Do you have any particular memories from King’s you would like to share?
I have many fond memories from King’s: Dashing out of the Mint Yard after lessons to get discounted buns before the baker closed; Early morning swimming training at Blore’s; Watching plays during King’s Week; Moving from School House to be one of the first boys in the newly founded Tradescant (when I last visited, I noticed that our year’s house photo seemed to be the only one in black and white). 

Congratulations on your latest novel, Manhattan Down! What was the writing process like?
Thank you. After my sixth novel, I spent years trying to get one of the stories I’d sold to Hollywood made into a film. Then the pandemic stopped everything. The idea for Manhattan Down came to me during that strange time when I was running in my deserted local park.  There were no planes in the sky and the world seemed to be hibernating, waiting until it was safe to come out again. It was easy to imagine that everyone, except me, was asleep. I imagined being in Manhattan, the city that never sleeps. What if all the world leaders were assembled in the UN HQ for a climate crisis summit when Manhattan fell asleep? I ran home with the germ of an idea and began writing.

I try to be disciplined when I write. I start early in the day and work for a designated period of time. But I’m easily distracted. Although the pandemic was a dreadful time for many people, it helped me to focus because I couldn’t meet a friend for a drink or play tennis whenever I felt like it. I had to stay indoors and write.

In a world where you can only read three books for the rest of your life, what would they be?

That’s a tricky question, like asking who your favourite child is or who’s your best and only friend. The novel I loved the first time I read it and still go back to is One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabríel Gárcia Marquez. Another book that I could dip into time and time again because of what it says about the human spirit is Joe Simpson’s account of his survival against all odds in Touching the Void. My third choice would be a book so full of interesting trivia and facts and told with such humour that I’d never tire of it.  Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything explores every seemingly boring aspect of our natural world and makes it fascinating. 

Has King’s ever inspired your writing in any way? Or did you write during your time at King’s?

I wrote and told stories at home with my family but not really at King’s. I did enjoy my English lessons, though. I particularly remember two English teachers, Mr Woodley and Ronnie Milford.  Mr Woodley was always quicker to praise a particular turn of phrase or evocative description than correct our grammar. And Ronnie Milford, who was a tutor in my house Tradescant, would always encourage us to be curious and think outside the narrow confines of the syllabus. Both inspired me to be creative and find meaning in the words – to tell stories.   

What inspired your career change from marketing to writing?

A simple idea that wouldn’t go away: What would you find if you could analyse the DNA of Jesus Christ? The genes of a normal man? Or the genes of God?  This idea inspired a story about a scientist so desperate for a miracle that he dares to go beyond science. My career was going well but I kept getting up ridiculously early to develop my story, even on holiday in Bermuda. Eventually, my wife Jenny encouraged me to resign, take a year off, write the novel and get it out of my system. It actually took me two years to finish the book.  Then I got incredibly lucky. The Messiah Code, originally published as The Miracle Strain, was snapped up at the Frankfurt book fair and published in over thirty languages. The film rights sold to Disney for $1.6 million.  After that I didn’t look back. My seventh novel, Manhattan Down is out now.

What has been your ‘defining moment’ in your career so far?

There have been three key moments. One is the phone call I received after submitting my first novel to an agent. I can still remember the assistant’s precise words: ‘Please don’t show your manuscript to anyone else.  Patrick is very enthusiastic.’ The second is the night my wife Jenny and I sat in our house in London while a London literary agent, a Hollywood film agent and Disney producers thrashed out our first movie deal. The third is the first time I walked into a bookshop, saw my novel on a shelf alongside authors I’ve always admired and watched a customer pick it up, open it and buy it. 

Do you have any advice for budding writers?

First, you need to read. A lot. Second, you need to write. A lot. You are what you do and you can’t call yourself a writer unless you write.  There are countless books and courses telling you how to compose and structure a story. But the one I found most inspiring was an old book a friend lent me. Becoming a Writer by Dorothea Brande is all about developing the discipline, habit and joy of writing. It was a revelation. Originally published in 1934, it’s still in print and still contains great advice.  

What is at the top of your bucket list?
I have been lucky. I have a lovely wife and daughter. I have travelled extensively and been able to make a career out of what I love. The one thing that tops my professional bucket list, however, is to sit in a cinema as the lights go down and the opening credits appear on screen, and see the words… Based on a novel by Michael Cordy. Whether the film is based on Manhattan Down or one of my earlier books, I don’t mind.

Michael's latest novel, Manhattan Down is out now.

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