Author Mike Robinson embraces the legendary Florida Skunk Ape in his novel

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Jeffery Pritchett. He is the host of The Church of Mabus radio show-- Bringing you unique personalities in the paranormal and high strange always and forever til death do us part. You can join his Facebook group, The Church Of Mabus Radio Show.

For a wild romp down the roads of cryptozoology Mike Robinson's book Skunk Ape Semester is just for you. Tackling the legendary bigfoot but surprisingly calling it the southern name of skunk ape. Which makes it more appealing for us from the south of the United States. I have grabbed hold of the bigfoot topic many times at my radio show The Church of Mabus. Learning much about the legendary bigfoot and I must say in Mike's book I learned alot as well from the adventures of Dr. Jeremy Fishbender. I also enjoyed the way the skunk ape interacted with the main characters. Definitely authentically written and a must have for all those who have a bigfoot fetish. Presenting.

1. So what inspired you to write a book about the legendary Bigfoot exactly? You take another road and call it Skunk Ape in the title of your book. Why is this?

View slideshow: Skunk Ape Semester
Mike Robinson: My entire life, I’ve been fascinated with the world of Forteana, that is to say, the paranormal and the unknown. Like many of my generation, I’d watched The X-Files since the pilot episode, but the true catalyst for my interest was when I was 13 and unwrapped a copy of Dr. Karl Shuker’s edifying (and entertaining) book, The Unexplained: A Guide to the World’s Natural and Paranormal Mysteries. Bigfoot, in particular, enthralls because of his cultural, regional and mythical ubiquity, and his human-like qualities.

The skunk ape, Bigfoot’s marsh-dwelling cousin, is one of the intriguing, lesser-known subspecies of Bigfoot (we all know the Yeti and Sasquatch, but a swamp version?) Also, from a writer’s perspective, “skunk ape” is just very colorful semantically.

2. What causes the main character, Dr. Jeremy Fishleder, to plan a road trip of strange proportions, and why?

Mike Robinson: There are several reasons. An assiduous scientist and academic, Professor Fishleder had been working largely with books, within classrooms, and the abstractness of his job eventually got to him. As one who encountered the skunk ape directly as a child, the ensuing fascination eventually led him to teaching a special interest cryptozoology class, which unfortunately got cancelled. Prompted also by a health scare, he began to rethink his options, and his priorities. He wanted to touch the world, not merely tell about it.

3. What can you tell us about the Skunk Ape in your story, and its background and behavior?

Mike Robinson: The titular creature in Skunk Ape Semester is an elusive beast, a sort of “white whale” to Professor Fishleder’s academic Ahab. Its most striking characteristic, which Fishleder certainly experienced as a young witness, is its powerfully unpleasant odor. Hence the “skunk” aspect of the name. All Bigfoot are known to emanate a pungent stench, but the skunk ape’s is specifically infamous. Its behavior, such as rock-throwing, also shown in the book, is similar to others of its kind.

4. So have you always been interested in Bigfoot and strange creatures?

Mike Robinson: I suppose I have, ever since penning, at age seven, the handwritten tome Aliens In My Backyard!. I am interested in other branches of the weird, such as ghosts, psychics and, well, aliens and UFOs, but the hidden beasts have a special place in my imagination. As a kid, I was a dinosaur and animal freak (hell, I still am) and love imagining the mysteries the wilderness still has to offer, even as we throw down buildings next to it, and cut roads through it.

5. Do you feel Skunk Ape is a physical being, like a wild undiscovered creature, or that it has some spiritual and/or paranormal elements? How does your book relay this?

Mike Robinson: I believe, as Professor Fishleder does, that Bigfoot and all its brethren are walking, breathing, flesh-and-blood creatures, an officially undiscovered species of animal. However, I certainly respect those such as many Native American and First Nation tribes that place spiritual significance on the creature. I met one man who believed his Bigfoot encounter was an ominous harbinger of a heart condition he developed not soon after. I don’t necessarily share these beliefs, but, given its elusiveness and reported power, a magical slant to the beast is very understandable. In Skunk Ape Semester, I tried to convey both perspectives, in different ways. While Fishleder’s voice deems it a natural creature, in between the words I aimed to convey an understated x-quality to the phenomena, as well.

6. How do the Hopkinsville Goblins play into your story? Are there any other cases, intertwined into your book, that the main characters come across during their research?

Mike Robinson: Despite the name, Skunk Ape Semester deals not just with the skunk ape, or Bigfoot. Along with three recent graduates, Professor Fishleder travels the country and explores multiple phenomena, such as Chupacabras, Sedona vortices, lake monsters and, as you mentioned, the Hopkinsville Goblins, which they investigate when they get to Kentucky. They are able to meet a member of the original family that had the unforgettable encounter. Unfortunately, there are complications, which I won’t go into here.

7. What can you tell us about Dr. Fishleder's other friends in the story, and how they fit in?

Mike Robinson: Having seen the news about the upcoming road trip on Professor Fishleder’s personal website Cryptopia, one of his cryptozoology students, a writer named Donnie, approaches the professor about tagging along for the summer. After getting to know him a little, Fishleder obliges, only to learn that two other of Donnie’s friends are also interested in coming along: Sean, an aspiring filmmaker, and his girlfriend, Raine. Fishleder concedes he could use their help and talents in investigative and logistical matters. Also, to prevent maddening solitude.

8. Are there villains in the story, or someone who wants to use the skunk ape for their own evil purposes?

Mike Robinson: Although they come across some objectionable, questionable or antagonistic people, there are no overt villains. Nor does anyone use the skunk ape for nefarious purposes. Maybe that’ll be reserved for the future, when the good professor goes mad with power, and perfects his maniacal laughter and hair-tufts!

9. You have some great reviews for your book, like Richard Freeman saying, "A love song to Fortean Americana...a truly unique book." Are there any other stories from the Fortean world, or researchers out there, that you used to research the book, or that inspired you about Bigfoot?

Mike Robinson: I’m an avid follower of Loren Coleman and co.’s Cryptomundo website, which is always a great resource. I also admire the aforementioned Dr. Karl Shuker, and read consistently the works of Ivan T. Sanderson, Dr. Jeff Meldrum, and Nick Redfern. Outside of cryptozoology, I much appreciate Richard Dolan, Marie D. Jones, Linda Moulton Howe and others. Really, though, in regards to stories of Forteana, little can compare to the reams and reams of reports put down by ordinary people of their run-ins with the inexplicable. The world is indeed weird. But it’s an inspiring weirdness, at least to me.

10. What does Mike Robinson have planned for the future, book-wise?

Mike Robinson: I have a forthcoming supernatural mystery novel, The Green-Eyed Monster, due for release later this year, courtesy of Crystal Quills Press. In regards to extending the world of Skunk Ape Semester, I’m planning a spin-off that deals not with land-based creatures, but with aquatic cryptids. Currently, however, I am on the third attempt in putting together a massive scifi/fantasy project, one dealing with “Atlantis”, that has been with me for quite some time. Here’s hoping the third time is the charm!

Publisher: Solstice Publishing Printer: Createspace Prompted by a health scare and an academic shake-up, zoologist and amateur Bigfoot researcher Dr. Jeremy Fishleder goes on sabbatical and plans a road trip around the country to places of strange repute. Three students decide to join him and, as they delve into the wilds of earth and steel, together they discover secrets hidden in the shadows of outer as well as inner nature. "'On the Road' meets 'The X-Files'!" -- Marla Miller, author and columnist "A love song to Fortean Americana....a truly unique book." -- Richard Freeman, author and director of the Centre for Fortean Zoology "A journey of the heart, mind and spirit. I was captivated from the first page." -- Syrie James, bestselling author of The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen

Official websites for Skunk Ape Semester

www.skunkapesemester.com

www.solsticepublishing.com