About Mike Van Horn
I have a galaxy in my mind. It is full of worlds and alien peoples, and they are constantly pestering me with their stories.
My trilogy has a strong female heroine—a sassy singer who befriends aliens and must choose between her singing career and gallivanting off into space.
This is not hard sci-fi, but I keep my impossibilities plausible—like how they jump between stars.
I started writing science fiction stories in 1987, but they were always back-burnered to my “day job.” For thirty years, I’ve advised small business owners how to grow their businesses without driving themselves crazy. During this time, I published over twenty business books and workbooks. Then I saw that if I was ever going to complete my sci fi stories in this lifetime, I’d better get my rear in gear!
My biggest influences have been Ursula Leguin and David Brin, because they are masters at drawing many loosely connected stories out of a consistent universe. And Brin is a master of creating aliens—both sympathetic and nasty.
Just in case you are interested in what I do that pays the rent, here are my business website and blog.
My wife B.J. is also a writer, and she also works with me in my consulting company. Good thing we get along well! She’s writing about a romance between the ghost of a French woman and a 19th century English barrister. But she’ll have to tell her own story.
We live in Marin County north of San Francisco in a house surrounded by trees and vegetable gardens. We have two daughters and three grandkids.
I have an MBA from UCLA that has nothing to do with writing science fiction. Most of my career I’ve run small consulting firms. I’ve also started a restaurant, fixed up old apartment buildings, and run an export management firm. One thing I’ve never done is work for a large corporation.
Writing science fiction is by far the most fun!
