LYNN — Lynn native Michael Walsh talked with The Item Friday, and unraveled the mystery of what it’s like to be a fiction author.
“They say write what you know,” Walsh said.
Walsh’s three publications include “Ocean Park,” “Gypsy,” and “This Wicked City,” all of which center on a police detective named Matt Conley.
Walsh grew up in Lynn and went to St. Michael’s grammar school, where his education revolved heavily around English and reading.
At his 8th grade graduation, Walsh won the school’s English award, and an essay contest.
“That kind of solidified it for me. I said, ‘You know, I really like writing, and that’s what I want to pursue in the future,’” Walsh said.
Walsh added he particularly became interested in fiction writing in high school. His favorite authors and inspirations, to this day, are Dennis Lehane, James Lee Burke, and Stephen King.
Walsh said he’s also drawn to the Boston mysteries of Robert Parker.
He added that mystery books are the second most popular works of fiction that people read, the first is romance.
“It’s the perfect story in my mind, mystery,” Walsh said.
Walsh said he’s always been drawn to mysteries, saying that they provide the perfect mix of conflict and resolution, while keeping the reader captivated from beginning to end.
When reading a book that strikes an emotional chord, or one that you can’t get enough of, Walsh compared the feeling to “hearing a favorite song come on.” For him, that book is “Gone Baby Gone” by Dennis Lehane.
He said he wanted to duplicate that feeling and learn how to create that feeling himself.
Walsh obtained a bachelor’s in journalism at Boston University. He said while working on getting published in fiction writing, journalism was his way of paying the bills.
Following college, Walsh got a job in technical writing at the River Works General Electric (GE) plant in Lynn.
Walsh was then transferred to Cincinnati for a promotion, and soon to Jacksonville, F.L. where he resides today. He has now worked for GE for 23 years.
He said this new position in Florida allows him to come back and visit Lynn more often.
Now working part-time for the company, Walsh has more time to write.
“I’m not a good writer, but I’m a very good re-writer,” Walsh said. “So, the important thing is to put down a draft, and then work it through, punch the holes, and figure out how it can be made better.”
Like most authors, Walsh receives feedback regarding his novels. He said he enjoys all of it, as it’s never a bad time to hear praise, and criticism just makes him better.
“As a writer, you have to be very open to criticism,” he said. “You have to take all that in and you have to filter it to see, what did they say that I could do better next time?”
All of Walsh’s works of fiction revolve around mysteries set in the North Shore, and he said a lot of the events in the novels have happened in real life.
His most recent novel, “This Wicked City,” was published in December 2023, with the summary saying, “crime and corruption are rising in Ocean Park, a tired town in northern Massachusetts.”
In the novel, the main character, Police Detective Matt Conley, is tasked with solving the murder of a young Haitian immigrant.
Walsh provided a sneak peek into the book he’s working on currently, saying he’s 20% done with the novel.
“Some of the same characters, but also some new characters,” Walsh said. “And, it’s going to be resonant of a lot of what is in the media today and people who read it are going to recognize a lot of Lynn characters that were involved.”
Walsh’s publications can be purchased on Amazon.
