Michael De'Shazer

Michael De'Shazer (born May 7, 1988) is a multi-genre novelist. His fiction ranges from political suspense novels to urban literary fiction. Originally from Memphis, TN he was first featured on local TV news and newspaper articles when he published "The Wade Scandal" as a high school senior at the age of only 17. His first novel became a local bestseller and he developed a strong cult-like fan base in his hometown. After completing high school, he moved to New York City to attend college at Berkeley College where he published his first work of self-proclaimed "non-literature" at the end of his freshman year. He called it NC-17 because as he would explain "Like a porno, which is rated NC-17, my book has no plot. Because of the similarities between my piece of non-literature and pornos, I felt it was fitting to forge a symbolic connection."

After the independent publication of "NC-17",Michael illegitimately attended an advance fiction writing course at New York University. He made a fake ID and fabricated a story about auditing the class. There, he published his first short story, upon which he announced to the class that he was not an actual NYU student. NYU authorities did not pursue the case after the discovery. After the incident, NYU's Washington Square News interviewed Michael about the story. He claimed the reason behind his fraudulent practice was to discover whether creative writing "could be taught." He affirmed that it could be improved.

Michael is currently working on developing his independent publishing company, Park Bench Publishing. Coining the phrase "underground novels" Michael is focusing on keeping his books out of bookstores and selling them exclusively through street merchants, beauty & barber shops, independent convenience stores, and online.

His third book, "Pieces", the first project published through Park Bench Publishing, is a semi-autobiographical novel, which Michael describes as "a story about strippers, God, cigarettes, crime, and faith." Currently selling the books from a small book stand in New York City's Union Sq. Park on 14th St. and Union Sq. West, Michael has been developing what he defines as "street credibility among New York readers. To write his latest novel, Michael went homeless for two weeks and hitchhiked through Florida. This was after he lived as a recluse for five months and completed work on his unpublished novel "Dead Man Running".

Currently, Michael is promoting his books "underground" in New York CIty beauty shops, Union Sq. Park, and at various readings around Manhattan and Brooklyn. Additionally, he is working on his next novel with a working title of "Four Minutes to Live". He recently launched an online community, FourMinutesToLive.com where people can discuss their thoughts about the hypothetical scenario of actions taken within the confines of a few minute time frame to live before death.

Some of Michael De'Shazer's literary influences include Oscar Wilde, Eliot Perlman, John Grisham, Harold Robbins, George Carlin, Rex Pickett, and Chuck Klosterman.

Books

De'Shazer is the author of three books:
* "The Wade Scandal" (2005), a political thriller, which begins with the President's wife committing suicide.
* "NC-17" (2007), a collection of non-literature-themed thoughts.
* "Piece" (2008), a non-linear tale about a writer piecing together his life while fighting to overcome homelessness and lost love.
* "Four Minutes to Live" (2009)

External links

* [http://www.parkbenchwriter.com/ Michael De'Shazer's Official Website]
* [http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Michael-DeShazer/26759686530 Michael De'Shazer's Facebook Fansite]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UxPPzDXcVY Michael De'Shazer video interview]
* [http://www.thelmagazine.com/lmag_blog/blog/post__08110801.cfm/ Michael De'Shazer L Magazine interview]
* [http://media.www.nyunews.com/media/storage/paper869/news/2007/02/12/News/Fake-Student.Fools.All-2712632.shtml/ Michael De'Shazer NYU Interview with Washington Square News]
* [http://hk.youtube.com/watch?v=aG84LTdcQUg/ Michael De'Shazer TV audience interview on PIECES]