Meet Mark Love

We recently connected with Mark Love and have shared our conversation below.

Mark, so happy to have you with us today. You are such a creative person, but have you ever had any sort of creativity block along the way? If so, can you talk to us about how you overcame or beat it?

I written eleven books (so far) and discovered a couple of tricks or methods that help me get beyond any form of writer’s block that hold me back.

The first trick is that when I’m working on a story, I’ll stop for the day in the middle of a scene. It doesn’t matter if it’s dialogue, description or narration, I’ll just choose to call it quits at that point. Then, when I’m able to return to the keyboard (I am not able to have a set writing schedule each day) I’ll return to the story and read the pages leading up to where I left off. That sort of kickstarts my imagination. I simply pick up where I left off.

Another trick stems from the fact that I don’t use an outline. Many of my books are written out of sequence. I’ll have an idea for a scene. It could include action or dialogue. If I’m feeling stuck with one scene, jumping to work on another one can help keep me going. The same thing can be true for starting or working on another story. I’ve had as many as three different projects going simultaneously.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

Like many people, I didn’t start out writing stories. While I have always been an avid reader, the idea of being able to create novels that others would find entertaining wasn’t really something on my radar. I worked a number of different jobs over the years, including bartending, driving trucks and managing restaurants. A college journalism instructor recommended me to the Oakland Press, when they were looking for freelance reporters.

That became my side hustle, covering meetings, writing hard news and features. It also helped sharpen my writing skills and learn how to shape a story.

For more than 20 years, I worked in Human Resource Management. That involved a lot of writing. Many times I was asked to either facilitate a training program or create one. It didn’t take long before I got comfortable presenting the information, answering questions and engaging the audience. That experience helped pave the way for me as a teacher, which I’ve been doing for more than 10 years now.

I will often use stories from my own varied experiences to connect with the students and help them relate to the pertinent material.

Guess I’ve always been a storyteller. I can observe an interaction with others and spin a tale from that one incident. You never know what might end up in a story.

All of my books take place in Michigan, primarily metropolitan Detroit (known as Motown). In the beginning, I was writing mysteries and created two series. The Jamie Richmond stories are about an amateur sleuth. The Jefferson Chene novels are police procedural. Recently I’ve shifted to thrillers or crime stories. These are a different genre and are standalone stories. My latest “Part-Time Criminal” was published in February and has garnered some great reviews.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

That’s a great question.

One quality I have is that the work can always be better. I’m not satisfied with writing just the first or even second draft of a story and considering it done. It’s not uncommon for me to revise my work multiple times before I send it to my team of beta readers. Then I’ll utilize their insights and comments to improve the manuscript before submitting it to the publisher.

Last year I decided to self-publish a novel for the first time. I still went through the same thorough process before hiring an editor and sending them the manuscript.

You could consider an area of knowledge to be admitting that I don’t know everything! For every project I undertake, research must be done. One form of research that I thoroughly enjoy is interviewing subject matter experts. I’ve interviewed police officers, FBI agents, teachers, doctors and other professionals. Once I was able to interview a woman who trained human remains dogs for law enforcement. She shared vital information that helped set the opening for “The Wayward Path”.

Communications, especially verbal, is a skill that I’m always working on. It’s gotten better over the years. This is essential whether I’m teaching a class, doing a presentation about one of my books, recording a podcast or pitching my books at festivals and shows. Often those in-person efforts make a big difference when it comes to a sale.

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?

The biggest challenge for me is marketing and promoting my books. Competition is fierce and it is not easy to connect with readers. I am always looking at options to promote on social media.

Whenever I have a new release or post updates, I will receive a number of responses from people offering their services. However, when I ask about how affordable and effective their programs are or referrals from other authors, they can’t answer the questions. This is my business. Tell me what type of return I can expect on my investment. If you can’t do that, I’m disinclined to pay for your services.

Maybe these are bots, not real people.

I have a limited budget for marketing and prefer to use methods that have been successful in the past. Lately I have been speaking with other authors about their efforts. So I’ll keep looking.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://motownmysteries.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/motownmysteries
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarkLoveAuthor
• Other: https://www.threads.net/@motownmysteries

  http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B009P7HVZQ

Image Credits

“Part-Time Criminal” and “Rules of Desperation” by Pages Promotions LLC

“Devious” and “Vanishing Act” by Dawne Dominique

“Chasing Favors” by Fantasia Frog Designs

“Why 319?” and “Your Turn to Die” by R J Morris

“The Wayward Path” by Debbie Taylor