Interview With Author Mark Bliss
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a retired journalist, having worked for more than 30 years at a daily newspaper in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. I retired in 2019 and began writing mystery novels. I have written four Elmwood Mystery novels, set in the fictional city of Elmwood. The city is patterned after Cape Girardeau, located on the Mississippi River in Southeast Missouri.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Stacked for Murder is my latest novel. It centers around the murder of a librarian amid the backdrop of an effort to ban books. In recent years, there have been efforts to ban certain books at libraries nationwide, including Cape Girardeau. I like to incorporate social or environmental issues in my novels.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I do spend a lot of time researching poisons and other ways to kill off characters. Before I begin writing a novel, I mull it over in my mind. Often, I do my best thinking when I am taking a morning shower.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Louise Penny’s mystery novels and John Sandford’s novels have inspired me. I’ve read most of these authors’ works.
What are you working on now?
I am preparing to write my fifth Elmwood Mystery novel, which will feature some of the same main characters including my mystery solving newspaper reporters.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use my personal and author Facebook pages to promote my novels.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read a lot. If you want to write mysteries, read mystery novels. Notice how they are constructed, how they use dialogue, how they incorporate subplots. I always tell people, you can’t be a good writer without being a prolific reader.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Finish your manuscript. I know people who have been writing the same novel for years. They never finish it. Don’t do that. You can always go back and edit it after your first draft.
What are you reading now?
I am reading Louise Penny’s “The Grey Wolf.” She is a great Canadian mystery writer. I love her small-town characters set in the province of Quebec.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I am preparing to write my fifth Elmwood Mystery novel, which will feature some of the same main characters including my mystery solving newspaper reporters.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would bring the Bible, the latest Louise Penny novel and one of John Sandford’s Virgil Flowers novels.
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