This Mark Robson interview was first published in March 2006. To find out
even more about the author, you can visit our
Mark Robson page.
Where were you born and raised?
I was born in Wanstead, Essex, but moved around quite a lot during my
early life. I spent my secondary school years in West Wales, which was
wonderful. Beautiful countryside and a plethora of exciting activities on
the doorstep for anyone with enough get up and go to look for them.
What was it that first got you into writing and when did
you start writing?
I remember being very creative as a youngster. I
think I was seven when I wrote my first longer story. It was called
"Arthur, the Strongest Ant in the World". I believe it was
about 22 pages long. Sadly it got thrown away some years ago now.
My first foray into serious writing, however, came when I was
about 30 years old. I was bored in the Falkland Islands and very
irritable. My navigator (I was an RAF Pilot) uttered the immortal words,
‘For goodness sakes, Mark! Do something useful. Go write a book, or
something.’ and I was off and running. It just took that one spark
and I was away. My first book took about 18 calendar months to complete,
but I did not write consistently over that period. I just took a pad and
pencil with me whenever I went away from home and I wrote a little more.
Which writers have influenced you the most?
My main influences would have to be: Tolkien, Elizabeth
Moon, Anne McCaffrey, David Gemmell and David Eddings. It would be fair
to say the order is a reasonable indication of how much they affected my
writing.
Where do you stand on the nature v. nurture debate? Were
you born a writer, or were there factors in your environment that enabled you
to become a writer?
I think I was born with a creative mind, but I would
hardly say I was a born writer. My sole claim to literary fame is a ‘B’
at ‘O’ Level English Language! I have always loved stories. I have
read masses of them over the years, and from pretty much all genres. My
first love has always been fantasy, though, so it’s not surprising that this is
the genre in which I write.
There are a lot of courses teaching creative writing
nowadays, but do you think that good writing can be taught?
I think that elements of writing can be taught.
Structure, how to describe things effectively, how to develop characters
etc. But can an author be taught how to create something new? I’m
not so sure. I believe that there has to be a certain spark of
originality within the writer if they are to truly create a story rather than
just borrow bits and pieces from others. Of course there is inevitably an
element of this in the work of all authors. We are all affected by what
we read and experience. It is the combination of influences that varies.
Have you entered writing competitions? If so, have you won
any prizes?
I once entered a writing competition when I was about 9
years old and I was given a commendation. Does that count? To be
serious, no, I’ve not entered any of my work for competitions since writing novels.
As a self published author I didn’t have the time, but my recently
published novel, "Imperial Spy,"
will most likely be entered for several competitions.
Do you have any short stories or poems published online?
(If so, please provide the URLs):
Here’s a couple of things that I’ve posted on the
Chronicles Science Fiction and Fantasy website. The first is a little
autobiographical poem. I think it displays my tongue in cheek attitude to
writing quite well:
www.chronicles-network.com/forum/5139-me-me-me.html
This second one is something born out of a discussion on the same site.
I am seriously considering expanding this into a book, or maybe even an
entire series of books.
www.chronicles-network.com/forum/3621-dawn-dragon-the-whole-prologue.html
What kind of things do you write?
I write fantasy for young adults. My first series
was a traditional swords and sorcery style fantasy with a military twist that
made it a little unusual. It was a four book series called "The
Darkweaver Legacy". Considering I self published it, the sales have
been remarkably strong. Over 40 000 copies have passed through my garage,
which is unlikely to play host to my car for some years to come! My
latest book is set in the same fantasy world, but there is no magic. This
is rather like a light thriller, with lots of spies, assassins and murders.
The sequel, "Imperial Assassin",
will have a dash of magic in it, but only a dash. These are my first
traditionally published books. (Simon & Schuster UK)
What, for you, is the best piece of prose that you have
ever written?
I would have to say that "Imperial Assassin" is
the best book I’ve written. I’d like to think I’m still climbing a steep
uphill learning curve and am improving with each book. My English has
certainly sharpened up a lot since my early books. The stories in
"The Darkweaver Legacy" were strong, and they got great reviews.
But looking back now, all I see is the writing style, which I feel was
somewhat clumsy.
The perfectionist in me knows that my best work is yet to
come.
What are you working on now?
I’ve currently just started writing the third book in my
Imperial Series. This is planned to be called "Imperial Traitor".
I’m hoping to sell it to Simon & Schuster shortly.
What is your writing day like?
When I’m not out promoting, and generally dashing around
like a mad thing, then my typical writing day is 3 hours in the morning and 3
hours in the afternoon. I find that trying to concentrate for any longer
than this is counter-productive. I do set a word target for the day and
if I reach this early, then I tend to stop early. My rationale is that if
I’m on a roll, then that roll should be easy enough to pick up the next day and
I’ll comfortably meet two daily targets rather than exceed one.
Where would you like to be in 10 years time?
Aside from living in a mansion next to the beach somewhere
in the Seychelles, you mean? Well, I’d very much like to have established
a sound base to a very large readership. After all, what point is there
in writing stories if they are not read by lots of people? To paraphrase
one of the characters from a favourite fantasy series: ‘It’s
not about the money. The money is just a way of keeping score.’
What’s the most exciting thing about writing for you?
Getting positive feedback from my readers. There is
nothing that compares to the feeling this brings. Don’t get me wrong, I
enjoy the creative process. I’m also one of the minority of authors that
actually like the public speaking and the signing events. However, there
is nothing that motivates me more than receiving a string of positive feedback
about a piece of work.
What’s the most frustrating thing about writing for you?
At the moment I don’t have enough hours in the day to do
much of it! This is intensely frustrating. I’m still in the early
days as a full time author. This means I have to strike a very careful
balance between writing and promoting. At the moment, the emphasis has to
be on selling and promoting, as I need to get enough interest in my work that I
can generate enough money to live. This is a challenge. Contrary to
popular belief, not all authors get paid huge advances and live like kings from
their royalties.
What’s the best piece of feedback that you’ve had from your
audience?
This came in the other day. It came from the father
of one of my younger readers. (He’s 10 years old.) I get many wonderful
emails from young readers, but it is often the emails from the parents that are
the most touching. This is the sort of feedback that really gets my
heartstrings twanging: "Let me tell you about my son and your books.
When I say he loves them, I mean it. The reason why your books end up in
tatters is because he carries them to and from school so that he can read them
in any spare time available. When he is holding one of your books and telling
us about the story, I have noticed how he keeps it close to his chest. He talks
about the characters with great affection and....I could go on but I think you
get the picture. As I said before, my son is most definitely full of
"slugs and snails and puppy dog tails" and not what you would call a
book-reader although he tries. He gave up on Harry Potter, attempted "The Lord
of the Rings", nearly read one from "The Edge Chronicles"... and
is now having a go at "The Hobbit". For a book to hold my son's
attention to completion is quite an achievement, and if that book is a sizable
read for a boy of his age and nature then this is amazing, and if that book is
actually a series, and retains his interest throughout, then this is something
very special. To put the above into one short sentence; your books make him
happy. Perhaps one day I will have the opportunity to give you a shake of the
hand, I'll keep an eye on your travels. Heck, I might even buy you a pint."
Do you write for a particular audience, or is your first
priority to satisfy your own creativity?
I do target the 10 to 16 year old age range, but I’ve
found that the adage ‘If you write for a 12 year old, you catch everyone,’ is
true. I have a vast range of readers. The oldest I know of is 93
and the youngest is 7. Do I write to satisfy my own creativity?
That is certainly a large part of why I write. However, to embark
on a career that involves inspiring young people to read and write is equally
stimulating.
Do you have a homepage? If so, what’s the URL?
My website is www.swordpublishing.co.uk
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