Hi all!
Please help me welcome my dear friend and Author Mark Knight to my blog today!
This is going to be an extensive post as I have so much information about this Author that I want to share with you. I want you to like him as much as I do and I’ve only ‘met’ him online across cyberspace and continents. He is absurdly talented, has an excellent new book and is a great guy. Check out the below info:
About the Author:
Mark Knight grew up in Massachusetts, USA. At age 15 he saw his first publication - a weekly comic strip that was used by the town newspaper. After winning a short story contest about extraterrestrial life, he decided to begin writing novels, outlining science fiction and Young Adult tales. Settling in the UK, Mark continued to write novels of differing genres, including horror and television scripts. Mark also works as a feature film scriptwriter, having worked on two horror scripts for Hollywood’s Little Slices of Death production company and one for Illusion Studios. He also won several short story competitions, and has had his work featured in published anthologies. Mark concentrates now on Young Adult fantasy/horror/science fiction novels. 'Blood Family' - Seventeen year old Daniel Dark has a pretty random life - until he gets a message from his true father, a vampire. 'The Ones' - Psychic powers within a small group of fifteen-year-olds in a quiet American harbour town leads to a summer of self-discovery...and a life on the run. 'Solomon Grimm and the Well of Souls' follows a cursed British teen as he enters the dark and dangerous realm of the Celtic Otherworld in search of a cure to his undead condition. 'The Powers' follows 18-year-old Gunner Robinson after his life is turned upside-down by the revelation that he originally came to earth as a Protector - a powerful warrior angel. Mark has had many short stories published in magazines and anthologies, the most recent being the story The Foundling, which features in the anthology, Mirador's Fantasmagoria: The Anthology of the Weird, the Fantastical and the Terrifying by the Best New Writers from Across the Globe
Here’s my interview with Mark:
What is your name? Do you use a pen name (if so, why?)?
Mark Knight
Tell me a bit about yourself:
I grew up in the USA, living on the West and East coast. Now I live in the UK in the Greater London area. I live very close to Leavesden Studios where all the Harry Potter films were made.
What type of genre do you write?
Originally my thing was science fiction. My first few novels were sci fi. When a friend in the movie industry asked me to collaborate on horror scripts with him, I began to develop an interest in horror and supernatural. My first novel with that theme was Blood Family, which had a 17 year old protagonist. Now I am almost exclusively a Young Adult writer.
What genre to you personally read?
I tend to read YA as that is what I write. I do like biographies as well, especially biographies of writers. Tolkien’s was most absorbing.
Tell me about your latest?
Blood Family is a novel about family and origins. Daniel Dark thinks he is a normal kid. He finds out he is adopted. Then he finds out his real father is a vampire. Finally, he discovers that his true mother has been imprisoned by his vampire father since Daniel’s birth. That is what sets him off on his quest, which ultimately takes him far from home. Along the way, his deadly vampire powers emerge.
What sparked your passion for books and the art of a good story?
I think it started with the books my mom read to me and the books I discovered in school. When we were given a vampire short story to read in my 6th grade English class, it started me thinking: ‘I could write a short story’. What I wrote was a small 20 page ‘novel’, which my teacher read out to the class. From then on I knew what I wanted to do.
Is there a particular book that changed or affected your life in a big way?
Possibly The Hobbit. I lived in Ireland for a few years after relocating from America. We were out in the country. No TV and certainly no internet back then. I found The Hobbit and got lost in it, as though it were a real place. That was what appealed to me, creating a kind of visceral reality with words.
Is there a message in your book that you want readers to grasp?
I don't set out to put forth a message. Often you find yourself implanting one, though, without even intending it. A lot of my stories are about the importance of family, and that your family is what makes you you. Many of my stories are quests, and they highlight perseverance, that you must have perseverance in order to get to that goal. I think that is a reflection of my own determination to get published!
What challenges have you faced in your writing career?
I have had many challenges; books and scripts that were almost published but ultimately weren’t. Blood Family got me my first agent. It also got me a meet with an editor of a very big publishing house in London. Sadly, we couldn’t agree on some changes that were required. The vampires in the story are part interdimensional, and the editors wanted them to be, well, ‘normal’ vampires. Part of the reason I wrote the book was to present a new take on vampire lore.
What has been your best moment as a writer?
I think acquiring an agent and the meet with the publisher. Although it did not end with publishing deal, it was a huge thrill. It verified to me that my work was considered ‘worthy’ of publication.
Who is your author idol?
Every author who has given a good story to people, who have thrilled them and elicited emotions from them, is my hero. Whether self-published or traditionally published. If their work moves people, then they have done something great.
Do you see yourself in any of your characters?
Every one! Every character is a reflection of one or more aspects of the author. Yes, even the antagonists. You can base it on other people, but really it all comes from within yourself.
Do you feel like your dream has come true or is there much more to do?
I feel as though the dream is unfolding gradually. I guess my real goal is to hear back from people who were swept up in my stories, engaged with my characters, and now can’t get them out of their heads! That’s the dream.
What does your workspace look like?
A converted second bedroom that has a desk with two monitors, and heaps of scrap paper where I have written down notes in coffee shops, trains, etc. It must look a mess, but to me it is all perfectly logical!
Have you ever had a day when you just wanted to quit?
You know...I don't think I have.
What do you do when you’re not writing?
I love films and have a big DVD collection. Sometimes it can be distracting. Writing should always come first! I do love travelling when I can, and often explore London, which can be like a warren of undiscovered wonders.
What are the most important attributes to remaining sane as a writer?
That whatever setbacks may happen, you can still get excited about the next project. There is always a next project!
Did you have a moment when you realized you were meant to be a writer?
I think after I wrote my first novel. I was 16. It was all by hand. It was terrible. But it resulted in my telling myself, ‘I'm going to be a writer’. And I have never, ever deviated from that.
What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
Again, perseverance. ‘Don't never give up!’ was one of the first bits of advice I read from an author (the bad grammar was deliberate!). If you love writing, you will keep writing.
After this book, what is next?
I have three other novels all ready to go, save a bit of last minute proofreading. They are all paranormal, all YA. One is about a boy who is cursed and made undead. I also have one about a group of teenaged friends who all have psychic powers. Just completed is a novel about angels reborn in human form, along with their demon enemies, to resume their war here on Earth.
Your website?
This site has just had a huge overhaul by a very talented web designer; I am amazed with what he has done!
Your blog?
I post often, and have great fun on there. People will sign up for my newsletter will get a copy of my most popular paranormal short story, Forbidden – about an angel’s illicit love affair with a demon and subsequent punishment – just for signing up.
Other websites?
Blood Family has its own site, www.bloodfamily.co.uk
It has lots on it already, but I am constantly expanding it. Check back for insights into how the book was researched, and images pertaining to the novel. Oh – and the timeline of events in the Blood Family storyline.
Where can your book be found?
Blood Family is available right now on Amazon USA and Amazon UK. Later on it will be on Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and other outlets. I love to hear from my readers, and hope they love it.
The Road to BLOOD FAMILY
April 2, 2004 was the earliest date I have recorded for the inception of Blood Family. Also known as Blood Family – Quest for the Vampire Key, the novel was going to be a Young Adult horror adventure which would by my take on vampires and what vampires might be. And when I’d decided that, I knew I was in for an interesting journey, but had no idea where it would take me…
Vampires, vampires, everywhere…
I’ve always loved vampire tales and vampire movies. As a youngster growing up in Massachusetts, I was aware of quite a few famous vampires. Bela Lugosi’s Dracula, of course, but also Dark Shadows’ Barnabus Collins and the Count off of Sesame Street. They were everywhere, Scooby Doo, The Groovy Goulies, and even Gilligan’s Island had a vampire episode (didn’t Ginger look great in that gothic dream sequence?). In fact, it was a short vampire tale that we read in school – that’s right, school; it actually had some cool moments – that flicked on the writing switch within me. I now wanted to write. And so I did – a science fiction tale that had nothing to do about vampires. But my seventh grade English teacher read it out to the class nonetheless. My first audience! I knew what I wanted to do with my life.
As with everything I write, I knew that Blood Family had to be not just a good book, but a book that I would want to snatch from the bookshelves if I saw it there. So it had to be exciting. It had to feel real. And it had to be different. But not too different – vampires have to be vampires. Blood, immortality, strength, and supreme coolness. Oh yes, and fangs. (Where the hell are the fangs in the Twilight series?). Yes, I would keep all of the good stuff. Otherwise, I might piss off any potential readers. But how could I make them different?
The Devil In The Details
The angle I came up with was to make my vampires dimensional creatures that entered our world via ritual portals, altering those human beings who let them in. The dark spirits would take over the body of a willing host and that host would change. Strength. Long life. Hypnotic powers. And a thirst for blood.
That was my angle. I liked that. Now for my characters. The first character any writer should come up with is the main character. If he or she isn’t of supreme interest to you, then that character’s journey won’t be either. Daniel Dark starts out as a sullen, lazy seventeen-year-old New England kid. He loves his car. He loves his girlfriend. He loves the occasional spliff. But he has father issues. Dad is harsh, distant, and, to make matters worse, a strict pastor of a local church. But those daddy issues become enflamed a hundredfold when he receives a mysterious parcel from an entity claiming to be his true father – a vampiric entity calling himself Dominus.
Daniel Dark
As Daniel’s true origins unfold, he realizes that his life has changed completely. Not only is he adopted, but his real father is some kind of demon, one not even fully in this world. His adoptive mother tells him that his true mother is actually her sister, Celeste. Celeste has been a captive of Dominus since before Daniel’s birth. Daniel then knows what he has to do. He has to find his real mother, and confront his real father.
I had decided to make Daniel an American as I had grown up in New England myself, near Boston. I knew what it was like to live there, and to go to school there. I knew how the kids talked. Now I live in old England, and thought it would be exciting to lead Daniel on a quest that would lead him to the UK. Where in the UK, though? What was the spookiest, most myth-ridden area of England, a place where the malevolent Dominus might reside?
A Haunted Inn
I decided upon the moors of Devon. These vast tracts of wilderness and bogs located in South West of the country would be the perfect place for Silverwood Manor – the mansion in which Dominus and his followers resided.
Research. That was the next thing. I knew I couldn’t just read about Devon and its moors and hope that it would all sound authentic once incorporated in my novel; no, I knew very early on that I had to go there.
My friend Mike Hopkins lives in that area and, as it turned out, was pretty much an authority on the moors. Notebook and digital recorder in hand, I set off for Devon for several days. I stayed in the Old Church House Inn is set in the tranquil village of Torbryan. This historic Inn was built by stonemasons in the middle of the 14th century. During my nights there I had experienced not only strange sounds in my room but the distinct impression that someone was in the room and standing close to my bed. On the day that I checked out of the Inn I made a joke to the proprietor about the place being haunted. He told me that many people had experienced just what I had experienced. I left the Church House Inn with a chill lodged well within in my spine.
Torquay
But I am getting ahead of myself. There was much to see and take in even prior to checking in at the Church House. I had taken the train from London to Torquay in Devon – a journey that took several hours . My first impression of the colourful town of Torquay was that it looked like something out of the 1950s or earlier. Perhaps even a town you might find in France or Spain. The climate was much warmer than the parts of England I knew, and was right by the sea. It is not called the English Riviera for nothing. I even spotted palm trees lining the roads. Was this really England? The writer Agatha Christie certainly had loved it here, having lived in Torquay most of her life.
How things would change by the time I got to the moors!
A Moor Is A Mysterious Place
‘Ok, ok’, I hear you say. ‘But what on earth is a moor?’ Imagine a vast wilderness, peppered with white granite rocks, russet hills, and peat bogs that squish beneath your feet as you walk. A perfect place for ghosts, or vampires. And Dartmoor is three hundred and sixty eight square miles of it.
There is a quiet and an eeriness to the place which cannot fully be put into words. It is a place where mists and howling winds are perfectly at home. The barren trees, I noted, were so relentlessly windswept that they took on the shape of scrawny hands clawing at the air. Ancient stone circles are everywhere – not quite as imposing as Stonehenge but remarkable all the same. Some were over a hundred meters across. Thousands of years ago, these circles would have been roofed with grasses set atop wooden supports. An entire extended family of perhaps a hundred people would live inside.
And what of the various legends associated with this place? There was the legend of the hairy hands. Cross a bridge here, and a pair of hairy hands will cover your eyes. Shudder. Great black cats, perhaps panthers, have been spotted skulking here. And then of course there are the ‘bottomless bogs’, as featured in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes classic, The Hound of the Baskervilles (1901). Thin, loamy topsoil fills in any gaps between impervious granite. You could be walking along and suddenly – you sink. ‘You just don’t know where any of them are,’ Mike cautioned. But were they actually bottomless? The mischievous smile I got back from Mike answered that one.
After tales of ghosts, phantom panthers, hairy hands, and way more than I will go into, I knew that I had a lot of material for my novel. Much of my journey became Daniel’s journey.
Excerpt:
Daniel loved Sunday mornings. The folks had gone to Sunday Service of course, leaving Daniel with the entire house to himself.
Mom and Dad had given up trying to keep their son going to church. He hated the place, and made no bones about it. Considering all that his Dad had put him through in that building – the chanting, the laying on of hands, the constricting straps – they really couldn’t protest too much. So, they went to the church and Nathan gave his sermon and Annie helped with the communion, while Daniel sat in the living room at home blitzing out on a slew of Jackie Chan DVDs and cramming down junk food. Bliss.
After the Sunday roast (which even now was sizzling in its own juices in the oven, sending mouth-watering aromas into the living room) Daniel would have a catnap in his room, and then would get ready for an evening out with his cronies. He still hadn’t phoned his girl to see if she wanted to come. Maybe I should just hang loose for a while, he pondered. Daelin can call me for a change.
Yeah, like that would happen.
Impatience would win. Daniel would make the call.
The doorbell rang. Hoisting himself up from the couch, he ambled over to the front door, surprised that there was a caller on a Sunday morning.
Shit, he thought, I’m just in boxers! He shrugged inwardly. Whatever. They’ll have to take me as I am.
He got a fleeting glimpse of the caller through the slim stained glass window that bisected the door. If he had looked a few seconds longer he might have thought twice about opening up at all – but he’d already turned the handle and was swinging the door wide open.
What stood there before him was a courier holding a parcel. Then – no courier, just the parcel on the doorstep.
He’d just imagined the courier.
Just…imagined…?
The parcel was not large, perhaps the length of a loaf of bread, and wrapped in plain brown paper, tied off with string. He picked it up.
Oddly, there was no return address. No postmark. The handwriting of his name and address looked ordinary enough, however. Taking one last look left and right to see if he could see who had left it, he took the mysterious package inside and closed the door against the cold.
The package, by strange contrast, was warm. It was making his palms tingle, as though thousands of miniscule, electrified worms were eating their way out of the package and into his skin. It’s a bomb, he thought, only ninety-seven percent seriously. A bomb left by that creepy old pastor. Well, if it is, I’ll come back and haunt the fuck out of him.
He could have opened it right there but instead took it up the stairs into his room, closing the door after him. Usually, this is what he would do if his parents were home and he wanted to be alone (which was most of the time). Something about this package was telling him that it was not just specifically but uniquely for him, and where better to view its contents than that most sacred of realms – his bedroom.
Standing in the center of the room amid the debris of corn snacks, car mags, and yesterday’s clothes, Daniel allowed himself a long moment to wonder just who could have sent him this thing. It was nowhere near his birthday. His relatives were not about to send him a gift without a reason. Could it be Daelin? Nope - wasn’t her style. She had the role of gift-getter down pat, and Daniel could see no reason why that would have changed.
For a long moment he stared at the package. Feeling a chill, he quickly pulled on a tee shirt and jeans. He took a deep breath. Ok – I’m going for it.
The brown paper tore easily. The parcel wasn’t crumpled at all – in fact, it barely seemed that it had even been handled. Still there was that strange warmth, that weird prickling...
Finally, the last shred of paper fell to the floor. What Daniel Dark held in his hands immediately induced strange sensations. Wonder. Confusion. Dread. It was a glass sphere, like a crystal ball. Black-red in color. Upon its surface was an embossed symbol, a kind of a trident.
For glass, it was remarkably warm. It was then he realized that the orb was not made of red glass; the redness was coming from what it encased within. His hands were tingling even more than before. There was a hissing sound…
The heat from his hands was eating into the material of the sphere. Daniel watched, open mouthed, as the outlines of each of his hands sunk slowly into the glass as though melting their way through it. An electrified glow traced his fingers as the orb continued to distort, until…
Detonation.
Upcoming books:
‘Blood Family’ – Seventeen-year-old Daniel Dark has a pretty random life – until he gets a message from his true father, a vampire.
‘The Ones’ – Psychic powers within a small group of fifteen-year-olds in a quiet American harbour town leads to a summer of self-discovery…and a life on the run.
‘Solomon Grimm and the Well of Souls’ concerns a cursed British teen as he enters the dark and dangerous realm of the Celtic Otherworld in search of a cure to his undead condition.
‘The Powers’ follows 18-year-old Gunner Robinson after his life is turned upside-down by the revelation that he originally came to earth as a Protector – a powerful warrior angel.
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FROM ELSEWHERE
Ghosts? Angels? Aliens? This collection of short tales concerns entities which could be any of these. Could they really exist? Or are they only part of our imagination?
About the stories… “Them”. Captured. Studied. Humiliated. A story of alien abduction from the victim's point of view. “The Long View” concerns one woman’s reflections on the life she has left behind. But is all as it seems? “The Hearing” explores what happens when a guardian angel is put on trial. “Forbidden” is a story about the most illicit of love affairs – the secret passion between an angel and a demon. “The Foundling”. Who or what exactly has appeared on the doorstep an old woman’s cottage in Ireland? Abandoned child, or something else? From Elsewhere also features “Grey Eyes In Silver”, where a discarded mirror brings more than just everyday reflections. |
Here’s my review of his book:
Blood Family: Quest for the Vampire Key is an awesome, awesome, awesome book. Did I say awesome? I read a lot and believe me, I’ve not read anything like this since I read Anne Rice novels back in the 90’s. I originally read just the sample of this story on the Author’s website. I was so intrigued that I bugged and bugged him for the full novel. It far exceeded my expectations and I had already had high hopes for it after the sample.
Young Daniel finds out from his family that he is a Dhampir and the blood package he received in the mail further confirmed what he feared. He was adopted from his ‘mom’s’ sister, Celeste and his father was Dominus, Lord of the Shadow World. Daniel leaves his home and everyone he knows in search of his biological mother. After visiting Xochil, a shaman, he learns much of what he’s going to need to know to battle to keep himself from succumbing to his fathers’ twisted world. He meets a young paranormal investigator whose father was killed by Dominus and takes her along on his journey reluctantly. Read the story to follow his journey. Will he find his mother? Will he keep himself from the snares of his father? There’s so much to this story that it will keep you guessing.
The Author, Mark Knight, takes you on a twisting and turning journey with his main character. Just when you think you have things figured out and how much more could possibly happen, he adds another aspect to the story that sucks you in. He’s created a world where you really feel like you are going through this journey with Daniel yourself and envelopes you in a world of insane, cunning and manipulative characters. He is an excellent storyteller and paints the picture so well for you that you can actually see it in your mind. His attention to detail and creativity is leaps and bounds beyond anything I’ve ever read. The story is simply creative, well thought out and just crazy good! It is a must read for anyone who loves paranormal, mind blowing, dark fantasy. I just can’t say enough to give this book its proper justice. If this were a movie, which it would be awesome if taken on, it would break all the blockbuster records out there and win all the Oscars if the right people were cast. On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest, it is a 100! If there was a grade above an A+, it would be used for this book! You will not be disappointed with this book. It was worth every minute I spent reading it and I’m already looking forward to a sequel. “Behind every door, and down every alleyway, we will be watching.”
Links:
@markknightbooks (Twitter)
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/markknightbooks
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6863436.Mark_Knight
http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B00AM4P2Y8
http://www.amazon.com/Mark-Knight/e/B00AM4P2Y8
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6863436.Mark_Knight
http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B00AM4P2Y8
http://www.amazon.com/Mark-Knight/e/B00AM4P2Y8
Please thank Mark for joining us today! His book is one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time and I am a book reviewer in my spare time so I read a lot! Please check out Blood Family: Quest for the Vampire Key. I promise, you will not be disappointed! I’ll give you a free copy of my The Vampire Queen if you can prove you bought the book and then can honestly say you don’t like his book. That’s how confident I am you will like the book if dark paranormal is your thing. Check out his websites and buy his book.
Keep Writing!
Jodie Pierce
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