Mark Downer is the author of Ghosts of the Past and Setareh Doctrine.
Tell us something unexpected about yourself!
A frustrated volunteer coach…albeit retired. Having coached boys basketball, football and lacrosse, as well as girls field hockey and lacrosse, from elementary through high school, there are moments in time I wished I had pursued coaching as a career.
Why do you write?
Natural instinct. The blessed, and cursed, creative gene. I like taking thoughts and ideas and articulating them on paper. It allows me time to evaluate and formulate what I truly want to convey, as opposed to oral expression which can be fraught with words you’d like to have back. In many cases, the solemnity of getting lost in thought can be therapy for the soul.
Where did you get the inspiration for your current book?
World history and current events. If you can marry the two, and develop exciting characters that are woven into one or both, I think it generally has some relevance and interest to most readers.
What do you enjoy the most about your genre?
Fiction with an edge, filled with lots of twists and turns. The ability to create fanciful stories out of whole cloth. However, I do find it interesting to be able to blend some of the real world into plots of imaginary and distinctive events, populated with memorable characters.
How would you describe your writing process?
Full of fits and starts. I develop a very rough outline in the beginning that ultimately undergoes major renovations over time. Once I get started, I will have runs of creativity, streaming consciousness that will eventually hit a roadblock. I’ll stew on it for a while, until I eventually have a breakthrough of character and plot development that moves everything forward.
What do you think authors have to gain from participating in social media?
First and foremost is immediate exposure, secondarily would be word of mouth. I’m not a big participant in social media, so the mechanics and results are somewhat foreign to me. I’m in the throws of gaining more understanding as we speak.
What advice would you have for other writers?
Enjoy what you do. It’s like anything in life, the more you relish what you’re doing, the more you tend to excel at it.
How do you select your books’ titles and covers?
Titles have to have a simple relevance to the punchline of the story in as few words as possible. Covers have to be an encapsulation of the main plot/activity, main geography and main character or characters.
What’s your next step?
Develop the “Themis Cooperative” series of novels. I want to take my unique and distinctive cast of recurring characters developed in Setareh Doctrine into a multitude of unforgettable adventures in the more books I have planned for the future. The second in the series, Caracas Connection, is already in development.
What book do you wish you had written?
The Da Vinci Code. Love the immensely historical and religious context, and the fast-paced, complicated and zigzag plot line that keeps you guessing until the surprise ending.
How do you react to seeing a new review for your book?
Always excited for anyone to give a review, good or bad. Critique of any kind is a learning experience. You can understand what seems to work and what needs improving.
Interview by Books Go Social in collaboration with Old Stone Press.
