Rising Stars: Meet Mark Love

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark Love

Hi Mark, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I have always been intrigued by well written stories. As a kid, I became a voracious reader and was often caught up in a book. In my teens I would try writing stories, but they just never seemed to come together. If they were predictable, I would quickly lose interest.

Flash forward a decade or so. I took a creative writing class at Schoolcraft College in Livonia, MI. Guidance from the instructor was helpful but what really impacted me was the feedback from my fellow students. Just hearing those words of encouragement and reactions gave me the sense that I could craft a good story. I was even fortunate enough to get a few short stories published.

Full time work and raising a family left me little free time to write. Ideas for stories kept coming. Eventually my situation changed. There was time to write. I dusted off some old tales. Bringing those up to date was work, but my writing skills had improved greatly in the interim.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There will always be bumps along the road. Early short stories and novels got rejected. I learned from an old friend that one publisher’s rejection could easily be another one’s treasure. So I kept going. Some publishers were slow to respond and weeks and months would drag by before any response came. I kept going. While one story or query was out, I got busy working on the next one.

Research is a large part of any author’s day. I created a list of publishers, for both books and magazines, that would be a good fit for my work. It took some time and effort, but eventually I was able to establish strong working relationships with two book publishers.

One thing that helped sharpen my writing and observation skills was working as a freelance reporter for two large newspapers in the Detroit area. It was extremely helpful and great practical experience. I learned about editing, trimming the unnecessary excess to get right to the heart of the article. Interviewing subjects for articles also gave me insight as to how people talk, which is important in dialogue.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I write mysteries that take place in Michigan, primarily the metropolitan Detroit area. This region easily becomes a character in any story.

I write two different series. There are 5 books (so far) in the Jamie Richmond series. These are mysteries with a touch of romance. My last name really is Love. One of my early editors told me readers would be expecting some passion in my stories, so that’s become a requirement. The background for Jamie’s character is that she was an investigative reporter for a decade. She became very good at getting to the bottom of the story. She’s an amateur sleuth. While doing research for the mysteries she writes, Jamie will discover actual crimes. She uses her skills, talents and contacts to figure it out.

There are 3 books to date in the Jefferson Chene series. Chene is the sergeant in charge of a squad of detectives working for the Michigan State Police. These are police procedural stories. They handle major crime investigations in the metropolitan Detroit area.

Both stories are told from the first person point of view.

This year I published a new standalone novel “Rules of Desperation”. This is my first attempt at self-publishing and the first story written from the third person perspective.

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing up I was shy and quiet. I’m the middle child, with an older brother and sister and a younger brother and sister. I was a bookworm. Whenever chores were done, I’d dive into a book and get lost in the story. I got hooked on mysteries.

In my teens, I discovered the Travis McGee series, written by John D. MacDonald. McGee wasn’t a cop, but he was good at helping people who had been wronged. Then I stumbled upon Elmore Leonard’s crime novels and was immediately hooked. Great stories, with an excellent way of drawing the reader in. Leonard was a master of writing dialogue.

I was an average student who mostly hung out in the background. But I was always observing others, watching how they interacted in different situations. That helped years later with creating characters.

I’m a fan of music. No matter where I’m working, there must be music playing. Everything from classical to rock, to blues, to jazz and more. Music is essential to life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://motownmysteries.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/motownmysteries
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarkLoveAuthor
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/motownmysteries
• Other: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B009P7HVZQ