Terminal Horizons, Grim Highways, When the Lightning Strikes, Exiles in Time, Tales of the Ten Realms, and the short story collection Dark Detours.

My stories tend to feature flawed heroes, dangerous worlds, dark humor, and characters who discover that surviving the impossible is often the easy part. Sometimes the monsters have fangs. Sometimes they carry guns. And sometimes the worst monsters look just like us.

Which, frankly, is a little disturbing when you think about it.

Rock 'n' Roll, Monsters, and Other Bad Influences

Music has always been a huge part of my life, especially hard rock and heavy metal.

I'm one of those old-school music geeks who still listens to albums from beginning to end, appreciates the artwork and liner notes, and believes there's no such thing as playing a great guitar riff too loud.

Unless it's three in the morning and your neighbors have already called the cops.

Again.

My love of music eventually found its way into my Hollywood Cowboys series, where a hard-rocking band from the Sunset Strip encounters considerably more than groupies, backstage drama, and questionable fashion choices.

Vampires. Monsters. Mayhem. Rock 'n' Roll.

You know. The usual occupational hazards of being in a band.

I've always loved stories that blend genres, challenge expectations, and aren't afraid to have a little fun along the way. I believe a good story can scare the hell out of you, make you laugh, break your heart, or leave you thinking about its characters long after you've turned the final page.

The really good ones manage to do all four.

And if they can accomplish that while blowing something up, even better.

A Little More About Me

I'm a proud father of two, a longtime resident of the beautiful Pacific Northwest, and the past president and co-founder of the Northwest Independent Writers Association.

When I'm not writing, you'll probably find me reading, listening to music, watching movies, gaming with friends, or pursuing one of my many other geeky interests.

I've been a tabletop role-playing gamer for decades, which probably explains why I have an unhealthy fascination with worldbuilding, complicated characters, and elaborate plots that inevitably go completely off the rails.

If you've ever spent six months planning an adventure only to have your players derail the entire thing in fifteen minutes, you understand.

And if you haven't, congratulations on your remarkably sheltered existence.

I've also been known to enjoy a good cigar and a glass of whiskey.

Ask me what matters most in life, though, and I'll tell you it's family, friends, loved ones, and writing.

Although the cigars and whiskey do come in a close second.

And depending on how the writing is going, they occasionally threaten to take first place.

Every Story Opens Another Door

Whether your tastes run toward distant galaxies, haunted highways, forgotten kingdoms, or the supernatural darkness lurking in the streets of an ordinary city, I hope you'll find something here that captures your imagination.

I love telling stories. I love sharing those stories. And there's nothing quite like discovering that something born in my slightly twisted imagination has found a home in somebody else's.

That's the real magic of writing.

Well, that and being able to kill off people who annoy you without attracting the attention of law enforcement.

Kidding.

Mostly.

So take a look around. Explore the books. Read a story or two. Maybe discover something unexpected.

And thanks for stopping by.

After all, every story opens another door.

Just be careful which ones you open.

— Mike Chinakos