Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
“Writing SciFi has been a long held ambition of mine. As a kid, I read everything – H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, Robert Heinlein, etc., etc. At twelve years old, I wrote a novella. (I still have it, hand-written in a huge ledger). It was about our sun going nova, and the resulting breakdown of society, as told through the eyes of three boys. It had a pretty surreal ending.”
“Following that, life intervened, and it was only in April ’09 that I determined that I wanted to get back to writing. I had had several ideas running around in my head for some time, of which the Lodestone concept was probably the strongest. As I began to develop the story, it rapidly became clear that there was no way I was going to be able to cover it all in a single book, and so the Lodestone Series was born.
“The first trilogy was quite well received, which led to a second trilogy in the Lodestone universe and I then branched out into a new story which became The Arc of the Universe quartet of books. “Lockdown” enabled me to complete the epic Carrie Anne’s World.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Carrie Anne’s World is the story of a girl lost in space and time, set against the background of an Earth being decimated by climate change.
We meet Carrie Anne alone on a cliff top with no memory of her past. Who is she? Where is she? And how did she get here? Mike O’Keefe. A gap-year student volunteering on a conservation project encounters her in a series of recurring dreams. He dismisses the experience, but when elements from his dreams begin appearing in the waking world, he is propelled on a two billion year journey spanning the evolution of the solar system with the survival of Humanity at stake!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I can’t type properly. I’m strictly a two-finger typist!
What authors, or books have influenced you?
When I was young, I was the ultimate bookworm. I read everything – R L Stevenson, C S Forrester, Edgar Allan Poe. Then I moved over to Wells, Verne and Heinlein as well as John Wyndham and John Brunner.
Paul Kearney and Roger Zelazny are favourites of mine. Both have moments of brilliance in their writing that simply blow you away!
What are you working on now?
I am about 20 percent along with my next novel entitled, “Whipstitch”. Like Carrie Anne’s World, the central theme is the environment, but the story could not be more different. It takes place in Pennsylvania, and it’s the first book I have ever attempted to write in US English. I am eternally grateful to my American beta reader for correcting my frequent gaffs!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
http//:www.markwhiteway.weebly.com
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just keep at it. If you just do 250 words a day, you’ll eventually have a book!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
To quote Ray Bradbury when he was asked how he writes; he said, “You jump off a cliff and build wings on the way down!”
What are you reading now?
Roadmarks by Roger Zelazny
What’s next for you as a writer?
Rescuing my Whipstitch characters from a town taken over by death-dealing plants!
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?
Mythago Wood (Robert Holdstock); Time Ships (Stephen Baxter); The Hobbit!
Author Websites and Profiles
Mark Whiteway Website
Mark Whiteway Amazon Profile
Mark Whiteway Author Profile on Smashwords
Mark Whiteway’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account