OK. So I say it with every interview...
I always say how excited I am to have that week's author. And it's always true. When I find a great author, I just have to share them. And this week's pick is one of the best of the best. If you love zom stories, he's your man. If you like a good sci-fi suspense, he's got that too. But let me have him tell you all about it.
PRESENTING MARK WILSON!!!
Mark Wilson is a married father of two, born in Bellshill, Lanarkshire
and currently living in Edinburgh with his wife, their son, Patrick and
baby daughter, Cara.
Mark left Bellshill Academy in 1991, qualification-free. And worked
his way through a huge number of jobs including, window-cleaner, delivery driver, Levi’s salesman, a microbiologist and cinema usher.
Mark returned to full time education nine years later, earning his
Highers and a degree in micro-biology before entering teaching.
Mark currently teaches Biology in a Fife secondary school and is founder
of Paddy’s Daddy Publishing, a company he set up to assist Scottish
authors. He writes in his spare time, in lieu of sleep.
Mark, thank you so much for being here. Let's dive right in. You used a rather
different approach to entice me to read your book, dEaDINBURGH. Can you tell us
a little about that?
The YA genre is new to me and not one that I’d anticipated writing
a book for, so I did my research.
I’d read and loved Jonathan Maberry’s amazing Rot and Ruin series
and figured that his readers might connect with my book despite the obvious
differences.
I contacted hundreds of people who had left a review for one of
the Rot and Ruin books and offered each of them a free advance copy of
dEaDINBURGH in exchange for an honest review. I tried very hard to ensure that
I only contacted those people whom I genuinely felt would be interested in
reading the book, I was very mindful of spamming people. I have to say, I’ve
met some lovely people from that exercise but wouldn’t do the same for every
book.
That's a clever idea, and I was definitely one of those people who's very glad you wrote to me! I'm kinda kicking myself for not reading the book sooner. I absolutely LOVED
dEaDINBURGH!!! Tell readers about dEaDINBURGH and the other books you have
available.
Thank you. dEaDINBURGH began as an image of a baby born onto the
cobbles of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh and went from there. I wanted to set a
book in the city I live in. It’s a stunningly beautiful place, very gothic with
its alleys and underground streets and so rich with history. I figured that as
cities go, it was a hugely atmospheric city to trap people in and started
writing. dEaDINBURGH is a bit of a departure for me in terms of writing style
and genre, but I haven’t stuck within a single genre yet and don’t intend to
anytime soon. More on that later.
If you gave a beginning
writer advice about the one most important thing to remember or do, what would
that advice be?
Above all, don’t expect to make money. Do it because you love to. Don’t
ever write for a genre or a demographic. For me, I never
have a genre in mind when I begin a book. I tend to start with a concept and
one or two main characters, then start writing. As the story unfolds, the
business part of my head starts to pick marketing areas and strategies around
three-quarters of the way through. I don’t ever want to write for a certain
market of demographic and feel that just going with whatever story is itching
my brain the most is best for my writing.
So
far I’ve written a very adult, coming of age, in Bobby’s Boy, an international YA thriller with a superhero
protagonist in Naebody’s Hero; a psychological
thriller with a sociopathic schoolboy as lead, in Head Boy; an autobiography written for a mental health charity titled Paddy’s Daddy; and a YA Dystopian zombie book in dEaDINBURGH. I’ve just completed a
techno-thriller titled The Man Who Sold
His Son.
Having
said that, although I don’t write to a genre, Scottish writers tend to have a
certain voice in their novels, an irreverence and passion; there’s no escaping
that for me. As writers, Scots seem to love and loathe their home towns in
equal measures but defend those communities to the end. All but one of my books
is set, initially at least, in my hometown of Bellshill, Lanarkshire. These
books will be collected in an omnibus titled Lanarkshire Strays in July 2014
and available on Amazon, US
and Amazon, UK[mw1]
Have you found any great
sites online that have helped you as an indie author?
I’ve been fortunate to meet with a lot of like-minded British
writers and have formed a tight support network with them. I honestly don’t
know what I’d do without their input and support. It also helps that they’re
top writers who I’m learning loads from. I’ve recently been hooked up with a group called ASMSG who I
really like. Still learning the ropes but I’ll update you in future.
Are there any upcoming
events for you?
Yeah, I do a lot of talks for mental health charities, the next
one is for a Scottish mental health and film festival in October. Before that,
I’m launching The Man Who Sold His Son in July, as well as the Lanarkshire
Strays series.
What's your next project?
Having just completed my fifth novel, The Man Who Sold His Son, I’ve
started on dEaDINBURGH:
2 whist I’m awaiting the editing of TMWSHS. As well as that, I’ve just
contributed a short story to Ryan Bracha’s project, a novel of shorts titled
Twelve Mad Men, which has twelve writers from that support group I mentioned
earlier, writing an inmate each. Bracha is pulling the twelve tales into a
narrative, crazy stuff and very ambitious, but he’s the man to pull it off.
Being an indie author is a
lot about self promotion. What has been your best source for promoting your
books?
Aye. It’s the part of the role I don’t like much. I’m good at
marketing, that is placing the books in the most visible places and making them
as discoverable within the UK market as possible, but promoting can sometimes
be a little extreme and over-enthusiastic from Indie-authors. I try to market
properly and get other people to promote for me by running competitions and
sharing links etc so as to keep the brand I’m building visible but not sicken
people with constant promo.
I LOVE the cover of
dEaDINBURGH, and I noticed your author pic appears to be in the same location.
Can you fill us in on the story behind that? And maybe give a shout out if you
had a cover designer? Also, is there a story behind how you got the title?
Thanks. I’m really lucky in that an old friend, Paul McGuigan, is a top-notch
photographer and one of those people who make themselves available for a friend
despite being incredibly busy.
When I was around three-quarters of the way completed on the
novel, I asked Paul to tour the various location I’d used in the city and shoot
some pics for possible covers and promo material. We had a great day and more
than a few drinks en-route and despite the heavy rain and bitter cold (which in
hindsight was perfect), he managed to get me to pose for some author shots
also. I’m delighted with Paul’s images and have most of them on display at the dEaDINBURGH
site.
The cover itself, I designed with assistance from a German manga
artist named Yuramei who did the awesome title graphic.
Now for a little fun! Tell
us one quirky, weird or downright eccentric about yourself. Any author pet
peeves?
I have to put my right sock on before the left one or I’ll itch
all day. I can’t go to sleep without seeing my kids faces.
 |
| Paddy's Daddy |
While writing, music or
silence? (if music, what do you listen to?)
Music, every time. Depends what I’m
writing. Sometimes I want Amy Winehouse soothing me, mostly I want heavy rock. Rage
Against the Machine and Hopeless Heroic are ever-present.
If
I gave you a rabbit's foot, a lantern and a box, what kind of story would you
write? You can give it a title too, if you want.
Depends if I have my YA
head on or not. If I did, probably a time-travelling rabbit who loses a piece
of himself every time he time-leaps. The lantern gives him his abilities. The
foot’s all that’s left. We’ll call it Timehopper.
If non-YA, it’d probably be
the leftovers from a mammoth alcohol-fueled Greenpeace coupe.
Oh my gosh! I love it. Thank you so much, Mark, for visiting with us today! I think readers have gotten an idea of your voice in your writing.
Here's Mark's contact information
And thank you to all of you who take the time to come and visit. I hope you're enjoying these interviews with great indie authors...and an occasional NYT Best-Seller...and I hope you're showing them some love and checking out their books. The featured author always has links to their books in the interview. As well, they're on the slideshow to right of the post. If you've absolutely fallen in love with them like me, the contact links are also available for you (as seen above). Indie authors especially love to hear from fans and readers.
As always...
Dare to Dream!!
Su
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