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What is your military background?

Believe it or not, in late 1984 I had hair past my shoulders, a beard that would put Grizzly Adams to shame, and surfboard racks on top of my rusty Honda. I played Rugby, drank a lot of beer, and studied Marine Biology on the side. When I ran out of money following my Junior year at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, I enlisted in the Army - just to make enough money to finish my degree and work on a Masters, you understand.

After three years and three stripes, the Army offered to release me from my commitment a year early if I would return to college and attend Army ROTC. I was off to the University of North Alabama, as the Professor of Military Science there was a good friend. On graduating summa cum laude in 1990 with an Accounting degree, I said what few solid business students ever say…I’d rather be on tanks.

It's been over ten years since that fateful decision, and some of the best in my life. Assignments have included tank platoon leader and cavalry troop executive officer in the 2nd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, Wildflecken, Germany; S3 Air and tank company commander in 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colorado; and ground combat operations officer at the Joint Service Combat Identification Evaluation Team (JSCIET), Eglin Air Force Base, Florida; grad school at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California; currently I’m assigned to the Intelligence Directorate at United States Central Command.

What kind of equipment have you worked with while in the Army?

Most of my time has been spent on one vehicle - the M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank. The only exception was during my tenure as a Cavalry Troop XO. During that time I manned an M3A2 Bradley Cavalry Fighting Vehicle…basically the same Brad the infantry has, but carries more ammunition and fewer troops.

Were you in Desert Storm?

Always a popular question with the younger troops and officers when they see my 11th ACR "combat patch". Well, I'll say this much - we did a lot of sweating in the Kuwaiti deserts in 1991.

The 11th ACR was alerted to move from Germany to the Middle East early in 1991. By the time we arrived, the shooting part of the shooting war was pretty much over. We remained in Kuwait until October at the request of the Kuwaiti government as they wanted a Brigade-sized unit to help them watch over their border with Iraq and ensure that Uncle Saddam didn't intend to get on board the Conquest Train again once U.S. forces pulled out.

Who is responsible for the art I've seen at TheTanker.com? Is any of it available for purchase?

Jody Harmon, the great military artist whose work graces the cover of each Armor Magazine, is responsible for the tank in the site's header. The name of the piece is "M1A2 Abrams" and it is one of my favorite military prints. Apparently, everyone else agrees...it's sold out folks. But more of Jody's art is available, along with other really cool tank paraphernalia, at: http://www.usarmor-assn.org/esprit.html

"Tanker" is by Michael Garman, the renowned Colorado sculptor. It can be purchased at Michael's online store, http://www.michaelgarman.com/store/#

Fabio "Tiger" Prado has been kind enough to provide some of his armor graphics to the site. Fabio's work can be seen at The Armor Site, http://www.fprado.com/armorsite/

How did you begin writing?

As many writers will tell you, I began by reading. I'm voracious. I often feel guilty when I see fellow officers pouring through Field Manuals and reading doctrinal publications. Other than Armor Magazine and newsletters from the Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL), I'm usually found with a paperback novel rather than something educational.

I believe strongly that the more you read, the better you write. This is particularly true when you combine your writing with something you know and love. I'd sucked from the literary teats of the masters – W.E.B. Griffin, Leonard B. Scott, Tom Clancy, Harold Coyle, Dale Brown, Stephen Coonts – and enjoyed the experience to no end. In 1996 I was reading something by a non-master and put it down with disgust, thinking “You know, I can write better crap than this”. So I did. Initially I just wanted to see if I could stick with the project and finish the book. I did. The book ultimately became TIN SOLDIERS. I let a few friends read it and they loved the story, so I said what the hell and went about selling the manuscript. Bada-bing-bada-boom.

Where did you get the idea for TIN SOLDIERS?

In the fall of 1995 Saddam began his saber-rattling once more. You might recall this was when two of his sons-in-law defected to Jordan. He decided it was time to take the Iraqi Baja Motor Rally on the road and headed south…please do not ask how his sons-in-law defecting to Jordan for some reason translated in his mind to move to the Kuwaiti border; I can’t help you there. The U.S. military of course responded by sending the 1st Cavalry Division to Kuwait - a bit Pavlovian, but we Army folk are creatures of habit.

My unit from Fort Carson, Task Force 1-68 Armor, conducted a relief-in-place with the 1st Cav task force on the ground in October 1995. We remained in Kuwait for a little over two months. During those two months I was the Task Force S3 Air. Between writing OPORDS and explaining to our gracious hosts that I did not like goat meat served in any form, the premise for TIN SOLDIERS began tickling my subconscious. We had less than a brigade of troops on the ground just south of the Kuwait-Iraq border. What if those guys just a few klicks away got a wild hair? There weren't any other U.S. heavy forces anywhere nearby to reinforce and it would take at least a couple of weeks before we could reasonably expect any heavy back-up. The Kuwaitis were a complete unknown - their will to fight was questionable since 1991. We would be outrageously outnumbered and outgunned (by sheer number of gun tubes, not quality). I knew it would make for one heck of a furball, and thus the concept TIN SOLDIERS was born.

Was it difficult getting TIN SOLDIERS published?

This story will make you laugh and cry.

When I finished TIN SOLDIERS in 1999, I read a lot of the "how to get published" books, etc. The gist of my research was that when trying to sell a novel, you need an agent. Without one, no reputable editor would look at the manuscript. I also figured out that it could be harder finding a good agent than it was to find a publisher.

Like any good cavalryman, I searched for the short cut…why hit ‘em head on if a bypass is available. Going to the local Barnes & Noble, I looked in the "Acknowledgements" section of over twenty military novels. My rationale? If the author was willing to say some kind words about his/her agent after dishing out a fifteen percent commission, I'd know two things - the agent was likely not bad to work with and the agent dealt with editors who buy military manuscripts such as TIN SOLDIERS.

While perusing the acknowledgements, I also made note of two editors that I saw appear in several books. Once back home, I googled the e-mail addresses of the editors and wrote them, asking if they thought a story about a mechanized brigade in combat, near-future Middle East conflict, would sell. Let's face it, you don't see a lot of Abrams on novel covers these days. My intent in writing these gentlemen was to get a feel for the current market, not to sell the manuscript. Surprisingly, both editors said to send them the manuscript. Not one to look a gift-horse in the mouth, I said what the bleep and popped a pair of manuscripts in the mail.

A couple of months later I was writing a rousing memorandum at my desk at Eglin Air Force Base when the phone rang. One of the editors wanted to buy TIN SOLDIERS. After thanking him and promising that my first two male children would be named after him, I came down to Earth. I was in the enviable position of having my first novel published and I didn't even have an agent. Who's going to read through the multi-page contract, decide whether the Chinese film rights should be thrown in, etc? I e-mailed a man who'd given me good advice in the past, Dale Brown. First Dale gave me the electronic back thumping. He then recommended I get an agent to look over the contract. He recommended a few and gave me some phone numbers.

Not surprisingly, I found it wasn't difficult cutting through the Literary Agent Red Tape once they knew you already had a publishing deal in hand. I liked the agent a great deal, he liked the manuscript a great deal, and life was good. Kumbaya, baby. He also felt that we could get a better offer from some larger houses - but not to worry, all standard procedure. Alas, the dream had to end. The following sequence of events occurred over a two-month period: found a buyer for the manuscript, found an agent, agent pisses off buyer, buyer withdraws offer, and agent dies. That's right, he died. Fortunately a young agent in the same office took up the TIN SOLDIER standard. After a year of work, he closed the deal and TIN SOLDIERS was sold.

What kinds of books do you like to read?

With the exception of a few classics, such as WE WERE SOLDIERS ONCE AND YOUNG, I generally stick to fiction. Military fiction is in the forefront (see the great writers above), but by no means the only type of book I read. I enjoy Clive Cussler's work a great deal, as well as Dean Koontz, Victor O'Reilly, Nelson DeMille, Louis L'Amour, Stephen King, John Grisham, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert L. Howard, John D. MacDonald, and Anne Rice. This list is not all-inclusive. There are a ton of truly fine writers out there today.

Any final advice to prospective writers?

Any advice I can offer falls far short of the best piece I've read by an author on the topic. It's by best-selling writer Stephen Coonts and can be seen at http://www.coonts.com/steve_sez/tips_writers.cfm

My quick hits on the topic: don't do it for the money, or you're likely to be disappointed; write about what you know; don't listen to people who give you a single formula for successful writing, do what works for you; when it stops being fun, stop writing - enjoyment should be the primary reason for writing to begin with.

Are you really as handsome as your picture?

No. Photos have never done me true justice. Just ask my mom. Alas, friends would disagree (jealousy?).

How do I get my book signed?

Many of you have written me asking how to get a book signed. If you send a copy to the address below, I’ll turn it around to you. Please ensure you let me know who it’s for and a little about them – ex-military (if so, what service), wife is a stripper, etc. – so that we can add a personal touch. Here’s the address:

Michael Farmer
PO Box 1895
Pinehurst, NC 28370-1895

Michael Farmer / TheTanker.Com E-Mail readermail@TheTanker.Com

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