About Michael
Illustration by Dante Saunders
Michael Takeda is an illustrator and writer of speculative fiction that has been called "dark" by Publishers Weekly and whose gender-bending themes Analog has compared to those of Theodore Sturgeon. He has also worked as a translator and teacher of English and Italian language and cinema, had a brief stint as a music reviewer for local newspaper "PDXS", completed two degrees in Italian literature, a masters degree in Nursing, and has published various novels and other fictions. He currently lives in Worcester, Massachusetts where he serves as Editor-in-Chief of Pink Narcissus Press.
His most recent editorial project is Brave Boy World: A Transman Anthology (2017, Pink Narcissus Press), available on Amazon.
He also semi-secretly writes Dragon Age fanfiction which can be found at Ao3 under the pseudonym The_Real_Fenris.
His most recent editorial project is Brave Boy World: A Transman Anthology (2017, Pink Narcissus Press), available on Amazon.
He also semi-secretly writes Dragon Age fanfiction which can be found at Ao3 under the pseudonym The_Real_Fenris.
Tales from the Sideshow, available on Amazon.
A fully illustrated picture book by Michael Takeda and Bill Racicot.
It was raining the night the Elephant Girl was murdered...
So begins the dark and twisted tale of the events in the traveling circus known as Master McCloud's Magnificent Menagerie of Mysteries. After Elephant Girl is discovered dead in a ditch, some of the aquatic performers decide to flee, while those who stay must face a plethora of peculiar perils. Will the show go on?
“There’s a sucker born every minute” – PT Barnum
It was raining the night the Elephant Girl was murdered...
So begins the dark and twisted tale of the events in the traveling circus known as Master McCloud's Magnificent Menagerie of Mysteries. After Elephant Girl is discovered dead in a ditch, some of the aquatic performers decide to flee, while those who stay must face a plethora of peculiar perils. Will the show go on?
“There’s a sucker born every minute” – PT Barnum
Praise for Moth, available on Amazon.
"Vividly set in the walled city of Urbino, Italy – where a rich Renaissance history is blended with a gritty modern scene of drugs and sex – Michael Takeda’s Moth follows a figurative lost soul into a more literal damnation. Moth is a dagger-sharp study of addiction, obsession, and self-destruction, wrapped in a mysterious cloak of the supernatural." - Jeffrey Thomas, author of Punktown
"Imagine if Jarmusch explored the supernatural more. Take equal parts Only Lovers Left Alive and The Panic in Needle Park, add a cloak of supernatural uncertainty and raw sexuality and you have Moth. Vividly realized and set against a Du Maurier-esque backdrop, Takeda weaves a tale that might be one of the best of the year.” - Robert P. Ottone, Her Infernal Name & Other Nightmares
"Moth is a chilling fever-dream that depicts both the highs and the lows of addiction, obsession, and the allure for monsters, both real and imagined. With sharp, staccato prose, Takeda spins a tale that is just as brutal as it is alluring. Pulsating, dark, and yet, there's a heart, even if that heart beats metal and black." - Azzurra Nox, editor of Strange Girls: Women in Horror Anthology
"Takeda (Narcissus Is Dreaming) spins a macabre story of addiction, desire, and alluring monsters [...] Readers looking for supernatural-tinged horror rendered with lyrical intensity will find plenty to enjoy." - Publishers Weekly
"Vividly set in the walled city of Urbino, Italy – where a rich Renaissance history is blended with a gritty modern scene of drugs and sex – Michael Takeda’s Moth follows a figurative lost soul into a more literal damnation. Moth is a dagger-sharp study of addiction, obsession, and self-destruction, wrapped in a mysterious cloak of the supernatural." - Jeffrey Thomas, author of Punktown
"Imagine if Jarmusch explored the supernatural more. Take equal parts Only Lovers Left Alive and The Panic in Needle Park, add a cloak of supernatural uncertainty and raw sexuality and you have Moth. Vividly realized and set against a Du Maurier-esque backdrop, Takeda weaves a tale that might be one of the best of the year.” - Robert P. Ottone, Her Infernal Name & Other Nightmares
"Moth is a chilling fever-dream that depicts both the highs and the lows of addiction, obsession, and the allure for monsters, both real and imagined. With sharp, staccato prose, Takeda spins a tale that is just as brutal as it is alluring. Pulsating, dark, and yet, there's a heart, even if that heart beats metal and black." - Azzurra Nox, editor of Strange Girls: Women in Horror Anthology
"Takeda (Narcissus Is Dreaming) spins a macabre story of addiction, desire, and alluring monsters [...] Readers looking for supernatural-tinged horror rendered with lyrical intensity will find plenty to enjoy." - Publishers Weekly
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Praise for Narcissus is Dreaming, available on Amazon.
"Narcissus is Dreaming is sensual as silk, sharp as a stiletto, and dark as the night itself. A provocative SF thriller that won't let you go." --Allen Steele, author of Coyote Rising “Narcissus is Dreaming reminds me of some of the work of the late Theodore Sturgeon, who also dealt with concepts of otherness, loneliness, and the endless varieties of love.” —Analog "This quick, interesting sci-fi read takes us inside the emotions of a shape-shifter living among humans... Narcissus Is Dreaming is a straightforward account of reality with a twist." --ForeWord Reviews |
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Praise for The Muses: The Blood Tour, available on Amazon.
“If you like your vampires sexy and scary in equal measure, your characters complex and involving, your plotlines engrossing and page-turning, then Michael Takeda has the recipe for you. The Muses is a tasty concoction indeed, but just remember this warning from one of its characters: ‘Don’t eat the groupies!’” --Jeffrey Thomas, author of Blood Society and Punktown “If you are searching for dark literature that is as grim as it is compelling, as beautiful as it is complex, you will find it in The Muses. The story, characters, and writing are unrelentingly haunting and sexy in equal measure. Takeda’s hypnotic voice cannot be denied.” --John Edward Lawson, author of SuiPsalms “Takeda’s vampires are both cunning and beastly, deceptive yet heartfelt. His vividly painted creatures radiate a collage of emotions with which readers will instantly identify. Not since Poppy Z. Brite’s Lost Souls has the literary vampire exuded and delivered such dark intentions and ultimate pleasures of the inhuman condition. The Muses draws blood...hard!” --Andrew Wolter, author of Much of Madness, More of Sin |
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