Interview With Author Mark Rayner
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Human-shaped, monkey-loving, robot-fighting, pirate-hearted, storytelling junkie, Mark is an award-winning author of satire and speculative fiction. He’s published five novels and a collection of short fiction, though like many writers, he’s written a lot more than that.
The awards? The Fatness won an IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award for Best Humor (silver) and an IRDC Discovery Award for Best Humor. The Fridgularity also won an IRDC Discovery Award for Best Humor, and his most recent novel, Alpha Max, won an IRDC Discovery Award for Best Cover (Fiction).
He writes in the genres of science fiction, humorous SF and dark comedy. When not working on the next novel, he pens short stories, squibs and other drivel. (Some pure, and some quite tainted with meaning.)
He does all of these thing while being Canadian and owning cats.
When not being snarky, he teaches at Western University, in several programs offered by the Faculty of Information and Media Studies.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Alpha Max: An Existential Romp through an Absurd Multiverse
Maximilian Tundra — the titular Max — is a recurring character in four of my books, and I wanted to focus a book on him. And then it occurred to me, that Max is always slightly different in each book and I needed to explain why. That’s how it became a multiverse book. I should note that I wrote this, and published it, long before Everything Everywhere All at Once was released.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Does pantsing it in the garden count?
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Here’s a short list: Kurt Vonnegut, Philip K. Dick, Tom Robbins, Tom Stoppard, Douglas Adams, Christopher Moore, Shakespeare, Chuck Palahniuk, Robertson Davies, Terry Pratchett, Ursula K. Le Guin.
Vonnegut is my literary hero, though I also love a lot of what Douglas Adams did in his career!
What are you working on now?
A new direction, really. I’m working on a set of trilogies (yes, you read that right, I said said because I’m not sure if it’s more than three trilogies yet) that looks at themes of climate change, colonialism & existentialism (I guess that last one’s not new). They’re set on Earth, but in this version, humans have genetically goosed mental powers, called talents. Mostly, my hope is they’re just ripping good adventure stories, but there’s a point to them too.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I think newsletters are key.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t do it! Seriously, becoming a writer is like having homework until you die. But if you must, then I recommend reading EVERYTHING!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Writers write.
What are you reading now?
Ooo. I’ve just started a book called The Color of Light by William Goldman. The author of The Princess Bride, and a number of my fave movies, including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Launching the new series of books, using a pen name. I’m excited to see how a restart like that is going to go!
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 know this isn’t the spirit of the thing, but I’d definitely take some survival manuals and probably something about bush medicine, so that being stranded is less likely to end in my demise. There’s actually a chapter about this in my new book, Alpha Max, so I have given it some thought. In terms of reading material, something long that I like to reread, such as The Lord of the Rings, the HHGTG series (one book in an omnibus), and so on!
Author Websites and Profiles
Mark Rayner Author Profile on Smashwords
Mark Rayner’s Social Media Links