{"id":624,"date":"2016-04-17T21:54:50","date_gmt":"2016-04-17T21:54:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/michelledevon.com\/?p=624"},"modified":"2021-01-03T22:00:11","modified_gmt":"2021-01-03T22:00:11","slug":"author-interview-mark-morris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michelledevon.com\/index.php\/2016\/04\/17\/author-interview-mark-morris\/","title":{"rendered":"Author Interview: Mark Morris"},"content":{"rendered":"
I live with six of my eight kids, two are in college, and my high school sweetheart and wife of 25 years. I belong to a 200# mastiff named Ruby and we also have three smaller dogs, three cats and a lizard.<\/i><\/div>\n

I am a professional freelance writer, mostly ebooks and blogs for commercial clients. I\u2019ve been doing that for about seven years. Before that I wrote and\u00a0 directed for the stage for almost 20 years.<\/p>\n

I love to read. I started young, when our TV blew up and my dad refused to replace it. I like anything that makes me laugh, or think in ways I haven\u2019t before. I also love movies and the occasional cold beer, but my favorite thing is an interesting conversation.<\/p>\n

Author Interview with Mark Morris<\/strong><\/h3>\n
~~~**~~~<\/div>\n

It\u2019s rare today to find an author who does nothing but write for a living. Do you have a \u2018real\u2019 job other than writing, and if so, what is it? What are some other jobs you\u2019ve had in your life?<\/b><\/p>\n

Mark Morris:\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>I actually to write for a living, but my fiction is not my primary source of income yet. I\u2019ve also been a theatrical director, ran my own theater for almost twenty years, and spent several years working as a cabinet maker, which led to a small home improvement business.<\/i><\/p>\n

Have you always wanted to be a writer?<\/b><\/p>\n

Mark Morris:\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>I originally wanted to be an actor, and the writing kind of started there. I have always thought I would write as a part of whatever I did though. I remember my first story, third grade, about a haunted house. It was supposed to be three sentences, mine was six pages.<\/i><\/p>\n

Tell us a little bit about your book\/s. What are their titles; which is your favorite if you have more than one, and briefly let us know what they are about. Pay particular attention to your most recent book and\/or your first book:<\/b><\/p>\n

Mark Morris:\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>My first novel is a book called The Wishmonger, and it\u2019s about a boy getting uprooted and moved to his father\u2019s home town. It\u2019s a fantasy piece about what it means to wish and have faith.<\/i>
\n
\n<\/i>
\nMy latest is Jacked, a Sci-Fi novel that is the first in a series I have planned. It\u2019s set in our world, which happens to be one of many parallel universes. The title character, Jack, is essentially orphaned and at 21 finds out that he has talents he was unaware of.<\/i><\/p>\n

Are you currently working on any writing projects our readers should watch for release soon?<\/b>
\n
\n<\/i><\/p>\n

Mark Morris:\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>Yeah, Jacked is being released in three novellas, so that the work can be out there meeting readers, while I finish up the editing on the other parts and start working on the next volume. It\u2019s pretty exciting.<\/i><\/p>\n

How did you feel the day you held the copy of your first book in your hands?<\/b><\/p>\n

Mark Morris:\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>Well, it was pretty amazing. Print on Demand publishing was\u00a0 pretty much a new thing and that idea that I could write, edit and publish my own work was pretty exciting. I gave that copy to a friend ten years ago and last time I saw her, she mentioned she\u2019s still reading it again and again.<\/i><\/p>\n

What type of music, if any, do you listen to while you write?<\/b><\/p>\n

Mark Morris:\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>It kind of depends on what I\u2019m writing. For my general freelance stuff, or just working through some scenes, I like Jack Johnson a lot. But, if I am working on stuff that requires concentration, I tend to go for instrumental film soundtracks, especially epic adventure stuff.<\/i><\/p>\n

What inspires you and motivates you to write the very most?<\/b><\/p>\n

Mark Morris:\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>Stories, I love hearing them and telling them. Once I get to a certain point in a story\u2019s development, I can\u2019t help but finish it.<\/i><\/p>\n

What one thing are you the most proud of in your life?<\/b><\/p>\n

Mark Morris:\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>My kids, they are turning out to be awesome human beings and that\u2019s kind of cool. When you start as a parent, you have all these choices of how you can do it. It\u2019s good to have some confirmation that I didn\u2019t make all the wrong choices, you know?<\/i><\/p>\n

The main characters of your stories \u2013 do you find that you put a little of yourself into each of them or do you create them to be completely different from you?<\/b><\/p>\n

Mark Morris:\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>Definitely yes! In fact, my wife has been on me to write a story that has a female protagonist, because she feels like it\u2019s hard for her to get inside my character\u2019s heads and enjoy the story. But, I love writing villains. As an actor, I always have some point of contact with every character, but the bad guys are by far the most fun to write,\u00a0 in my opinion.<\/i><\/p>\n

When growing up, did you have a favorite author, book series, or book?<\/b><\/p>\n

Mark Morris:\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>Yeah, I picked up John Steinbeck\u2019s The Grapes of Wrath at seven years old. I didn\u2019t understand a lot of it, but I loved it. I still love the depression era in stories and that gritty feel, I guess. Then, there was the Hardie Boys mysteries. I read them all and collected them. I was so disappointed when I found out that Franklin W. Dixon was a whole series of writers and not a real guy.<\/i><\/p>\n

What about now: who is your favorite author and what is your favorite genre to read?<\/b><\/p>\n

Mark Morris:\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>I like stuff that entertains me, so it changes. I went through a Jeffrey Deaver phase for a while, for example. Or sometimes it will be a period, or a historical figure, but my one guilty pleasure in adulthood is Tim Dorsey. He writes Florida Crime novels with a humorous twist. His serial killer, Serge Storms is one of my favorites.<\/i><\/p>\n

Bring us into your home and set the scene for us when you are writing. What does it look like? On the couch, laptop, desk? Music? Lighting, handwriting?<\/b><\/p>\n

Mark Morris:\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>I have a busy house, so, sometimes I\u2019m at my desk, in the office I share with my wife and her party sales business,\u00a0 but I also like to stay in my PJs and binge watch Netflix on my bedroom TV when I don\u2019t want to be interrupted. I use a laptop because it\u2019s much faster for me.<\/i><\/p>\n

Do you watch television? If so, what are your favorite shows? Does television influence of inspire your writing?<\/b>
\n
\n<\/i><\/p>\n

Mark Morris:\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>Yes, I do. I like dark comedy, or macabre characters like Dexter. I\u2019m currently watching 12 Monkeys on Sy Fy and my wife and I like Shameless a lot. Again, anything that makes me laugh, or challenges my perceptions.<\/i><\/p>\n

What about movies?<\/b><\/p>\n

Mark Morris:\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>As an actor, I love movies. Since I watch for the characters and the story, I have an eclectic taste. My all time favorite is Indiana Jones, but I also enjoy horror and suspense.<\/i><\/p>\n


\n<\/b>
\nThinking about your writing career, is there anything you\u2019d go back and do differently now that you have been published?<\/b><\/p>\n

Mark Morris:\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>I wouldn\u2019t have waited all of these years. I think\u00a0 I had convinced myself that all of these other writers were better story tellers than me, but as I got to know a lot of writers and their work, I realized it wasn\u2019t true.<\/i><\/p>\n

What is your main goal or purpose you would like to see accomplished by or with\u00a0 your writing?<\/b>
\n
\n<\/i><\/p>\n

Mark Morris:\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>I\u2019d love for my fiction to pay the bills. That is probably my biggest goal, but philosophically, I hope my stories challenge people and make them think about what they believe and how they live.<\/i><\/p>\n

Many authors have said that naming their characters is a difficult process, almost like choosing a name for their own child. How did you select the names of some of your lead characters in your book\/s?<\/b><\/p>\n

Mark Morris:\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>I\u2019ve never had a lot of trouble naming characters. I don\u2019t really have much of a process, I just name them. That\u2019s probably not very exciting,\u00a0 but sometimes\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

I hear artists talk about how everything is a struggle and I wonder if that\u2019s true. This is true,\u00a0 I just pick a name, and sometimes it changes,\u00a0 but mostly they stick.<\/i><\/p>\n

Have you ever had a character take over a story and move it in a different direction than you had originally intended? How did you handle it?<\/b><\/p>\n

Mark Morris:\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>No, because of my training as a theatrical director, I see myself in that role and I know where I want my story to go. Now, in small ways, they surprise me all the time and I may have to reconsider, but just to have one rebel seems strange to me,\u00a0 but every writer has their own process.<\/i><\/p>\n

Is there any lesson or moral you hope your story might reveal to those who read it?<\/b><\/p>\n

Mark Morris:\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>Yeah, human consensus and coercing others into living life on your terms is bad. That\u2019s pretty much it. I think you should reserve discipline for yourself and expect others to respect your life, liberty and property. If they do that, you don\u2019t have much to complain about.<\/i><\/p>\n

Anything you want your readers to know?<\/b><\/p>\n

My blog can be found at\u00a0http:\/\/MarkrMorrisJr.com<\/a>\u00a0 and you can find me on\u00a0Facebook most days if you want to interact.<\/a>And my books can be found on\u00a0Amazon.com.<\/a><\/p>\n

I love to talk to readers, or help other writers get started. You can reach me at Markrmorris2 @g m a i l\u00a0 . com (with no spaces)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I live with six of my eight kids, two are in college, and my high school sweetheart and wife of 25 years. I belong to a 200# mastiff named Ruby and we also have three smaller dogs, three cats and a lizard. I am a professional freelance writer, mostly ebooks and blogs for commercial clients. 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