Michael W. Harkins is an independent journalist and media consultant in Northern California. His 2016 book, "Move to Fire - A family's tragedy, a lone attorney, and a teenager's victory over a corrupt gunmaker," documents the true story of a boy accidentally shot and paralyzed by a defective gun, and the attorney who won a $25,000,000 product liability judgment for the boy a decade later. The book received acclaim in 2016 as one of only nine independently published nonfiction titles to receive a starred review from Publishers Weekly, which also included the title on its 2016 Spring Titles to Watch list, and 2016 Independent All Stars list. The book's Facebook page can be accessed at facebook.com/movetofire. The Way to Begin, released in early 2019, reveals a writing method for new writers struggling to overcome a common challenge -- to actually write the opening pages of a story. His essay on recovering from Northern California's 2017 wildfires appears in Real Simple magazine's September 2019 issue. His previous book, The Way to Communicate, a guide for developing enhanced personal communication skills, was released in 2010. His forty-year creative career has included work for and with a wide variety of clients, including Jackson Family Wines / Kendall-Jackson, Gatorade, USC Keck Medical Center, the American Red Cross, Thrice Fiction magazine, and NorthBay Biz magazine. His commentary has been featured on NPR's All Things Considered, and his early concert industry work included concert production and video production with Journey, Bruce Springsteen, and Michael Jackson. He is a former adult literacy tutor, volunteers with several wildlife organizations, and is a veteran of the Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division.
