We were lucky to catch up with Miguel Rivera recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Miguel thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Without question, success takes a fair amount of determination, self-belief, and hard work. Talent is great but usually a minimal part of the overall formula. Even luck/blessings can determine the course of our lives and/or success/failure. I was born in Newark, NJ to a Puerto Rican family. My grandmother spoke very little English, my mother was somewhat bilingual but with an accent. Nonetheless, she taught us to read at the age of 3-4. This was a monumental shift in our family. One that led my sister and I to develop a love of books. Voracious readers from a young age, we each grew to love for particular genres. I was introduced to comics and science fiction. By making it a fun pastime, my mother eliminated the very notion that it would be work. This later led me to finish college and get promoted at work as well as investing in real estate. At the end of my regular career it led me to become a published writer and to network with other writers from across the globe. I can also read and write in Spanish as a result of my short time in Puerto Rico. Beyond determination, self belief, and hard work, I would definitely say that adversity builds the strength and character necessary for survival in any industry. It served me well during my 27 years as a Newark Cop and N.J. State Corrections Officer.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Think of a kid who grew up in an inner city called Newark. With crime and poverty surrounding him. That kid had few escapes, save the world of comics and other forms of sci-fi literature. Upon reaching adulthood I was a decent writer and this led me to The Newark Police Department. Some people say that truth is stranger than fiction and this will be quite evident to any reader of my books. Despite the fact that my work is primarily science fiction, the human struggle and law enforcement concepts will have an unmatched quality of authenticity that can only be gained through a lifetime of witnessing violence, death, destitution, corruption, political fallout, and many other things, all while loving the works of authors like V.C. Andrews, J.R. Tolkien, Stephen King, and many others. My love of martial arts and M.M.A. occasionally surfaces in my writings and characters as well. Having been raised by a strong Puerto Rican mother, strength, relentlessness, and courage are traits frequently seen in my female characters. This would include the protagonist of “Pivotal Universe”. Darlene DiBenedetto is a New York City Police Detective whose life begins in a male dominated profession, but leads to mind-numbing adventures in the 25th century. Be warned, hers is neither a gentle nor an easy path, but one based on the realities of the streets and dark underbelly of the criminal world. I take joy in many things, finishing college, ascending to Detective, Sergeant, and finally Lieutenant, but nothing brings me more pleasure than sharing my wild imagination with my fans. In moments o levity, I sometimes tell my fellow writers that for years I was a writer impersonating a Cop. In my world building I always strive to create tales and characters so deeply human, that audiences will find my form of fiction to be indistinguishable from real life despite its futuristic concepts.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I imagine that my goal is the same as countless other scribblers. To entertain millions of people whether in written other mediums by sharing the outermost limits of my imagination coupled with the many rich life experiences I’ve had. There are some things you just have to live. If I told you what it’s like to walk into a state prison at the age of 21 and have a thousand tattooed, muscular, and downright insane prisoners rush the thin fence between them and your fellow rookies, promising any number of horrors and uninvited forms of intimacy it might tickle your fancy. But if I explained it with the detail and horror of a first hand, eye witness, you might begin to get a glimpse of the comic book loving kid who had to take a job working in a state prison in order to survive financially because dad left when I was 13. The first time an inmate is taken to the infirmary with multiple stab wounds and has to be stapled back together and an assortment of other experiences form a basis for horror/criminal justice lore. After switching to become a street cop, I thought I’d be safer, but the first time a bullet zings by your head in a piss infested hallway off some housing project, and you feel you might just wet yourself, may also prove fun to convey to interested readers. Throw some high concept science fiction into the mix and you get just an inch closer to the mind of Miguel A. Rivera, Jr.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Resilience is almost in my DNA. There is no poor worse than suddenly poor. That was the situation when I opened our food pantry and for the first time it was empty. Only sugar crumbs at the back of the cabinet populated it. Being thrown into the street because you had no receipt for your $208 dollar rent and having to sleep in a car would be another instance of resilience-building. As a rookie cop, judo-flipping a man with a gun in his waistband and having his family accost you would be worth a mention. Being shot at while pursuing a vehicle and running through lights at 120 miles per hour, while never having touched a brake, also comes to mind. Then of course, buying drugs undercover, knowing you will be shot in the face if you are discovered or be forced to sniff cocaine at gun point also bears mentioning. Having intimate knowledge of a close family member being sexually assaulted and the law failing to do a single thing about it was yet another doozy. I am an ordinary man who loves God, literature, and science fiction. These things carried me to the tender age of 55 without dying or being sent to jail. The suffering of others is far greater than mine, but I would venture to say I have achieved “resilient” status.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Lieuriv
• Linkedin: Miguel Rivera
• Twitter: Miguel Rivera @MiguelR22441239
• Other: Ticktok.
  @miguelrivera4525

Image Credits

The images were created on ChatGPT based on my writings.