Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
THE AUTHOR, Mark Fine was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He has made the United States his home since 1979, living in New York, Minneapolis, and Los Angeles. For well over a decade he headed an award-winning record label that he founded, called Hammer & Lace, that united non-profit organizations with world-class celebrity and music talent to create benefit albums and entertainment events to raise awareness and funds in aid of breast cancer research, at-risk children, the blind, freedom of speech, and wildlife conservation. For these philanthropic initiatives Mark was voted by Variety magazine as the “Music Executive with 20/20 Vision.” He has also contributed articles to entertainment industry publications, and conducted public speaking engagements at media and charity events.
The oncology community has honored Mark for his innovative, entertainment-based approach to health education. But he is especially proud of his “Paws of Fame” award he received from The Wildlife Waystation for support and commitment of animals worldwide. As such, animals always make an appearance in Mark Fine’s writings. Now he resides in the South Bay, where he lives with his two sons, his “significant other” and Charlie, a neighborhood dog that drops in from time to time. There he wrote the historic romance novel, The Zebra Affaire. Set in apartheid South Africa, Mark brings an insider’s perspective to the gripping account of a bi-racial couple’s forbidden love.
When asked to compare his career in the music industry to his new endeavor as an author, Mark Fine replied, “This is a wonderful new adventure for me. I’ve always been an integral part of the creative process, and had the privilege of working hand-in-hand with remarkably talented individuals. But my role was to enable, nurture and provide support to others, and it had plenty of rewards. However in writing this novel, for the first time I was the sole creator and it’s given me a true appreciation of the solitary challenges of the creative process–and I’ve found it to be immensely satisfying.”
A story worth telling is the inspiration for his work, usually based on moments in history that both entertain and inform the reader, such as the gritty period of apartheid South Africa and elsewhere in sub-Sahara Africa. As a storyteller, Mark enjoys the notion of using fictional characters to lead the reader through periods of our past that are interesting, challenging, and instructive.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“The Zebra Affaire” quite well sums up my romantic-suspense, historical drama novel. We who are born in Africa speak in terms of having the “dust of Africa within our veins”—this extends to the way Africa’s wildlife inspires us. Well, my favorite childhood memories are going on safari with my father, and watching how the beautifully striped zebra and ugly wildebeest teamed up together, grazing the veld so contently. This lack of awareness of skin/hide differences displayed by these creatures made a marked impression on a young lad in segregated South Africa. I can’t claim that this notion was all my own, I was too young for that, but my dad wisely pointed out this evolved behavior. Thus the image of the zebra, with its discrete black and white stripes, remained indelible to me.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Inspiration manifests itself at the most inconvenient times, so I’m constantly emailing and texting myself. Makes sense to preserve those nuggets of wisdom, but somewhat odd to find oneself constantly electronically communicating with oneself.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Herman Wouk and Leon Uris awoke me to the merits of historical fiction. I learned that I could read big tomes like “Winds of War” and “Exodus” and be thoroughly entertained—and at the same time acquire stacks of knowledge, painlessly.
What are you working on now?
Believe me I want to begin writing the next book, and I’ve begun plotting the story. But Zebra Affaire is keeping me preoccupied. A filmmaker, I’m pleased to say a woman, has just hired a screenwriter to do a movie adaptation of the novel. I’m immersed in discussions of what to include, the motivations of the characters, where and how to build plot tension within the two hours running time, and create a compelling device to preserve the historical context of my original story—a cinematic analog as it were of the “anywhere notes” I created in the book in lieu of footnotes.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Nothing beats email as a tool to effectively market and promote my book, The Zebra Affaire. I’m dedicated to growing my email list of prospective readers, in fact I’d be delighted if Awesomegang readers contacted me at mark@finebooks.co directly.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write the end of your book first! I know this seems odd, but I see the conclusion of a book like the closing argument in a court case; everything going before it terminates with that closing presentation. With the conclusion clearly defined, the writer has a clear destination–a sign post as it were–to aim for, and reduce the chance of straying into the weeds. That said, please go back and tweak the ending as often as needed.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t exhaust all your creative ideas in a one sitting; leave something wonderful in reserve to use the next time you face a blank page. Almost a guaranteed solution to writers block.
What are you reading now?
Important characters in my book are women, and it’s important to me that they are fully-fleshed three dimensional personalities. To achieve this I began reading books by woman authors. Shamefully, I hadn’t made a habit of this before. What a revelation it has been! For example, I’m reading “View from the Sixth Floor” by Elizabeth Newton. It is an intriguing alternate history about the Oswald assassination of President Kennedy. Now this isn’t a typical conspiracy theory tome, but a fascinating human study.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m polishing my writer’s chops and working on a few short stories to satisfy requests from some Anthologies. In the meantime I’ve begun the research for my next novel based in sub-Sahara Africa in the late ’70s.
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?
“Cry, the Beloved Country” by Alan Paton
Sherlock Holmes Anthology by Arthur Conan Doyle
“Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
“A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens
Author Websites and Profiles
Mark Fine Website
Mark Fine Amazon Profile
Mark Fine’s Social Media Links
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