Hough Publishing
Official Site of Award Winning
Author Michael Bernhart
How I Made $3,200,000 from My Hobby: The Max Brown Tetralogy (+1) #1
How Speleology Restored My Sex Drive: The Max Brown Tetralogy (+1) #3
How I Made $3,200,000 from My Hobby: Cutting to the Chase. The Max Brown Tetralogy (+1) #1
How Existentialism Almost Killed Me: The Max Brown Tetralogy (+1) #4
How Moral Philosophy Failed: The Max Brown Tetralogy (+1) #5
Michael Bernhart is an award-winning author who has published extensively on international development and public health, primarily service quality. His credentials for this written out-pouring are a PhD from MIT and four decades of international work – currently 50 countries and counting.
The journey from writing funding proposals to pure fiction was a short one. The result is the Max Brown tetralogy (+1) which traces the arc – from age 10 through 68 – of a man who earnestly tries to avoid trouble, but whose behavior – or events – repeatedly drops him into it. Each of the five novels finds Max fighting bad guys and struggling with a new existential cri-sis as he grows up in these trying times. Manhood used to be a birthright; now it seems to be an unending series of challenges.
Dr. (why not use it?) Bernhart started this project before the internet could serve up virtual experiences to authors. The contextual information and situations come from service as a pilot in the USAF, living in Asia, Europe and Latin America, surviving the occasional assassination attempt, and inexplicable success at snaring women well out of his league. These remarkable similarities with the main character noted, he insists the work is not autobiographical. It’s wish fulfillment.
Bernhart currently lives in a yurt on a mountaintop in northern Georgia with one ex-wife, two daughters, and three cats. He still flies his vintage plane, perhaps more cautiously than before, but he’s unshakeable in his conviction that he’s God’s Gift to Aviation.
In the Press
Reviewers, both professional critics and literary bloggers, have been generous in their praise of the series. Any rating less than five stars is rare. The process of soliciting critical comment has been instruc-tive. The most fun were the laudatory comments from fellow authors. The blurbs in the left column are genuine – as in, written by people who had actually bothered to read the book. The others? "Genuine" only insofar as they were written by the referenced authors and used with permission.
The publishing business is a wondrous thing to behold.
"How I Made $3,200,000 from My Hobby is a sharp, witty debut from a deeply talented and engaging humorist.
"A funny and engaging voice,"
- Self-Publishing Review
“A must read (How Speleology Restored My Sex Drive) for fans of classic adventure tales that combine the thrill of an Indiana Jones story with the political climate of our world today.”
- Anthony Avina, author of I Was an Evil Teenager: Remastered and Identity
“Bernhart’s is a funny and engaging voice . . . sharp, witty . . . talented.”
—The Independent Review of Books
“I read How I Made $3,200,000 from My Hobby by Michael Bernhart with great initial intensity and then, as I kept reading, with increasing self-loathing, for I became surer, with every page, that I would never write a book as lovely, as true, or as pure, as this. I have stopped writing, now. I will never publish again. What is the point?”
- Karl Taro Greenfield, author of The Subprimes and Triburbia
“Make no mistake about it, Dr. Bernhart knows how to write. Really write.”
—Matt DeBenedictis, author of Congratula-tions! There’s No Last Place if Everyone Is Dead
“What if a book upended everything you thought you knew about our world? How Existentialism Almost Killed Me by Michael Bernhart could absolutely do that.”
—Gabe Durham, author of Fun Camp
“I always felt Dr. Bernhart was too good-looking to write something this brilliant.”
- Michael Fitzgerald, CEO of Submittable and author of Radiant Days
“How I Made $3,200,000 from My Hobby pre-chews a charmingly irascible post-millennial Weltanschauung and gently funnels its essence back to esurient readers.”
—Molly Brodak, author of A Little Middle of the Night
“How I Made $3,200,000 from My Hobby . . . is a great book for people who hate literature.”
—Lindsay Hunter, author of Ugly Girl
“How Existentialism Almost Killed Me is as mystical as it is practical. Bernhart’s manual will serve us deep into the millennium.”
—John Dermot Woods, author of The Baltimore Atrocities
“Michael Bernhart is the greatest writer in the history of western civilization.”
—Mike Topp, editor of Stuyvesant Review
“This book (How Moral Philosophy Failed) is a spark in a dark place, a light in a desolate landscape. Unweaving the threads of love, family, loss, and disrepair, this novel pounds at the heart of humanity.’”
—Sarah Rose Etter, author of Tongue Party
“I WILL ruin you if you put my name on this doddering smut. Don’t fucking test me.”
- Amelia Gray, author of Gutshot
"When it gets rolling Bernhart's text feels like one of those old carny rides at county fairs, when you're not sure it's supposed to be moving that fast but there's nothing you can do about it."
– Megan McShea, author of A Mountain of Toad Splendor"
“This book is very similar to art.”
—Sommer Browning, author of Backup Singers
News & Events:
A timeline of the Max Brown Series
1941
Max Brown arrives
Born to middle-class parents in Pocatello, Idaho, Maxwell Smythe Brown IV is launched on a 68 year trajectory that is immortalized in a series of five books.
1987
Max Brown chronicles started
Brown makes first attempt at narrating his story. The result is a partial accounting. The writing reflects the bitterness and sense of impotence that are a product of his life circumstances: in a loveless marriage and exiled to a foreign land for sexual impropriety.
1996
Then things pick up
Brown is signed by a publisher, Hough Publishing LLC.
1 May 2016
Something happens
www.houghpublishing.com goes live. Publishers and critics around the country stiffen to inattention at the news.
19 May
Then not much happens
People get married. Children are born. They grow up and get married themselves. Some people die. A minor star system snuffs out.
Generally a slow day in the news.
20 May
Some progress
How I made $3,200,000 from My Hobby is released following years (1987 - 2016) of incubation. After a series of traumatic events, Max embarks on a lifelong inquiry into the nature of God and evil. Muted celebrations herald the announcement.
XX Xxx
Something should happen soon
A place holder on the page. Something has to break pretty soon.
17
June
And it does! A new book
How Ornithology Saved My Life is released. Brown enters his forties, plagued by doubts of his own self-worth. Flying figures large in the plot and pilots will delight in questioning the realism of the scenarios. That's because they're not Great Sticks like the author.
8
Aug
Holy cow! Another book
How Speleology Restored My Sex Drive hits the shelves. A genuinely good book about racism, parenting, and ED.
22
Aug
You have to be kidding. Another book?
How Existentialism Almost Killed Me: Kierkegaard Was Right is released. Reviewers are unanimous: this is a very good book about drug counterfeiting and espionage. Evil is ably represented by remnants of the Khmer Rouge.
3, 4
Sept
Decatur Book Festival
Come see us at Hough Publishing's booth, #517. An all-expenses paid vacation to Thailand will be given to the 10,000th visitor.
14 Feb 2019
The final episode in the Sally and Max Brown series
Night Sweats: How Moral Philosophy Failed is released. Another critical success. But the topics are heavy: cancer and organ harvesting; the humor found in the earlier books is in shorter supply. That notwithstanding, this is the most acclaimed book in the series.
Contact
Any inquiries, please write to: contact@houghpublishing.com
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PO Box 811
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