Ask the Author: Mark R. Hunter
Answered Questions (12)
Mark R. Hunter
I've got that covered for now, but I appreciate your interest. Merry Christmas!
Mark R. Hunter
I don't know if I have any mysteries from my own life that would be big enough to carry a novel ... or maybe there's something my unconscious doesn't want me to deal with, but I prefer making my mysteries up from scratch.
Mark R. Hunter
I'm always inspired to write. The real question is, how do you get inspired to do all the other stuff involved in getting your work published: from submission to promotion. I do it, but I'm never inspired to do it--it's just hard work. If I wasn't already inspired to write to begin with, I wouldn't bother.
Mark R. Hunter
Don't give up your day job, even if it's at night, like mine is.
Don't expect to get rich.
Do read--a LOT.
Write only what you want to write--otherwise there's no point.
Study writing, both the art and the business.
Don't expect to get rich.
Do read--a LOT.
Write only what you want to write--otherwise there's no point.
Study writing, both the art and the business.
Mark R. Hunter
Oops ... summer is over. But I can say I spent most of the summer reading Game of Thrones, and if you've seen the size of those books, you know why it took awhile!
Mark R. Hunter
I always wanted to visit the Land of Oz, and have adventures with Dorothy, Ozma, the Scarecrow, and all the rest. What kind of adventures? Well, judging from the books, the kind that are dangerous but still fun!
Mark R. Hunter
The morning light made the clown painting hanging on Georgia's bedroom wall seem garish and frightening.
More frightening was the fact that it hadn't been there the night before.
More frightening was the fact that it hadn't been there the night before.
Mark R. Hunter
My ex-wife and I used to vacation at her family cottage in northwest lower Michigan (obviously she wasn't my ex at the time). It was a big vacation area, and there seemed to be dozens and dozens of radio stations playing every sort of music in the region. I worked for a time as a part-time air personality myself, so I got the idea to have a novel set in a small town radio station. The sunburn we seemed to get the first visit of every summer provided the idea for the inciting incident, and the beautiful scenery provided the backdrop. After that it was just a case of dropping in a plot idea, and I was off!
Mark R. Hunter
There's that moment, when you're getting ready to start a writing session. You get your hot tea, put on the music (no vocals, please), curl up on the couch with your laptop and a blank screen, imagine all the things you're going to put down on it--the perfect moment.
Then you have to spoil it by actually writing, but still.
Then you have to spoil it by actually writing, but still.
Mark R. Hunter
Sorry I'm so late--somehow I missed this. My favorite resource for researching "Hoosier Hysterical" was the state itself! We traveled all across Indiana, especially for most of last summer, and visited hundreds of places--and took several hundred photos. We visited state parks, state and federal memorials, cities, courthouses, museums, monuments ... everything from the Circle at the center of Indianapolis to Lincoln's boyhood home near the Ohio River (we live on the other end of the state). As much as I love reading, this is one time when being there in person was the best research.
Mark R. Hunter
"Hoosier Hysterical: How the West Became the Midwest Without Moving at All", is a funny (I hope) look at Indiana history and trivia, written to celebrate the state's 200th anniversary.
Mark R. Hunter
I haven't had writers block in decades. I think the trick is that I got a writing job with a regular deadline, which meant I couldn't afford to wait for a muse to pounce on me: I had to write, right now. Add that to all the ideas that rain down around me constantly, and being blocked just isn't a problem. Ask me about finding time to write--there's a problem!
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