First Saturday Sci-Fi - Sept 2019

Can you believe its September already? I thought we would do something a little different this month and expand our horizons... let's say Steam punk just for fun!

Born in Helsinki, Finland, Mark Everett Stone arrived in the U.S. at a young age and promptly dove into the world of the fantastic. Starting at age seven with the Iliad and the Odyssey, he went on to consume every scrap of Norse Mythology he could get his grubby little paws on. At age thirteen he graduated to Tolkien and Heinlein, building up a book collection that soon rivaled the local public library’s. In college Mark majored in Journalism and minored in English. Mark is feverishly working on his next book while his amazingly patient wife, Brandie, keeps him and their two sons, Aeden and Gabriel, in check.

1. Tell us about your favorite work… what makes it special ?

Okay, let me break it down since there are so many great books out there….

My faves:

1) Thriller: Boy’s Life by Robert McCammon. It’s the kind of work that sticks with you for a long time.

2) Sci-Fi: Ringworld by Larry Niven. Probably the best hard sci-fi book ever written. A work of unparalleled imagination.

3) Fantasy: LOTR. Of course. Nuff said.

4) Horror: Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons. Possibly the creepiest book I have ever read.

2. What do you think makes for good Sci-Fi ?

Obviously a good imagination, but also to be forward thinking enough that what you wrote about eventually comes to pass. Larry Niven wrote about flat televisions over forty years before the first one was sold on the retail market. The ability to logically extrapolate future trends and science is key.

3. Do you think your books can help shape the future and if so how?

Let’s not go overboard here. I’m not looking to change the world, although to change it for the better would be nice. No, I write to entertain, to give people a few dozen hours of escapism that leaves them satisfied when they’re done. If I can do that, then it is a job well done on my part. I’ll stick to changing the world by voting my conscience, contributing to where it will serve the best and teaching my kids to mold their futures in a positive way.

4. Do you have inside jokes or true events hidden in your writing?

To be honest, I think many writers have inside jokes and true events that inspire their writing. We draw upon what we have experienced and what we know. The people that know me, know my history, know my quirky sense of humor, can spot the inside jokes in a heartbeat and it is my nod to them that I wrote those jokes and experiences.

5. Which do you prefer… model your characters after people you know or just make them up?

Well, when you get down to it, I think I am afraid to write down characters I know from real life into a book format. People are complex, goofy creatures and I don’t think I can do them justice. I tick to creating personalities whole cloth, although when it comes to historical personages, I do stick to the common perception so as to appear authentic.

6. Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to take away?

Enjoy the work. Let your mind take you to my twisted little realities and trundle about in joy. I am no deep, philosophical writer like Camus, but an ordinary bloke who wants to entertain, like Edgar Rice Burroughs or Karl Edward Wagner.

7. What is your favorite review?

ANY good review is my favorite because it means I managed to entertain or touch someone. I am over the moon when a good Amazon review hits. With that in mind, my first review from Publisher’s Weekly (a starred review) does come to mind as a little bit extra super special with a cherry on top. It was for my book The Judas Line.

What comes next?

I am exploring a new trilogy and have a few stand-alones in mind. I am also looking to write a couple of sequels, but it depends on the success of the first books. But I will always write something, even if I wind up putting it in the dustbin of my computer hard drive never to see the light of day. I learn from my failures as well as my successes.

Where can we learn more

Markeverettstone1.com. I try to update it as often as time will allow. Right now I’m just typing furiously away trying to produce.