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Interview with Marc Douglas ~ Author of Slingshot series
Hi Folks. Today I am chatting with Marc Douglas, author of the Slingshot Series. Marc, great to have you here today. Tell our readers what inspires you to get out of bed each day.
My wife and family. Without them, life would be in black and white. With them, its Kodachrome.
I’ve always found reading and writing to be intensely satisfying exercises. For me, there is a magical feel to books. Walk among stacks of books in a library or book store and there is an energy to be found reaching out to you. People long gone, sometimes hundreds of years ago, took time to put ink on paper. Made characters, formed words into sentences and somehow, these mundane, black shapes on plain paper allow you to travel through time and space as though the author was sitting by you sipping a cup of coffee. How is that possible?
If you could hang out with one famous person for one day, who would it be and why?
Mahatma Ghandi. What he achieved in his life was amazing. Yet, perhaps it was more how he achieved his accomplishments that was more significant.
What’s the story behind your latest book?
The next book to be published is “Right of Way”, the third book in the Slingshot Series. 2001 was a tough year for me personally, and a game changer for the world. Life has never been the same since September Eleventh. At the same time the world economy was in chaos, we began to understand a new term (global warming), and terrorists became an every day concern. It was under these circumstances that “Slingshot” was created.
What are you working on next?
I have several books processing in different stages. Over the years, I have found that by having several stories to work on at the same time, allows me to step away, work on the next novel, and when I eventually get back to the first novel…I can better see the forest for the trees. Specifically I have a Dumas inspired update on the “Count of Monte Cristo”, a sequel to “Blind Sight” (“Blind Rage”), books four and five of the Slingshot Series, and lastly, a book called “Blind Sided”. “Blind Sided” is not a sequel to either “Blind Sight” or “Blind Rage”. I am thinking about the plot for another “Sling” novel.
Do you have any special/extraordinary talents?
I don’t think that I’ve any one extraordinary gift, but I have been blessed with an excessive creativity penchant, and the ability to think on my feet. Somehow, I am able to see complex situations and come up with simple solutions. Pressure seems to make time slow down for me. So no, I am really not extraordinary.
The manner in which I put novels together has grown over the years. The first time I heard a studio perform “Slingshot” and “Soon” I was mesmerized by hearing my words spoken by others. I found it profoundly productive, and since then I have made a standard practice of converting the written word into audio. I attempt to maintain rhythm and flow in my manuscripts, and listening as well as reading provides unique insight into that most important area.
Who are your favorite authors?
There are too many to list but here are a few: Koontz, Dumas, Raphael Sabatini, Jane Austin, David Baldacci, Lee Child, Harlan Coben, Suzanne Collins, Charles Dickens, Hawthorne, Michael Connelly, Bernard Cornwell, Blake Crouch, Emily Dickinson, CS Forester, Zane Grey, Griff Hosker, Victor Hugo, Thomas Mann, Michael Palmer, Veronica Roth, Shakespeare, Robert Louis Stevenson, Bram Stoker, Jules Verne, Paul Wilson….hmmm….I think I got carried away.
What do you like to do with your free time?
Be with my family, write, exercise and play handball.
Where can people find you on the web?
Asjpublishing.com, Amazon.com, GooglePlay, Douglasnovels.com and on Facebook at Marc Douglas Books or Blindsight.
Any final thoughts?
I would love to see any of my stories done in a movie. My style of writing is much like a screen play, and the story lines would play out nicely on the big screen. Writing has been important in my every day life, and I look forward to many more novels to be published. I look at authors like Dean Koontz, and am amazed at their productivity. Slingshot has taken fourteen years to lay down the first three books, and I am still going. My thrillers have taken about three years to print, others have been longer, but in every case it is a labor of love.
Thanks to the many readers that have responded so nicely to my stories. While I write for the satisfaction of the process, having positive feedback is always nice. Perhaps surprisingly, whatever constructive criticism has come my way has also been really enjoyable. Constructive criticism is the only way a writer can improve. So, thanks to any of you who have been interested in my stories.
Goodreads Contest Winners – Blindsight
Thank you to everyone who entered the contest on Goodreads for the giveaway of Blind Sight by Marc Douglas.
With 686 entries, 6 people were selected.
Winners are:
Celeste G from Allentown PA
Kathryn R from Surrey UK
Laura M from Ontario Canada
Chelle R from Essex UK
Tareha T from Quebec Canada
Susan R from San Antonio Tx
Congratulations everyone. Copies will be out to you shortly.
Goodreads Giveaway – Blind Sight
Goodreads Giveaway – Blind Sight by Marc Douglas.
6 people will each win a copy.
Goodreads Book Giveaway
