We’ve all googled our name. You look it up and discover that you share it with a Kenyan soccer player or a doctor from LA and think, “Hey, that’s pretty cool.” Imagine my surprise as a 10-year-old aspiring author when I first googled my name and found that another Michael McCollum had beaten me to it:
Say hello to Michael Allen McCollum, the top result when you Google my name and, worse, an author, and, double worse, a sci-fi author.
Lucky for me, our similarities are seemingly genre-deep. I haven’t read any of his stories, but they seem to be stylistically different from mine, focused as much on the science as the fiction. He’s an aerospace engineer or something. Our styles are oil and water, and, to prove it, here’s the cover of my debut novel next to his most popular one on Goodreads:
Can you guess which one was made in the 80s? I love 80s sci-fi, and I’m sure his stories are incredible reads, but I’m also relieved by the differences in presentation. There’s enough room for two Michael McCollums in this town. Since I’m planning on writing both sci-fi AND fantasy, I’m sure we’ll each end up in our own niches. Someday, who knows? Maybe people will talk about those two Michael McCollums and their wildly different styles.
Michael McCollum ⌬