Mark Stevens is the son of two librarians. He was raised in Lincoln, Massachusetts and has worked as a reporter, television news producer, and in public relations. Antler Dust was a Denver Post best-seller in 2007 and 2009. Buried by the Roan, Trapline, and Lake of Fire were all finalists for the Colorado Book Award (2012, 2015 and 2016 respectively). Trapline won. Trapline also won the Colorado Authors League award for best genre fiction. Stevens was named Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ Writer of the Year. Stevens hosts a regular podcast for Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and is president of the Rocky Mountain chapter for Mystery Writers of America. Stevens also writes book reviews; follow them at the blog link. The fourth and fifth books in his Allison Coil Mystery series are Lake of Fire and The Melancholy Howl.

Mark’s website.
Mark’s book review site.
Author’s page on Amazon. He’s also on Facebook and on Twitter.

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What motivates you to write and how did you get started?

In the mid-1980’s, having really started to enjoy the mystery genre, I wondered: “How hard is it to write one?” I wanted to know. Plus, I had run across a newspaper story that seemed like a great seed for a story. I started writing and started learning. It turned out, I had a lot to learn (but enjoyed seeing the work get better, bit by bit).

What’s most rewarding about writing?

I love the discovery as you go, being open to possibilities in the moment of a scene and in the bigger arc of the story. Of course, a great review is rewarding, too. There’s some sort of magic to me in a book and all the different ways that people react to the plot, the characters and what you’re trying to say.

What’s your favorite genre and why?

Well, mystery-suspense-thriller in general but I do read a lot of general a.k.a. “serious” fiction, too. A well-written mystery is satisfying: jeopardy, puzzles, distractions and, most of the time, a satisfying resolution. The mystery genre allows just about any type of person to walk on stage and take care of business, to set the world right.

Who is an author who inspires you and why?

Can I get more than one? I love John Updike for his language and humanity. He was fairly fearless when it came to looking at how men and women relate. Philip Roth, Ian McEwan, Paul Auster – clean prose, tight stories. Richard Ford, too. Barbara Kingsolver? Amazing. Scott Spencer, so overlooked. Mysteries by Craig Johnson, Nevada Barr, John Galligan, Tony Hillerman. Patricia Highsmith, in the suspense world, gets under the skin of her warped characters like no others. And Elmore Leonard–the energy and darkness are fantastic. The early stuff is really overlooked, like “Unknown Man No. 89,” “City Primeval,” “Fifty-two Split.” Leonard is so efficient and cuts to the chase like no other.

What do you look for in other people’s books?

A voice, a style, confidence, originality. A fresh point of view. I think we all want to pick up a new book and, within the first few pages, meet someone we would never have met without that ink on the page.

What are you writing now?

I’m writing the fifth book in the Allison Coil Mystery series. The fourth, “Lake of Fire,” will be out in September.

What kind of book would you like to be known for?

That’s a heck of a question. I don’t know. I’d like to be known as a good storyteller. I’d like to picture a reader finishing one of my books and passing it to a friend, saying “get a load of this.”

What has writing taught you about yourself?

Another great question. I have no idea. I guess, more than anything, that I’m more determined than I give myself credit for. I spent 23 years writing fiction before I was published. I also know there are still things to learn and lots of ways to get better at the craft.

What encouraging advice can you offer new writers?

Get involved in writing groups. Share your work. Share a few paragraphs, a few pages, a chapter. Listen to feedback. Reject what doesn’t make sense but listen hard to consistent themes. Read everything in sight. And then read some more. Know why you want to write. Know what you’re trying to do with each story. And, when all else fails, just keep writing. Write every day if you can and, when you’re not writing, think about what you’re going to write. It should consume you.

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