2026 Reading Challenge

Ask the Author: Jeffrey Marks

“You can ask me anything about the writing process or writing in general any time. I can't guarantee an immediate answer, but I'll do my best to answer as completely and honestly as I can. ” Jeffrey Marks

Answered Questions (12)

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Hey Jeffrey, I was saddened, along with many mystery readers, at the death of Sue Grafton last week. I'm so glad I got to meet her at Antioch. I'm trying to accept the alphabet's ending with Y, so I'd like to find another author similar to Grafton. Who would you suggest as being comparable to Grafton? I tend to like cozies, and I am a tree-hugger science nerd at heart. Wendy
Jeffrey Marks I would suggest Marcia Muller, She is another mystery writer with a female protagonist and a cast of characters that we grow to love.
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Can you tell us a two-sentence horror story?
Jeffrey Marks My computer crashed. I hadn't saved my manuscript..
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If you could travel to any fictional book world, where would you go and what would you do there?
Jeffrey Marks Swindon, in the world of Thursday Next and the Jasper Fforde novels. So much fun.
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What books are on your summer reading list this year?
Jeffrey Marks I've started early this year. I'm on a non-fiction kick and began with White Trash, which is a fascinating look at classism in the US, then I'm going to read a few true crime books that I've been saving as well.
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What mystery in your own life could be a plot for a book?
Jeffrey Marks At three times in my life, I've experienced robbery. Once when I was young, my parents' home was burgled. I lost coins, which had been given to me by my grandmother, and not much else. The second time was at gunpoint just outside of a nightclub, and the third was the theft of items from my car. Fortunately, crime does not touch me often, but I could start with any of those crimes as a beginning for a plot.
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Who is your favorite fictional couple, and why?
Jeffrey Marks Definitely Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane. Anyone who meets over arsenic is aces in my book.
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What are you currently working on?
Jeffrey Marks A new biography project, a short article on researching a biography, and a new proposal for a biography.
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How do you get inspired to write?
Jeffrey Marks I actually get very moody if I go for long periods of time without writing. Everyone around me encourages me to write so they don't have to put up with that!
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What’s your advice for aspiring writers?
Jeffrey Marks Write something first. Then look for advice. It's hard to finish that draft, no matter if it's long or short, fiction or non. Once you do that, then start asking questions on how to improve it.
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What’s the best thing about being a writer?
Jeffrey Marks I don't know of the best thing, but I do know that I can't imagine my life without it. I've always told stories and written. It's a part of who I am.
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How do you deal with writer’s block?
Jeffrey Marks I've been fortunate to never have it. I always have more ideas than time.
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Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?
Jeffrey Marks I find that all the mystery authors who are the subjects of my biographies are all part of a cadre of American mystery authors during the 1940s and 1950s. When I finish working on one, I look around and find another to write about. In this case, I finished the most recent biography and found a connection that was interesting to me, which led to the current work.
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Jeffrey Marks
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