From Blue to Books: Author Michael A. Black, '71, Finds a Lifeline in Words
By Lia Kizilbash Gillet

Michael A. Black, '71, has authored over 50 books forming characters and plot twists from his career as a civilian and military police officer. (Photo: Dave Case)

For author Michael Black, ’71, writing allowed him to step outside of his occupation’s grim, violent reality and into a creative space where he controlled the story.

As a full-time police officer, Black would write on his days off or after his shift. It was his lifeline, and he credits his NIU professors for teaching him how to do it well.

“Being a cop means handling unpleasant situations and doing your best,” he said. “Often there wasn’t a happy ending. When writing, I could dictate a better outcome.”

Working on achieving his own positive outcomes, Black came to NIU and studied English, preparing to fulfill his lifelong aspiration of becoming a teacher. He completed his student teaching just before enlisting in the U.S. Army, where he served three years overseas as a military police officer. Upon his discharge, Black became a civilian police officer in the south suburbs of Chicago. 

“I grew up on the South Side of Chicago and was bullied and beaten up at school almost daily,” Black said. “When I was 11, my father, who'd been a boxer in the Navy, found out about the bullying. He taught me the rudiments of boxing and enrolled me in judo classes. I was then able to stand up for myself and take care of the bullies. It developed a strong sense in me to always try to help others, which is why I wanted to be a teacher and later entered police work.”

NIU continued Black’s journey of self-discovery. It is where he matured, developed as an individual, and was encouraged to write. He recalls English professors Halma and Freeman as inspiring and fondly remembers Dr. Frank Court and Dr. Orville Baker. He credits James McNiece for helping him develop a sense of style and Dr. Mary Sue Schriber for believing in him and teaching him how to write. 

“I owe Dr. Schriber a lot and dedicated one of my books to her,” he said. “Her Principles of Criticism course was the roughest class I had. We had a paper due every week, and under her excellent guidance, I really learned to write. Professors’ influence lives on through the lives they touch. I am grateful to them, and to extend my appreciation and support for Dr. Schriber, I attended an award ceremony honoring her excellence in teaching.

"My education at NIU has always served me well,” Black continued. “I learned about writing and life. NIU gave me the confidence to face anything and prevail through hard work. There are certainly things I wish I'd done better, but sometimes you have to make mistakes in order to improve. There is no truer test of one's character than adversity.”

Perseverance was paramount through Black’s ten years of receiving rejections after submitting his work before finally getting published. 

Today, Black has written over 50 books in various genres, including mystery, thriller, science fiction, horror, mainstream, young adult and western. He authored two books with the late actor Richard Belzer, known for his long-time role in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and has written under two different pseudonyms. 

“It's always been my goal to be published in as many different genres as possible,” he said.

“Trackdown,” an eight-book series beginning with “Devil’s Dance” and concluding with “Devil’s Liar,” follows the drama of Army Ranger Sergeant Steve Wolf. Wolf is a modern-day bounty hunter fueled by Black’s experience as a former military police officer, which he served for three years before his work as a civilian officer.
 
Most recently, Black authored “Where Legends Lie,” which features fictional characters along with famous writer Ambrose Bierce in what Black describes as a “humdinger of a western.”

Building his characters through his own experiences, Black sees himself in many of the characters in his books. He said there is a lot of him in the fictional character Jim Bishop, the returning veteran from the Philippine-American War in “Where Legends Lie.” 

“I'll never forget coming home after three years away and how it felt to be back on U.S. soil,” Black said.

Throughout his military service and 33-year career as a police officer, Black frequently used his teaching skills to give writing classes. In 2000, he earned his Master of Fine Arts in fiction writing from Columbia College. Upon his retirement from the police department, Black started teaching creative writing and other courses. He currently teaches at Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Heights, Illinois.

Despite his retirement and focused work in the classroom and as an author, Black is most influenced by—and sometimes haunted by—his time as a police officer. 

 “The biggest challenge was constructing an emotional wall to keep all the tragic and negative things I saw as a cop from affecting me,” he said. “I used to tell the rookies I trained that they were going to see a lot of situations that would break their hearts. The trick was to be able to take a step back and try to rectify those situations as best you could without getting emotionally affected. The biggest surprise came after I retired when some of those old ghosts I thought I'd long left behind me came calling in the middle of the night.

“Once police work gets in your blood, you never want to do anything else. My proudest moments, however, will always be when I could help others. Whether it was responding to an accident, rendering aid, stopping a violent offender from hurting someone, or rescuing a cat from a tree, my goal was always to try and help people.
 

“And yes, the cat story is true. It turned out to be one of my most challenging calls.”