This Author Spotlight features Mark S. Moore, author of Rise: Birth of a Revolution, and soon-to-be-released Stand: The Cost of War (the second book in the Flynn Chronicles trilogy).
I was lucky enough to interview the busy author, in between his final rereads of Stand and his work on the third book of the trilogy. Clink the link above and join the revolution!
-Where did the inspiration behind the Flynn Chronicles come from?
Every idea comes from somewhere, right? I’d like to say it was from my own imagination but far from it. I was fascinated by The Man in High Castle and this view of alternative historical events. It got me thinking about the American Revolution and what would have happened if the British had won. Ironically, this was also the same time the Hamilton musical came out and the first draft of Rise (known as Ember) was written while listening to that. Halfway through chapter 2 I found alternative historical fiction too confining, so I broke out and thus created Rise as it is today. A bastardization of several genres in its own world.
-What does your writing process look like? Where do you write? What does your writing space look like? Do you write every day?
I always write at a computer, whether that is at home or work. For the last four years I’ve devoted nearly every lunch break at work to writing. At home, I set aside a solid hour or so to write periodically without any set time. The one constant in writing is music. I’m one of those odd writers that actually uses lyrical music while writing. It helps me escape and drop into the world I’m creating.
-What kind of research did you have to do for Rise, and did the research focus differ for Stand?
For Rise, a lot of it was foundational. I have a Master’s in History but that focus was on East Asian history and on an entirely different time period. I found I needed to really dig into political structures and daily hardships of 16th and 17th century life to get the tone I wanted for Rise. In Stand, it was more about refinement. My search history is an absolute mess. What other profession has varied search results like “the life cycle of wheat” and “forequarter amputation”? In both instances research was integral to the books. Of all the hours spent on research 90% of it will never make it into a book to preserve flow (do you really want to know how wheat germinates?) but the 10% that does makes the world feel real.
-Did you know the whole scope of the trilogy from the very beginning, or has it evolved during the writing process?
I have piles of notes of abandoned storylines. Some of them would shock anyone who’s actually read Rise. It’s a constant evolution but the massive structural changes narrow down as I get deeper into it. The direction of Stand proceeds from decisions I made in Rise and the final book in the trilogy will be even more rigidly constructed than Stand. It’s cliché at this point to say, but the driving factor behind that is characters who “write themselves.” Something I may want to happen for the plot may not be possible because of x,y, and z of the character’s personality and history so it gets scrapped. Staying true to the character is very important to me.
-Are you a member of any writer or critique groups? If so, how have they helped you write your novels?
I’m in two main groups, one is a discord server set up for Sci-fi/Fantasy authors and the other isn’t genre specific. Both have been immensely helpful to me over the last few years. It’s incredibly important not just to get feedback from your peers but also seeing them as your peers. Writing groups help with that. They will knock you down when you get a particularly brutal critique and lift you up when another writer compliments your work. Both are important to becoming a better writer.
-Do you have another project in mind after the Flynn trilogy has been completed?
I do! It’s one I’m very excited about because it shifts away from the Flynn trilogy a little bit. I don’t want to reveal too many details yet but I have been hard at work on this new project. It’s something closer to what I would read in high school, high fantasy. It’s also considerably less brutal….so far. My wife has particularly enjoyed that aspect in reading the roughest of drafts.
I'd like to thank Mark for taking the time for this interview and to urge those who haven't to grab their copy of Rise: Birth of a Revolution. It's wonderfully written and highly entertaining—a little bit of escapism for these crazy times. Readers, keep your eyes open for Stand: The Cost of War, the highly anticipated sequel to Rise; its publishing date approaches!
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