Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Mark King and i’m a free spirit, lover of life, family, friendships, good food, and travel. I live in Norwich in the county of Norfolk in the U.K. It’s one of Britain’s most historic cities and a hub for present day literature. I’m the author of the internationally acclaimed book Frenzy a Daniel Jones Story and the sequel Daniel Jones Doom. I’m also the writer of the world-wide blog at www.always-hanging-around.blogspot.com. I’m now starting on the third book in the Daniel Jones series.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Daniel Jones DOOM was released in December 2014 and is the sequel to FRENZY a Daniel Jones Story. I was inspired to first write Frenzy a Daniel Jones Story when my father-in-law passed away after a short battle with cancer. It came out of the blue and was totally unexpected. It was then I knew you have to follow your dreams now and not wait for some distant point in the future. So I resigned from a secure job during the worst financial crises in living memory to start on the manuscript to Frenzy and two years later it was published.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I try to write as if it was a normal working week starting on Monday morning then finishing by Friday afternoon. The weekend I try keep for family time. Sometimes though you wake up in the middle of the night and your mind is buzzing. You try to get back to sleep, but you can see a picture in your head and it keeps going around, and around, and then there’s only one thing you can do! That’s to get up and start writing. This can be the most creative time to write as there are no distractions, no outside noise, now commotion from daily family life, no television or phones. It’s peaceful and your imagination can flow freely.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
George Orwell was a massive influence as well as Ken Follett and Dan Brown. Animal Farm and 1984 are two books I have read, and then read again, and no doubt will read again. I like the way he tells a greater story within the stories. I love the fast pace of the story lines of Dan Brown’s writing and the detail of Ken Follett. Three different types of writing that are blended together in both FRENZY a Daniel Jones Story and Daniel Jones DOOM. The final book that had an influence on my life was The Secret by Byrne Rhonda. You either get it or you don’t. I did.
What are you working on now?
I’m now working on the third book in the Daniel Jones series which I have titled Revenge. I haven’t decided on the final title, but will wait to see how the manuscript unfolds before I decide on the final wording. But there will be Frenzy, Doom, Revenge and then maybe more!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
In the past there were limited media outlets, but now we have multi-media which might sound good, but only means you have to cover many different platforms and sites. There is such a great choice it’s very hard to get heard above all the noise, but sites like Awesomegang are a great way to get exposure.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
The best advice I can give is to never give up once you have started. It’s hard, very hard to make it as an author and if you give up too easily then you will struggle to get the story out of your head. And you can’t do that then you will never get into print.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never feel sorry for yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself how do you expect others to do so.
What are you reading now?
I’m reading, The Girl Who Played with Fire. To be truthful I have found it a bit of a slog and after getting halfway through I put it down, and now I’m struggling to pick it up again. Stieg Larsson’s first book in the series gripped me a lot more.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m the author of the world-wide blog www.always-hanging-around.blogspot.com which I post on nearly every week and I’m starting on Revenge the third book. I’m also promoting both Frenzy a Daniel Jones Story and Daniel Jones Doom so between the three I’m kept quite busy. The next thing for me is seeing my three books on the big screen and is something different reviewers have said they would like to see.
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?
The Secret by Byrne Rhonda
The New Testament
1984 by George Orwell.
Author Websites and Profiles
Mark King Website
Mark King Amazon Profile
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