Mark Gillespie's Blog

This is a horrible post and one that I wish I didn’t have to write. But I do, I definitely have to write this. It’s in relation to a failure on my part and one that I have to fully acknowledge to those readers who’ve read the Future of London books and wonder why the series (which began in 2016) is not complete.

Here’s the truth. I’m not sure there will be any more books. And yes, I’m well aware that the series is not finished and that the last time I wrote anything about this, I stated that book six was coming.

That was me being super optimistic. Thought I could do it, but I was wrong.

How did this come up? I received a comment on Facebook today. In short, a gentleman asked where the next book is the series was – a series that for the most part, I haven’t touched since the fifth book was released in 2017. I’ve worked on and off on the sixth book (as related in ‘Let’s talk about the Future of London, part 1’ – a much more optimistic post than this one), but it’s moving so slowly and it’s usually at the end of the day that I try to tackle this after writing other material and then performing other author-business related tasks throughout the day (ads, admin etc.) Add this to the demands of everyday life and it doesn’t leave a lot of time to work on anything else. Like having a life, or something closely resembling one.

Why don’t I work on FOL in the morning during creative/writing time? It doesn’t sell. I like the series a lot, but it really doesn’t do anything in terms of moving the needle. And quite frankly, as well as being passionate about writing and creating stories, this is also my job. Working on a series that doesn’t sell isn’t smart. I have to juggle the creative and business heads and right now, the Future of London makes no sense to either head.

This was a series that I started when I didn’t know what I was doing, at least in terms of how to make a living as an indie author. I understand that people who’ve invested time and money in the series aren’t going to like hearing that. I can assure you that it’s not only about money (if it was I wouldn’t be writing for a living and I wouldn’t have worked as a musician for ten years either). However, I can’t justify the energy, time and money investment in writing a series that does not sell. Added to that, I’m in a much different head-space than I was in 2016/2017 when I was releasing books in the Future of London series.

These days I’m writing what I’d term psychological thriller/horror/suspense. I’m not sure there will be anything on the post-apocalyptic or dystopian front from me in the future.

I’m contemplating taking the FOL books off Amazon because it’s not fair for readers to start a series that didn’t have a proper ending. I don’t advertise the books anymore. I don’t know, we’ll see how it goes.

Despite the fact that the series is incomplete, I’m still proud of the world I created. It was original and exciting, which makes it a pity that it didn’t catch on. I’m not surprised though – it was always a bit of an outsider in terms of what’s going on in dystopian fiction these days.

I’m not slamming the door shut completely. Just saying that there is at present, precisely zero chance of me working any further on the series. That’s about as clear as I can be. If you’re one of the FOL readers and that pisses you off, I’m sorry. You have every right to be annoyed. I’m annoyed with myself – I’m not in the habit of starting something and not finishing it but I think the break from FOL was just too long. All the other series I’ve started, I’ve completed.

Should have stuck to trilogies, I guess.

I’m well aware that I’m letting valuable readers down. I hope those who enjoy my work will forgive me for this and stick with me. If not, I totally understand you bailing, storming off to Amazon and leaving one-star reviews. I get it. This sucks. It does for me too, believe it or not. But this is where I’m at right now.

Thank you.

Mark

The post Let’s talk about The Future of London (Part 2) appeared first on Mark Gillespie Author.

You can’t escape what’s inside you.

Five people are trapped inside a New York nightclub, hunted by an enemy beyond anything in their worst nightmares.

For one of those five people, Dani Pellerino, it was supposed to be the first night of the rest of her life. Now Dani, along with her four companions, must fight against incredible odds to survive a night that no one will ever forget.

A night that will forever be known as ‘the hatching.’

The Hatching is a horror novel inspired by John Carpenter movies, as well as the classic stories of Stephen King and Richard Matheson. If you love taut, fast-paced claustrophobic horror, you’ll love The Hatching.

Start reading The Hatching today!

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I’ve had quite a few emails recently.

Apart from the King of Nigeria asking me if I want to go into business with him I’ve been getting quite a lot of requests about the Future of London series. These requests are along the lines of – will you be writing any more Future of London books? The last one wasn’t the actual last one was it? I get these enquiries. Makes perfect sense. I wrote the last FOL book (Kojiro vs. The Vampire People) in late 2017 and yes, the series is unresolved. Mack Walker has not yet caught up with Hatchet and Kojiro hasn’t caught up with Walker. So yep, it’s still on.

Since that last FOL book I’ve written a lot of other stuff so I’m not surprised to receive these occasional emails asking where the hell is book six and reminding me that the series isn’t wrapped up. There have been negative reviews too based on the fact that it’s an unfinished series. When people contact me I usually send a brief (and equally polite) reply stating that I’m working on the sixth book, but very slowly as I’ve got other things to do that take precedence. And I kind of leave it there.

So what’s going on? Okay, I released the first Future of London book (L-2011) in the first half of 2016. Mr Apocalypse followed later that year and in 2017 I released three more – Ghosts of London, Sleeping Giants and Kojiro vs. The Vampire People. And then it stopped. Why? The books weren’t selling that much. As a reader you may or may not care about that but nonetheless I persevered with the series a long time out of the sheer love of it but five books in, although they were well received by most, I had to start thinking about moving onto other things. After all, writing wasn’t a hobby for me, it was a job. Can’t keep doing the same thing if the same thing isn’t working.

I’ll say it again. I love the London books. It’s my favourite series (of the ones that I’ve done). It doesn’t sell zilch either – it sells okay and the box sets are doing a little better these days as I work on my marketing. I’ve been working on the sixth book for a while but thus far I’m forced to do it slowly whilst working on other things.

Covid and the 2020 nightmare hit my sales hard too. It was a punch in the guts and I’m only just starting to recover many months later. When I get a little more breathing room I’ll be able to continue the Future of London books and hopefully do so at a quicker pace.

I won’t abandon the series. No way. I love it. Unfortunately though, sometimes the books we authors love the most are the books that sell the least.

So that’s where we’re at it. It’s probably not what you want to hear dear reader but that’s how it is. The Future of London book 6 (as of yet untitled) will be ready when it’s ready. It is coming but please bear with me.

Thank you for all your support.

Mark

The post Let’s talk about The Future of London. appeared first on Mark Gillespie Author.

So it’s July 2020 and guess what? The world is still caught up in the middle of a global pandemic that’s knocked the wheels off of so-called normality. That means it’s time to release a gritty and kickass post-apocalyptic novel where the shit hits the fan, right?

Probably not. But I’ve always been a drive on the wrong side of the road kind of guy. Covid-19 isn’t going to get in my way – at least not as far as writing is concerned.

So here we are again. Today sees the release of Deathflix, the third and final book in the Butch Nolan series. This is my Mad Max, John Wick and Clint Eastwood spaghetti western homage (rest in peace Ennio Morricone). If you’ve read the first two Nolan books – Nolan’s Ark and ManHunter, I hope you’ve been looking forward to the conclusion. If you have, here it is.

Deathflix is available now on Amazon. (Click the cover to buy).

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Dystopiaville makes Black Mirror look like a utopian picnic.

Three books. Three shocking visions of tomorrow’s
world.

‘Definitely
stands out from the pack.’ – James Haydon

For the first time, all three Dystopiaville books can be bought together in one mega-value box set. Shut Up and Die!, WaxWorld, Killing Floor – three thrilling and terrifying tales of dystopian horror and science fiction guaranteed to keep you turning the pages.

What readers are saying about
Dystopiaville:

‘Think Twilight Zone or Black Mirror, but
with books instead of TV.’ – CJ Sinnott

‘Another fabulously mind altering book by
Mark Gillespie. He is officially in my top five author list.’ – Kirsten
McKenzie, author of Painted.

‘Captured my attention and never let go…I loved everything about it.’ – The Haunted Reading Room Reviews

Out May 26th 2020

The post The Dystopiaville Omnibus – Coming May 2020 appeared first on Mark Gillespie Author.

KILLING FLOOR:

The third and final book in the Dystopiaville series, Killing Floor, is out now. I say it’s the final book – I’d love to write more of these dark scary babies but to tell you the truth, they’ve kind of struggled to find an audience. We shall see.

A nationwide cull of the British population will begin immediately after this special broadcast…’

Killing Floor, an up and coming rock and roll band, are on the brink of superstardom.

But things take a turn for the worse when a joyous weekend in the country turns into a nightmare of survival.

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Hi everyone,

Just wanted to post something on this poor neglected blog of mine. Poor, poor thing. Honestly, I came into this website with good intentions. I would blog regularly! Become a blog wizard, buy a big pointy hat, take over the world and…

Nah.

It didn’t happen. To be honest I’m too busy writing books to keep a proper blog running. That shit takes work. But I do want to use this space to keep people updated on what I’m working on as I’ve had a few emails recently asking about particular projects and where I’m at etc…

So here we go. I’m working on a few things at the moment. My main project is Nolan’s Ark, which is the first book in a new post-apocalyptic series of mine. This will be out in early December. (Sketch of cover above).

In January I’m going to release a box set called Apocalypse Number One – this is a collection of first books in various series of mine, apocalyptic and dystopian. I think this’ll provide a great entry point to people who’ve never read any of my work before. Always good to provide the readers with options.

In February I’m putting out the third and final Dystopiaville book, Killing Floor.

March sees the release of the sequel to Nolan’s Ark (working title of Demon Sheriff).

And in April I’m planning to release a Dystopiaville box set with all three books from the first season included.

That’s as far as I’ve got with planning.

I receive a fair amount of emails asking me about the Future of London. Where the hell is book 6 and it’s a fair point, considering the last one came out almost two years ago. Regarding the future of the Future of London, I absolutely will be releasing book 6. I’m working on it but…slowly. As far as the London series is concerned, think of it trickling out in a traditional publishing timeframe, at least for now. No rapid fire release here. But yes, book 6 is on its way and with a bit of luck it’ll break the surface in 2020. Working on a second draft now, but remember – I’m taking it slow.

That’s all I have for now my friends. Thank you for being here and supporting this journey of mine. I’m eternally grateful.

Best wishes,

Mark

The post November 2019 Update appeared first on Mark Gillespie Author.

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to post something on this poor neglected blog of mine. Poor, poor thing. Honestly, I came into this website with good intentions. I would blog regularly! Become a blog wizard, buy a big pointy hat, take over the world and…

Nah.

It didn’t happen. To be honest I’m too busy writing books to keep a proper blog running. That shit takes work. But I do want to use this space to keep people updated on what I’m working on as I’ve had a few emails recently asking about particular projects and where I’m at etc…

So here we go. I’m working on a few things at the moment. My main project is Nolan’s Ark, which is the first book in a new post-apocalyptic series of mine. This will be out in early December. (Sketch of cover above).

In January I’m going to release a box set called Apocalypse Number One – this is a collection of first books in various series of mine, apocalyptic and dystopian. I think this’ll provide a great entry point to people who’ve never read any of my work before. Always good to provide the readers with options.

In February I’m putting out the third and final Dystopiaville book, Killing Floor.

March sees the release of the sequel to Nolan’s Ark (working title of Demon Sheriff).

And in April I’m planning to release a Dystopiaville box set with all three books from the first season included.

That’s as far as I’ve got with planning.

I receive a fair amount of emails asking me about the Future of London. Where the hell is book 6 and it’s a fair point, considering the last one came out almost two years ago. Regarding the future of the Future of London, I absolutely will be releasing book 6. I’m working on it but…slowly. As far as the London series is concerned, think of it trickling out in a traditional publishing timeframe, at least for now. No rapid fire release here. But yes, book 6 is on its way and with a bit of luck it’ll break the surface in 2020. Working on a second draft now, but remember – I’m taking it slow.

That’s all I have for now my friends. Thank you for being here and supporting this journey of mine. I’m eternally grateful.

Best wishes,

Mark

The post November Update appeared first on Mark Gillespie Author.

It’s the piece of writing advice that annoys me the most.

Write a killer first line.

You might see it on how-to-write-a-novel lists and on these random top ten snippets of writing advice, and on blogs and blah-blah-blah. These are the things you must do or your writing will go to shit and nobody will ever read it.

Write a killer first line, so they say. Grab them from the get-go.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not a bad piece of advice and if you can come up with a ‘killer’ first line then go for it. By all means. It’s better than a crappy first line, no doubt about that. But if anyone ever suggests this is a ‘must-do’ then feel free to discard their advice. Immediately. Get up and leave the room. Click away from the website.

It’s garbage. Total garbage.

Who gives up on a book if the first line doesn’t blow them away or give them multiple orgasms? Anyone who does that is not equipped to read books. What’s more important than a killer first line is an intriguing first ten pages, first chapter or first hundred pages. That doesn’t sound quite as sexy though does it? Personally, if a book doesn’t grab me after a hundred pages I put it down. Life’s too short to waste on bad books.

But after a tepid first line?

No. I’m willing to give the author a little more than that.

What’s the point of this post? Good question. I guess it’s just to say be wary of these top ten lists of things you must do if you want to write a good novel. Feel free to pick and choose what works for you. There is no hard rule to writing a great book or we’d all be doing it.

You’re in charge of your own story. Jam. Have fun with it.

The only rule is that it works.

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Over the past year or so I’ve received a growing number of emails about The Future of London series. The question is always the same: will there be a sixth book?

Yes it’s been a while since the last one. If memory serves me right, book 5 came out in December 2017, and that was after me releasing about three London books that same year. It was a blitz and I guess readers had every right to expect it would continue at the same pace.

It didn’t.

So what’s happened?

Several things. I’ve been drawn to writing other things. Since the last London book, amongst other bits and pieces, I’ve written the Exterminators trilogy and the After the End trilogy. Also, despite the fact that it’s probably my favourite series, the London books aren’t massive sellers. Too weird? I don’t know but for some reason they haven’t clicked. It’s a shame but right now it means that I have to prioritise and that means working on some other things.

But…

The good news is that the sixth London book is in the works. It most certainly is. I’m working on it right now but I’m not working on it at the pace of my ‘A’ project, which is a new dystopian series premiering in August. About five days a week I’ll spend a little time on book six of FOL (Future of London) and although I’m not sure when it’s going to be finished it WILL be done.

Fear not. If Mack Walker ever catches up with Hatchet you my dear reader will be the first to know. Well…second, after me.

Take care and speak soon!

Mark

The post June 2019 Update appeared first on Mark Gillespie Author.