Interviewer: Who would you say most strongly influenced your decision to pursue this craft?
Mark: Most is a tough question. You’re asking me about other authors; is that it?
Interviewer: Sure, if that’s how you’re interpreting it. And if it’s more than one author, can you please short-list it? Let’s say the top five.
Mark: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Janet Fitch, Tom Robbins, and Alix E. Harrow.
Interviewer: Why those particular five?
Mark: Oh, this one’s easy. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn because One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich was so very powerful in its conclusion, it still thunders in my brain. Nathaniel Hawthorne because of the lyricism of his language in The Scarlet Letter. Janet Fitch because every treasured paragraph of White Oleander is pure poetry.
Tom Robbins because he stretches imagery better than anyone, especially in Jitterbug Perfume. Any book that begins with The beet is the most intense of vegetables has my attention. Alix Harrow because her writing resonates within me so high above most other author’s works, I’m often left breathless.
Interviewer: Well, good… I’m—
Mark: If I’m being honest—and sorry for the interruption—every time I sit down to write, I open either The Ten Thousand Doors of January or Starling House, both by Ms. Harrow, and read a few pages to inspire my word choice and sentence design. I’ve read both those incredible books at least four times each.
Interviewer: Sounds like she’s your muse.
Mark (shrugs): Might be.
Interviewer: Right… so, have you had any works published?
Mark: Yes. A couple of short stories published in Meat for Tea: The Valley Review, NOWHERE TO HIDE and …AND BLOW OUT THE CANDLES. NOWHERE TO HIDE was nominated by the editor for a Pushcart Prize. I’ve also had a number of flash fiction pieces published in The Author’s Voice, the monthly newsletter of The South Florida Writers Association.
Interviewer: And now?
Mark: I’m seeking literary agent representation for ETCHED IN STONE, a speculative fiction novel about redemption, and am currently working on INDIGO DAWN, a spec-fic tale of evolution. Oh yeah… and in my spare time, I’m working with a friend doing a first edit on his novel MOSAIC.
Interviewer: Sounds like you’re busy!
Mark: Yeah, much to my dogs’ chagrin.
Interviewer: Oh! You have dogs? I LOVE dogs! What kind?
Mark: Two mini goldendoodles, sister and brother, Summer and Banks.
Interviewer: I’ve got a chocolate Labrador. Name is Bully.
Mark: And is he?
Interviewer: Is he what?
Mark: A bully?
Interviewer: (laughs) No, it’s just that when he was finally fully housebroken, I said, “Well, bully for you!” and my wife really liked the idea of calling him Bully. It stuck.
Mark: Cute story.
Interviewer: Yeah…. I suppose we all have them.
Mark: And that’s the difference between you and me. I write mine down. And then edit and rewrite, edit and rewrite, over and over again. Gets a bit tedious. But then there’s the GREAT stuff, meeting other writers, editors, agents and hear about their world, their interests, what they want to achieve and all that sort of stuff. It’s a great group of folks.
Interviewer: Okay, well, I’ll let you get back to it then. Thank you for your time.
Mark: And you, for your interest. This was wonderful. Mind if I put it on my website?
Interviewer: On the proviso you keep my name out of it.
Mark: Done!