Interview with Michael Presley Bobbitt, Author of Godspeed, Cedar Key

What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write Godspeed, Cedar Key?

A desire to explore the power of the extended families we make for ourselves as a defense against a world gone crazy.

If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of Godspeed, Cedar Key, what would they be?

R.E.M. “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (and I feel fine)”.

What’s your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?

Literary Fiction.

What books are on your TBR pile right now?

Faulkner’s “Sanctuary” and a re-read of Joseph Heller’s “Something Happened.”

What scene in your book was your favorite to write?

The shrimp fry scene in the city park… after months of incredible struggle to survive and then adapt to the realities of life in the new world, the islanders come together to celebrate the annual arrival of the white shrimp in the waters around Cedar Key. The community is on garish, beautiful display as the islanders dance and swim and sing together into the night.

Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)

I like to write on my houseboat, moored to a dock in the backwaters of Cedar Key.

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

What you stand for is important, but who you stand for is everything.

If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?

Human beings have an essential need to live in true community with one another. Find your community, cultivate it daily, and fight like hell to protect it.