During his years in Washington, Michael was inspired by courageous women and men who told the truth about corruption and criminality in Washington—termed "whistleblowers" by their peers. While employed in management and budgetary job series in the administrations of Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush Sr., Bill Clinton and two years of Bush Jr., he also learned just how much the U.S. government hated these whistleblower types (and with good reason). Nevertheless, at GSA during the early Bush Jr. years he blew the whistle on GSA's failed stewardship of federal advisory committees and the never-ending corporate corruption infecting them. Upon parting ways with Washington, Michael (in his role as publisher and editor of literary journals such as Del Sol Review) worked closely with the ACLU and other plaintiffs to successfully defeat Internet censorship laws instigated by the religious right in battleground states like Michigan and Arizona. Years later he volunteered to work with theGovernment Accountability Project, lobbying offices on Capitol Hill for greater whistleblower protections. 

His literary work has appeared in many national publications including North American Review, Quarterly West, Pittsburgh Quarterly, The Literary Review, American Way Magazine, and Conjunctions. He was one of the winners of the first Imitation William Faulkner Contest sponsored by the University of Mississippi and has served as judge for various writing contests including the Writer's Digest Finalist Prize for best short fiction. In addition, he is the director of Algonkian Writer Conferences, chief editor of The Writer's Edge blog, and publisher of Del Sol Press.