Ask the Author: Mark Terence Chapman
Answered Questions (6)
Mark Terence Chapman
Hi, Wendy. Thanks you for the very kind words. Wow. It's been quite a while since I checked for questions! lol. I took a hiatus from writing and promoting since 2016. Got burned out from the promoting.
The good news is I'm back. The first step is to finally release aperback versions of all my ebooks. The first three, The Mars Imperative, The Tesserene Imperative, and Sunrise Destiny, will be available in the next couple of weeks.
Due to some unfavorable comments, I plan to edit My Other Car is a Spaceship and Aliens Versus Zombies to address the negative comments, before releasing those paperbacks later this year.
Further good news: I've started a sequel to the two Imperative books, where James McKie from TMI joins the crew of Shamu for a new adventure that's literally out of this galaxy. I'm not sure how much the story will involve the other "im-crowd" characters from TMI. I haven't thought that far ahead yet. I can probably work them in somewhere. No idea how the story will end. Then again, I never know until I get near the end. That's just how my brain works. The story evolves while I'm writing. No ETA on the third book. It could be this year, it could be next, or never if I don't come up with a suitable conclusion. LOL.
Side note: I actually wrote TTI first. I couldn't think of a sequel for it, so I wrote TMI as a prequel. I've thought about having a pre-prequel involving a much younger Tennant and Taggart from TMI prospecting/mining in the asteroid belt, but as yet, I have no story, just a concept.
The good news is I'm back. The first step is to finally release aperback versions of all my ebooks. The first three, The Mars Imperative, The Tesserene Imperative, and Sunrise Destiny, will be available in the next couple of weeks.
Due to some unfavorable comments, I plan to edit My Other Car is a Spaceship and Aliens Versus Zombies to address the negative comments, before releasing those paperbacks later this year.
Further good news: I've started a sequel to the two Imperative books, where James McKie from TMI joins the crew of Shamu for a new adventure that's literally out of this galaxy. I'm not sure how much the story will involve the other "im-crowd" characters from TMI. I haven't thought that far ahead yet. I can probably work them in somewhere. No idea how the story will end. Then again, I never know until I get near the end. That's just how my brain works. The story evolves while I'm writing. No ETA on the third book. It could be this year, it could be next, or never if I don't come up with a suitable conclusion. LOL.
Side note: I actually wrote TTI first. I couldn't think of a sequel for it, so I wrote TMI as a prequel. I've thought about having a pre-prequel involving a much younger Tennant and Taggart from TMI prospecting/mining in the asteroid belt, but as yet, I have no story, just a concept.
Mark Terence Chapman
I don't have a good answer for that. Usually, if I wait a few days or weeks, eventually inspiration will strike and I'll know how to proceed with the story. But I have two novels that have been at least half-finished for years, and I'm no closer to figuring out how to finish them than I was when I stopped writing. That's life. I expect I'll finish them eventually, but when?
Mark Terence Chapman
Keep at it. Even if you have received nothing but rejection letters, don't give up hope. Stephen King papered the walls of his barn with rejection letters for Carrie before he sold it. JK Rowling kept getting rejections for the first Harry Potter book before she finally sold it. There are hundreds of similar examples of great books that were rejected repeatedly before selling. You may never be rich and famous from writing, but who knows? You might be the next King or Rowling. But you'll never know if you quit.
Mark Terence Chapman
Just finishing up the final draft of my upcoming novel, Aliens Versus Zombies. Release Day is July 10.
Mark Terence Chapman
Usually, something just pops into my head. I saw a sign for the Sunrise Biscuit Company one day while driving. I thought Sunrise might be a cool name for a character, which led to Donatello Sunrise, private eye. But I'm a sci-fi author, so it had to be set in the future. While following a case, he gets kidnapped by aliens and everything hits the fan. That turned into Sunrise Destiny, my third novel.
I saw a bumper sticker that said "My Other Car is the Starship Enterprise". That turned into my fourth novel, "My Other Car is a Spaceship". My best seller, so far.
I saw a bumper sticker that said "My Other Car is the Starship Enterprise". That turned into my fourth novel, "My Other Car is a Spaceship". My best seller, so far.
Mark Terence Chapman
One of my earlier novels, My Other Car is a Spaceship, was the #1 Amazon bestselling Military Sci-Fi novel. I believe a large percentage of the sales were due to the whimsical title. While writing my next novel, I was talking to my wife about that and said something like, "Maybe my next novel should have a crazy title, like, I don't know, Aliens Versus Zombies, or something ridiculous like that." We both laughed at the idea. Yet, over the next few days, I kept thinking about that title, and got an idea for a story about aliens invading during the zompocalypse.
I started writing down ideas and before I knew it, I was writing a new novel. I figured I'd write for a few days, until I ran out of ideas, and then go back to the one I was already in the middle of writing. Instead, 68 days later, including the three most prolific writing days of my life, I had a finished first draft. And it was the best, easiest-to-write first draft of my five novels (so far). :)
I started writing down ideas and before I knew it, I was writing a new novel. I figured I'd write for a few days, until I ran out of ideas, and then go back to the one I was already in the middle of writing. Instead, 68 days later, including the three most prolific writing days of my life, I had a finished first draft. And it was the best, easiest-to-write first draft of my five novels (so far). :)
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