About Mark Binmore:
Mark Binmore (b.1971) was born in Torquay, England. In 2010 he published his first work, a collection of short stories, Even When Tonight Is Over, which was soon followed by The Hair Of The Hound (2011), In Search Of The Fabulous People (2013) and Hounds Of Winter (2013). In 2014 he published Jig Of Life (published in USA and Canada as The J) and Soon Before The Soon as well as his first full length novel Now Is Not The Time For Trumpets and the second part of his winter collection, Ember Asleep.
His second full length novel A Life Of Parties-The Life Of Agatha Dewsbury, is set to be published in 2015 along with two publications in USA, Simply Divine & A Sorta Fairytale.
Mark is also the subject of a forthcoming book by Chris Henson Tour De Europa.
Mark currently divides his time between his homes in England and France.
Mark is currently represented by Kindlight Media
What inspires you to write?
Names. I can literally get given a name and then I create a world for that character. An example would be for my next book I was having lunch with friends and they mentioned an old friend Gladys Shenkmen who was a mega rich American Jew but hated spending money. The name I just loved and just had to find somewhere to fit her in the book which I did. I guess I am also inspired by history and the forgotten decadence we used to have – art deco, the party season, the in between war years, but I am also working on some kind of disco novel set in San Francisco in the 1970s so at the moment, I am being inspired by classic disco music.
Tell us about your writing process.
If I am writing at home I have my own private library where I work, stone walls and red Moroccan floor tiles, a glorious big window, a huge comfy chair and a desk which has many jars of pencils, pens and other pieces of stationary (which I just love). I have my laptop, my ipad, but also a collection of note books and diaries. The wallpaper on one wall is actually old music promo posters cobbled together and the one framed picture I have in this room is a macabre image of a cracked baby’s head floating in a sewer. I actually find it beautiful and also inspiring.
My next book A Life Of Parties only took three months and is a fictional biography so I spent a few weeks with huge pieces of flip chart paper writing down names, dates and other useful information, a kind of life chronological chart so I could get everything in the right order. I then composed the first chapter and then the last the last – so I had an end point and also I could visualize the journey. .
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I have to step inside the shoes of the person at times but as for talking to them, no. Sometimes people get confused with a fictional character and you as an author and wrongly believe the two are the same.
What advice would you give other writers?
Write, write and write again. Try and devote some time during the day to think, to pln, to rite ideas. I have a whole collection of notebooks going back 25 years full of ideas, scarps of conversations, diaries etc, which have proved useful.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I started in 2010 as self publication and then (luckily) was head hunted by Kindlight who offered me a contract. It was actually that simple, although it has taken a few more years and a few books to get where I am today. Building a relationship with an editor and allowing your work to be critically analyzed is the first step – some people don’t like that but you have to cross that point.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
Books will never die off. People said 20 years ago vinyl records will be dying, and they are not, if anything they are back. We are though moving towards a new void of more and more writers coming through the self publication market but sadly many of these will be ignored or mislaid. Keeping your presence alive can be as tough as writing a new book.
What do you use?: Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer
What genres do you write?: Biography, Poetry, Prose, Short Stories, Non Fiction
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Mark Binmore Home Page Link
Link To Mark Binmore Page On Amazon
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