Ask the Author: Mark Kelly
Answered Questions (10)
Mark Kelly
Anthony, you're welcome and welcome to the group. Altered Genes It's on the edge of hard sci-fi but not quite there. There's certainly science in it, but the science isn't the driving theme. When I started writing the book, I wasn't very well organized and didn't have a sense of genre. It just came out as a weird mix of post-apoc technothrller and medical thriller. I struggle to classify it honestly, which is a bit of problem.
Mark Kelly
Rafel—No biology background. I have a degree in physics but spent most of my pre-writing career developing software or working as a manager. Most of what is in my book(s) comes from research I do while writing. When I write, I tend to find things that interest me and then incorporate them. Genetics and antibiotic resistance happened to be 'interesting' to me when I started the book, so those themes ended up in it. Ironically, your point about more 'science than sci-fi' is probably true...and maybe that's the part that should concern people. We're a only a couple of decades away from being able to do incredible things—good and bad—with genetic engineering. Hopefully, we end up doing more good than bad.
Mark Kelly
The instafreebie dashboard tells me it's listed under three categories— 'thriller', 'scifi' and 'adventure'. I think it randomly appears in each when their systems displays it. When I started writing the series, I imagined a book that mixed Michael Crichton's style of technothriller with post-apoc components. Ironically, I'm part way into writing book 3, and I'm still not sure what genre it is :)
Mark Kelly
Batman and Robin—their relationship involves friendship, adventure and looking after each other. Which makes me think—shouldn't they all?
Mark Kelly
Events on the news. Things I read. I don't do a very good job outlining so usually things just 'show up' in my books.
Mark Kelly
Some days it is hard. Best advice is to write hard when the urge comes and 'just write' when it doesn't. You can't always wait for inspiration.
Mark Kelly
Book 2 of the Altered Genes trilogy. A YA dystopian short story in the Altered Genes world. A series of humorous short stories about my childhood.
Mark Kelly
Just write...and re-write...and re-write. Study the works of authors you enjoy. See how their flow and phrasing. Watch out for words that don't add any value to the story or sentence.
Mark Kelly
Creating something that other people will hopefully enjoy.
Mark Kelly
I force myself through it by just writing and trying no to critique what I've just written. Usually, it takes a couple of tries before I'm able to break through it.
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