2026 Reading Challenge
Mark Phillips
161 ratings | 27 reviews | avg rating:3.97

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Mark Phillips

Goodreads Author


Born
in Clawson, The United States
Website

Twitter
phillipswriting

Genre
Thriller, Crime, Ebooks

Influences
Stephen King, John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway ...more

Member Since
July 2012


Mark Phillips is the author of several thriller and literary novels. His Bentley Books series introduced the world to sadistic serial killer Bentley Grimes, a villain of unbelievable cruelty and unimaginable coldness. His literary novels are populated with richly drawn characters struggling with issues that affect our society today, such as: homosexuality, alcoholism, family struggles, poverty, greed, and bigotry.
His newest novel, Overwhelming Force, deals with the issue of police brutality and street violence.
Mark was born in Clawson, Michigan, a small suburb of Detroit and currently resides in Canton, Michigan with his wife and their three children.

He has published ten books:
Beneath the Mask of Sanity
Beyond the Mask
Re-Test
Typewriter Bloo ...more

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Ask the Author

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Popular Answered Questions

How do you deal with writer’s block?
Mark Phillips I've never had it. I definitely consider myself lucky because of that. The closest I've come to writer's block is feeling like the writing I'm doing o…moreI've never had it. I definitely consider myself lucky because of that. The closest I've come to writer's block is feeling like the writing I'm doing on a particular day isn't very good.

I write everyday and I believe that work ethic helps stave off writer's block.(less)
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Mark as a fellow Author, let me ask you this: is the practice of giving away free ebooks in exchange for online reviews a winning, or losing strategy for Independent writers?
Mark Phillips I think it can be a winning strategy. The natural extrapolation of that strategy is making one of your books free for an extended period of time. This…moreI think it can be a winning strategy. The natural extrapolation of that strategy is making one of your books free for an extended period of time. This works especially well with the first book in a series.
I have found that making a book "perma free" for two to three months generates more reviews, more readers and more sales of your other books than giving it to twenty or so people for a review.
Perma free is basically the same strategy only expanded to a wider group of people.
Increased reviews leads to increased exposure and more sales of your other books as well as increased sales from your free book when you start charging for it again.
I'm not a technical guy and I don't understand the algorithms that people like Amazon use, but I do know there is quite a bit of evidence to support this strategy.
From my own experience, when I made my first book free, downloads skyrocketed and sales of my second book went up by a healthy margin as well.(less)
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Combine Editions

Average rating: 3.73 · 340 ratings · 52 reviews · 10 distinct works • Similar authors
Beneath the Mask of Sanity
3.61 avg rating — 257 ratings — published 2014
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Beyond the Mask
3.97 avg rating — 38 ratings — published 2014
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A Way Back to Life
4.10 avg rating — 20 ratings — published 2014
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Re-Test
4.09 avg rating — 11 ratings — published 2014
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Before the Mask
4.29 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2015
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Typewriter Blood
it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2014
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Overwhelming Force
3.50 avg rating — 2 ratings
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Two Worlds
it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2014
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The Space Between
it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2015 — 2 editions
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No Credit in Heaven
0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2015 — 2 editions
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More books by Mark Phillips…

53 posts
Mark Phillips's Blog

On the importance of Communication

I don't spend a lot of time on Goodreads anymore.

Don't get me wrong, I love the site and I think they do wonderful work. It's just that one can only devote so much time to the internet in a day.

In the early days of promoting my books I spent a lot of time here. I was active in writing groups, I posted a blog weekly, and I even set up some AMAs.

This helped me a lot. Goodreads, combined with Bookbu Read more of this blog post »
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Published on July 18, 2018 14:54
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Series by Mark Phillips

Beneath the Mask of Sanity Beyond the Mask Before the Mask
(3 books)
by
3.67 avg rating — 302 ratings

Mark is Currently Reading

American Pastoral
Mark is currently reading
bookshelves: currently-reading
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Dec 01, 2015 10:39PM
Quotes by Mark Phillips  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“ “Appreciate what you have.  Look at the sun even when it isn’t dusk.”
― Mark Phillips, Beneath the Mask of Sanity
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“We serial killers are your sons, we are your husbands, we are everywhere. And there will be more of your children dead tomorrow.” Ted Bundy”
― Mark Phillips, Beneath the Mask of Sanity
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Mark’s Quotes

“ “Appreciate what you have.  Look at the sun even when it isn’t dusk.”
― Mark Phillips, Beneath the Mask of Sanity
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Mark’s Groups

220 Goodreads Librarians Group — 308524 members — last activity 0 minutes ago
Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Libra ...more
37092 Writers and Readers — 3105 members — last activity Jan 14, 2026 03:21PM
A group for writers and readers to meet and discuss books and the writing process. The group allows promotion of books, but please post in the designa ...more
19126 The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group — 32007 members — last activity 21 minutes ago
“It was a dark and stormy night. Lightning flashed and thunder rolled across the sky. Rain spattered a mysterious, hooded stranger who peered over the ...more
50920 Beta Reader Group — 29894 members — last activity 4 minutes ago
A place to connect writers with beta readers. Sometimes writers get so involved in the plot they can't see the wood for the trees. Hang on a sec'--th ...more
109784 GOOD REVIEWS — 8611 members — last activity 12 hours, 33 min ago
This Group is only for authors who are looking for reviews and Reviewers who love to read books and share their reviews.
149628 Free Books 4 Reviews — 227 members — last activity Jan 22, 2023 05:04AM
-> Do you love reading? -> Would you like to read more books for free? We can hook you up! --> http://freebooks4reviews.com ...more
176150 Best Fantasy Books Subgenre Reading Challenge — 64 members — last activity Apr 21, 2016 05:16PM
Hello new-to-fantasy readers and long-time fantasy lovers! This group challenges you to read ALL the subgenres of fantasy, including epic, swashbuckli ...more
16778 Free Books, .99, Giveaways & Reviews - Check Them Out! — 10003 members — last activity Jan 13, 2026 12:08PM
This group is for authors, publishers and bloggers to post giveaways and freebies for readers.
71494 Book Review Club — 2914 members — last activity Jan 13, 2026 10:47PM
This group is to help authors to achieve more-HONEST-reviews by reviewing freely provided books/ARCs. Rather than post scathing reviews, the reader ...more
26989 Goodreads Authors/Readers — 55860 members — last activity 1 hour, 46 min ago
This group is dedicated to connecting readers with Goodreads authors. It is divided by genres, and includes folders for writing resources, book websit ...more
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