An interview with author, Mark Sadler

Tell Me a Story - Interview

I’d like you to meet a Facebook friend of mine, author, Mark Sadler. I don't know about you, but I just love finding out what makes other writers tick. Each one seems to be unique in their experience and approach. Mark is no exception
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Hi Mark, I wonder if you’d like to introduce yourself.

Hi AJ. Life began in a small caravan in my grandmother’s garden in Dudley England, May 1956. By the time I graduated from Codsall Comprehensive in 1974 a future in writing seemed to be taking a clear path. The following year I immigrated to the States on a student visa to attend Ambassador College Big Sandy Texas and majored in journalism and speech.
In 1979, I was offered the opportunity to write an editorial column in a new publication, OKC Sports Fan Forum, covering the progression of soccer as America hosted the World Cup. A family started, two boys.
By 1993 employment opportunities took me to Tucson AZ, where I remarried and had a third son and live to this day, trying to start up a second career as a novelist; something to tide me over as retirement creeps nearer every year.

Mark, it's rare today to find an author who does nothing but write for a living. Do you have a 'real' job other than writing, and if so, what is it? What are some other jobs you've had in your life?

For the past thirty years I have worked in the debt collection business with a variety of collection agencies. I have also worked as a shop hand in a steel mill, been an employment counselor, sold furniture, made cheese burgers & fries, sold loft installation, had a stage act at a comedy club, performed voiceovers for radio commercials, and wrote an editorial column for a weekly sports magazine, but never swept streets as my father had once suggested was all I was capable of doing.

And just what was it that compelled you to write your first book?

After my last divorce I left town in the middle of the night and disappeared for a month. I ended up humping a sixty pound backpack over some of the most desolate and hardy terrain I had ever been on; the Appalachian Trail in northern Georgia.
The power of healing that the trail possesses is so far beyond anything one can imagine without having experienced it first hand and I wanted to capture that feeling a la Bill Bryson, Rick McKinney or David Miller but their stories were so compelling that I knew I would have a hard time competing; my story seemed diminished in their shadow so I took it to another level and built a murder mystery out of the scenario and fictionalized the story instead.

Okay, perhaps you could tell us a little bit about your book, let us know what it’s about.

Blood on His Hands is a contemporary thriller/mystery that examines the internal battle we all face at some point as to what we will tolerate in our lives when it comes to doing the right thing, the eternal fight of good v. evil.
It is manifested in the book when a cheating wife is caught red-handed by her husband. After killing them the husband leaves town. On the run he examines his life up until that fateful moment. Will he turn himself in and admit to a crime of passion, throwing himself on the mercy of the courts, or live life on the run?
We run with him as his journey takes him from rural Oklahoma to the glitz of Las Vegas and finally out on the Appalachian Trail in northern Georgia where he is forced to deal with the question of what to do with the rest of his life.

And are you currently working on any writing projects our readers should watch for release soon?

Well I’m not sure how soon, soon is but yes I am building a series of at least five crime thrillers featuring Nate Duarte, a Tucson police detective whose mother was an illegal alien and his father a border guard.
Look for lots of current action bringing in the daily headlines involving illicit drugs and illegal alien crossings. Duarte is, however, a sex crimes detective so each book will have a juicy crime to solve at the same time.

Mark, let’s go back in time. When growing up, did you have a favorite author, book series, or book?

As a teen my tastes ran to Louis Lamour and Alistair McLean however I also enjoyed intricate relationships and to this day by favorite book is Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence. I still read that one at least once a year.

And what about now: who is your favorite author and what is your favorite genre to read?

Currently I am fascinated with Jim Crace but I still fall back on thrillers and espionage as my main stays as far as genre is concerned. Patterson, Higgins, Forsyth all spin a great yarn.

How about bringing us into your home. Set the scene for us when you are writing. What does it look like? On the couch, laptop, desk

Well seeing as I am there as we speak it’s not hard to do. Low light, a lamp illuminates from behind the computers monitor. I have all my research notes to my right and opposite all the writing tools, dictionaries, editing rulebooks and Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird for a little inspiration if I just can’t figure what to write next.
I peck at the keyboard, one finger on each hand is the standard, right into the computer, often referring to hand written notes, or Google references as I go. My glasses sit on top of the printer, I can’t see with the damn things on! Guess that’s part of being over fifty! Oh and in the evening there is usually a Dewar’s White Label, neat.

I like the idea of Dewar’s – always good for the imagination…. Focusing on your book, tell our readers what genre it is and what popular author you think your writing style is most like.

I had a hard time really putting a boilerplate label on the genre of Blood on His Hands. How about a contemporary thriller/mystery?
The story line is well-worn one; the struggle of the power of evil over good but the way it is told is unique. I was unable to pin point anything similar. I can’t compare myself to another writer but there are definite influences, Crace for one. His Being Dead was the inspiration for the scene after the bear attack.
I read while looking for inspiration just to see how my contemporaries handle situations, and I must admit that I really admire Norman Mailer’s ability to describe the physical attributes of his characters and I felt almost a type of permission to be a little more detailed after reading his works.

So how long did it take you to write it? When you started writing, did you think it would take that long?

Three years until I had a finished manuscript. It had actually been so long since I written formally that I went back and enrolled in college to take writing courses and work shops and it really helped with the style of my writing, especially when considering whether to write in the first or third person.

I’m glad you mentioned taking a writing course. I always advise newbies to study the nuts and bolts first. For some reason, a lot of them think a writer just sits down and produces publishable work – not so. We all have to serve an apprenticeship.

Mark, It's said that the editing process of publishing a novel with a publisher is can be grueling and often more difficult than actually writing the story. Do you think this is true for you? How did you feel about editing your masterpiece?

Oh I failed miserably. I thought how hard would it be, I surely don’t make more than a handful of mistakes and those would be typos? Well goodness, when I got that first proof back I let a friend read it and between the two of us, I’m embarrassed to say, we found over 200 errors, and not just typos; many grammatical problems, dangling modifiers, punctuation etc. Well it is now my resolve the next time to hire a specialist before sending in that first proof.

Before we finish, would you like to tell us where to find your books, any blogs you may have, or how readers can learn more about you and writing?

The best place right now to find information about my book is my website, http://www.markpsadler.com/. It will eventually be available at http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ and through my publisher’s site www.bbotw.com, but that will only be after publication in June.
Also you can find me in Facebook, sign up to my fan page for more book updates and follow me on Twitter. If you don’t have access to any of those then just e-mail me at markpsadler@gmail.com and I’ll do what I can to help you find a copy of the book.

Thank you, Mark Sadler. Hope we see you name in lights soon.

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End of post - An interview with author, Mark Sadler

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Looking for a good read? Try:-

Short Moments - collection of 10 short stories

or

Past Sins - Contemporary fiction

'TRANS 2.0' and Julio Serrano's, World Book Day

Tell Me a Story - comment

I’m not sure what he’s trying to achieve, but to commemorate World Book Day, a Guatemalan author, Julio Serrano, has asked fifty of his friends to circulate different portions of his book 'TRANS 2.0' on their blogs.

Uniting fans

The innovative publishing project seems to be uniting aficionados of literature from all over the world as they rush to contribute to the open license scheme. The author’s site apparently will contain links to all of the participating bloggers.

I wonder where money figures in the scheme? Most authors write for money. We all need money, and writing is how authors earn the stuff. If the whole book is given away piecemeal, then what is he achieving, except notoriety – but then again maybe publicity is what it’s all about. Maybe he’s hoping to win fans in preparation for his next book ….

How about something like that for your next publicity stunt, Stephenie….

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• Next post on Tell Me a Story

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To Write A Story - 20 Ways To Write A Story Better
How To Describe - Mastering Descriptive Writing
7 Cool Ways To Jump-Start The Story Characters In Your Writing


End of post - 'TRANS 2.0' and Julio Serrano's, World Book Day
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Stephenie Meyer and Deseret Books

Tell Me a Story - comment.



Stephenie Meyer - has been hit by more problems – or is it yet one more publicity stunt…. I can’t help but be suspicious of the ‘happenings’ surrounding Ms. Meyer’s books. Maybe I’m super-critical, but in these circumstances I tend to think ‘hidden agenda’…. Her public problems are beginning to tot up…. And after each problem, her sales shoot through the roof….

As my old mum used to say, 'There’s no such thing as ‘bad’ publicity.'

The latest happening

…. Deseret Book stores have apparently taken the decision to remove Stephenie Meyer's best-selling vampire romance books from the shelves of its chain stores. Customers can ask for Meyer's Twilight, New Moon , Eclipse or Breaking Dawn to be specially ordered, but they will no longer be available over the counter.

"We're never really given a reason for these things," said Steve Hartvigsen, manager of the Deseret Book store at Valley Fair Mall. "We just get a return sheet and send books back."

Leigh Dethman, Deseret Books spokeswoman, was not available for questions about the decision, but an e-mail said,

"Like any retailer, our purpose is to offer products that are embraced and expected by our customers. When we find products that are met with mixed review, we typically move them to special order status."

Elizabeth Eulberg, director of publicity for Stephenie Meyer's books, said in a statement, “She had not been alerted to any changes regarding the distribution at Deseret, and had no further comment.”

So what's going on .... the left hand doesn't seem to know what the right is doing... or is it all smoke and mirrors to whip up interest....


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To Write A Story - 20 Ways To Write A Story Better
How To Describe - Mastering Descriptive Writing
7 Cool Ways To Jump-Start The Story Characters In Your Writing

*** Stephenie-Meyer, Stephenie-Meyer, Stephenie-Meyer ***

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End of post - Stephenie Meyer, and Deseret Books
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Deirdre Madden short listed for Orange Prize

Tell Me a Story - author Deirdre Madden.

Author Deirdre Madden, an important voice in writing in Northern Ireland, has been short-listed for the Orange Prize for Fiction for her novel, Molly Fox’s Birthday. Her interest in how others perceive their status in the world often leads her to scrutinize establishments that affect people's lives.

Madden, wedded to poet Harry Clifton, is the only author on the list who has been short-listed in the past for the award. Her novel, One by One in the Darkness , lost out to Anne Michaels’ Fugitive Pieces in 1997.

Madden has previously won the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, the Somerset Maugham Award and the Hennessy Award for Short Fiction.

Deirdre Madden is also the creator of two books for children, Snakes’ Elbows and Thanks for Telling Me, Emily, a member of Aosdána, and lectures creative writing at Trinity College Dublin.

The Orange Prize for Fiction, established in 1996, is an annual award for fiction written solely by women, and open to all women authors who are writing in English.

This year’s winner, chosen by a panel of judges, will be announced on June 3rd at a ceremony in London, where she will be presented with a cheque for £30,000 (€34,000) and a bronze statue known as a Bessie.

I can only say, good luck, Deirdre Madden, may this be your year.

*** Deirdre Madden, Deirdre Madden, Deirdre Madden ***

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To Write A Story - 20 Ways To Write A Story Better
How To Describe - Mastering Descriptive Writing
7 Cool Ways To Jump-Start The Story Characters In Your Writing

End of post - Deirdre Madden short listed for Orange Prize.
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Stephenie Meyer steals another author's ideas

Tell Me a Story - comment

Wow! If this is true it's better than any blockbuster!

Stephenie Meyer - plagiarism?

Can this really be true? Heidi Stanton, a former friend of Stephenie Meyer, author of the crazily lucrative Twilight series, is suing Stephenie Meyer for stealing her ideas. Film production on New Moon has been halted as a result.

Heidi Stanton, who studied alongside Meyer at Brigham Young University in Utah alleges Stephenie Meyers stole the vampire story from her. Apparently it's identical to a short story she wrote while they were attending college together. - Well the little tinker.....

Stanton filed her lawsuit against Meyer in Utah last Tuesday, April 14th declaring idea infringement.

She stated, "Quite frankly, I was shocked when I began watching the movie with my husband last week. I immediately told him that she got that idea from me! I wrote a fictional short story with the same ideas when we were in college together."

Stephenie Meyer claims the storyline for Twilight came to her in a dream. She completed the first book three months later.

Production of New Moon has since been "put on hold" until the case is resolved. It's scheduled for release at the end of the year.

I wonder just which one is spinning a yarn? I know who has most to lose.... or does she. Shit.... I suppose it means she'll sell another million copies.... As my mum used to say - "Them that have, will have..."

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*** Stephenie Meyer, plagiarism, Stephenie Meyer, plagiarism, ***

• Next post on Tell Me a Story.

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To Write A Story - 20 Ways To Write A Story Better
How To Describe - Mastering Descriptive Writing
7 Cool Ways To Jump-Start The Story Characters In Your Writing

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Tell Me a Story Internet Ranking.

I just have to share this news with you.

Tell Me a Story
- has been rated amongst the top 90% of all blogs on the Internet. It has apparently been been calculated by taking into account Google, Yahoo, Technorati, blog rank and traffic rank. I've no idea how it's made it, but it has. Who am I to argue.

It's great to think that blogs about writing manage to achieve recognition.

This is what they had to say about it :-

A website grade of 92/100 for Tell Me A Story (ajbarnett-story.blogspot.com) means that of the hundreds of thousands of websites that have previously been evaluated, our algorithm has calculated that this site scores higher than 92% of them in terms of its marketing effectiveness. The algorithm uses a proprietary blend of over 50 different variables, including search engine data, website structure, approximate traffic, site performance, and others.

I can't tell you how good this makes me feel. Thank you to all who take the time to read my blog.

• Next post on Tell Me a Story.

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To Write A Story - 20 Ways To Write A Story Better
How To Describe - Mastering Descriptive Writing
7 Cool Ways To Jump-Start The Story Characters In Your Writing


End of post - "Tell Me a Story Internet Ranking."
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Writer's cramp and all that jazz

Tell Me a Story - viewpoint

Does writing cramp your style? Have you ever suffered writer’s cramp? Well it now seems there’s a brainy reason for it…

I’m lucky enough not to be affected, but the crippling condition of writer's cramp arises when a writer attempts to keep up with a long interview or when a musician desperately tries to perfect a difficult piece.

My thoughts on the subject...

Seems a good idea for authors to use a digital recorder to me.... Buggar scribbling, you miss half of what's being said.

You’d be forgiven for thinking it a muscular problem – well it certainly ends in the muscle, but it seems it starts in the brain. In a new paper, researchers in France used an MRI to study 26 right-handed people prone to writer's cramp and 26 people not plagued by the problem.

Writer's cramp and the brain.

I must admit it passed me by, but apparently it had been identified some time ago that there were differences in people prone to writer's cramp, when compared with those without. Specifically, they had less tissue in the cerebellum, the thalamus, and the sensorimotor cortex - parts of the brain affecting senses and movement.

The new research shows that white matter (made up of message-carrying nerve cells) connecting these regions is affected as well.

I wonder if it’s the same for all cramp conditions. Bananas take away cramp in other parts of the body. Wonder if it means bananas are good brain food….. Mmm, better pick some up next shopping day....

• Next post on Tell Me a Story.

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To Write A Story - 20 Ways To Write A Story Better
How To Describe - Mastering Descriptive Writing
7 Cool Ways To Jump-Start The Story Characters In Your Writing

*** writer's cramp, writer's cramp ***

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Are Amazon crazy?

Tell Me a Story - viewpoint.

Writers beware....

Amazon online bookstore have lost their heads

When posting a review for Amazon, reviewers are no longer allowed to include anything other than their name in the signature. There are to be NO links to, or mention of, their own books whatsoever in the review or signature line.

Amazon remove reviews.

Amazon have apparently already removed numerous reviews from their lists, which had previously been accepted.

This rule also applies to any comments in a book review. Amazon doesn’t want authors to mention their own books anywhere on the review page.

This is crazy stuff.

Most authors create very readable reviews, and to add a tiny advert in the signature is not SPAM. In fact it adds a certain credibility for a professional to take time to create a review.

I don’t know what is going on with decision makers at Amazon, but their heads must be full of shit.

Surely, the job of Amazon is to sell.

If an author has written a review and the person reading the review chooses to go to the book mentioned in the signature line – isn’t that a potential sale?

Are Amazon absolutely mad? They're shooting themselves in the foot....

*** Amazon remove reviews, Amazon remove reviews ***

• Next post on Tell Me a Story.

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To Write A Story - 20 Ways To Write A Story Better
How To Describe - Mastering Descriptive Writing
7 Cool Ways To Jump-Start The Story Characters In Your Writing

End of post - Are Amazon crazy?

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La Pista restaurant, Jalon

Tell Me a Story - restaurant review.

Most restaurants around Jalon tend to close on Monday evening, probably because people eat out at the weekend and aren't bothered about Monday. Whatever, Monday is traditionally not popular - which is awkward when you choose that day for a meal out.

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It's my wife's birthday on Monday, and we normally go out for a meal to celebrate, but like I said, we can't, so I'll probably cook something special for her birthday instead.

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At any rate .... Val decided to move the day forward and celebrate on Saturday evening, not quite the same, but ....

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La Pista Restaurant.

We chose 'La Pista Restaurant' for the celebration, a recently renovated and re-opened restaurant, near the centre of the village. We were VERY pleased.

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The bar area is stylish, leather sofas and armchairs in the corner - a great place to relax with a pre-meal gin & tonic.

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La Pista menu is chic, very up-market .... and we took quite some time to choose from the delicious-sounding dishes - but when we finally started to eat - wow my tastebuds were blown away. It was fantastic. Full marks, no let-downs what-so-ever.

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Unbelievably, the sophisticated menu is only 17:95 euros for a 3-course meal, bread, allioli, and half a bottle of wine per person.

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We absolutely love La Pista Restaurant .... we'll definitely be going again.

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• Next post on Tell Me a Story.

---------------------------------------------------------
To Write A Story - 20 Ways To Write A Story Better
How To Describe - Mastering Descriptive Writing
7 Cool Ways To Jump-Start The Story Characters In Your Writing

.End of post - La Pista restaurant, Jalon

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A Lion Called Christian, by Anthony Bourke and John Rendall

Tell Me a Story - news

Wow, good things can happen given time. It just shows it’s never too late.











Success for, 'A Lion Called Christian'

A YouTube video, which was only two minutes long, but viewed more than 44 million times, has produced a best selling book.... And it's happened many years after the book was first written.

A Lion Called Christian has finally hit the big time, and it's all due to a short video clip that emerged last year. The video showed a reunion between the authors — Anthony Bourke and John Rendall — and the lion they reared and nurtured before being freed into the wild.

Out of Print.

Amazingly, 'A Lion Called Christian' was first published in 1971 but has been out of print for several decades.

"The book has been revised and spruced up," says Charles Conrad of Broadway Books. "It's a book of great animal/human bonding. People are looking for a feel-good story in the midst of all the bad news."

I'm chuffed to little monkeys for them. I suppose it's vindication for what YouTube can do. I've read several times that authors should put their work on it - maybe it's time for all aspiring scribes out there to take heart from this, and do something about it....

All power to the authors. Well done Anthony Bourke, well done John Rendall – let’s hope it keeps selling. It does my heart good to hear of success like this – especially after so many years.

Great stuff!

• Next post on Tell Me a Story.

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To Write A Story - 20 Ways To Write A Story Better
How To Describe - Mastering Descriptive Writing
7 Cool Ways To Jump-Start The Story Characters In Your Writing

End of post - A Lion Called Christian, by Anthony Bourke and John Rendall

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Will Fetter, and The Lucky One

Tell Me a Story - viewpoint

Film scripts, film adaptations and Will Fetters.


Will Fetters - the lucky one.

A certain Mr. Will Fetters has landed the job of screen-writing "The Lucky One," an adaptation of the latest Nicholas Sparks novel that's been accepted by Warner Bros.

"The Lucky One" , a romantic drama, tells the tale of an American marine in Iraq who keeps a picture of a woman he has never met, because he believes it brings him good luck. However, when he tries to find the woman on his return to the US, he finds strange events surrounding her.....

Will Fetters, is also screen-writing "Memoirs," a drama about Summit relationships.

Nicholas Sparks has previously had film adaptations made of his books such as "The Notebook" and "Message in a Bottle" which earned $81 million and $52 million, respectively. His most recent film, "Nights in Rodanthe," brought in a more reserved $42 million.

I wonder if any of them thought of adapting the romantic drama, 'Without Reproach' as a film.... I'd be happy with far more humble returns.

*** Nicholas Sparks, "The Lucky One", Nicholas Sparks, "The Lucky One" ***

• Next post on Tell Me a Story.

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To Write A Story - 20 Ways To Write A Story Better
How To Describe - Mastering Descriptive Writing
7 Cool Ways To Jump-Start The Story Characters In Your Writing

End of post -Will Fetter, and The Lucky One