The Author Spotlight Series shines a light on writers creating heartfelt and original work across genres, giving them an opportunity to talk about their books and why they do what they do.
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“The son of two librarians, Mark Stevens was raised in Lincoln, Massachusetts, and has worked as a reporter, as a national television news producer and in public relations. On January 1, 2023, he released THE FIREBALLER, a poignant story about hopes, dreams, and how far one man’s talents takes him before he realizes it’s about what you do — and how you do it. His mystery novel Antler Dust was a Denver Post bestseller 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 the Colorado Book Award in 2016 and also received the best genre fiction award from Colorado Authors League. Stevens has had short stories published by Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Mystery Tribune, and in Denver Noir (Akashic Books, 2022). In September 2016, Stevens was named Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ Writer of the Year, and again in 2023. Stevens hosts a regular podcast for Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and has served as president of the Rocky Mountain chapter for Mystery Writers of America. Stevens is also an avid reader and regularly shares his reviews. Today, Stevens lives in Mancos, Colorado.”
When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
I think there are two answers to that question. I always enjoyed reading and I know in high school and college I took a few stabs at writing short stories. And then coming out of college I tried writing full-length novels. But about a decade after college I decided for the first time to really take writing seriously and to study it and bear down. It took me another 23 years to get published. I guess I’m a slow learner. But I never wavered off the plan to keep getting better.
Do you remember the first thing you ever wrote?
No, I really don’t.
How did you develop your skills?
Practice. I learned to listen to feedback. I learned to listen to feedback and keep my emotions out of the equation. There was nothing systematic about it. It was about getting better in all aspects of storytelling. In short, I think, it was about upping my own standards for what makes for a successful sentence, paragraph, scene, chapter, character, action sequence—everything. This remains ongoing work. What can I do better?
Who are some of your biggest literary influences? Do you have a favourite book/author?
It’s always a great question, but for me I can’t say that the books I read are a direct influence on my writing style or writing voice. I think that might be for others to say. I started writing crime fiction and my big influences there were James M. Cain, Elmore Leonard, and Patricia Highsmith. Highsmith, in particular, is gripping and powerful. Many know The Talented Mr. Ripley or Strangers on A Train but she’s got dozens of novels and many short stories and her catalog is rich. She has a way of getting inside her character’s heads like nobody else. And she makes it look easy. Check out a book called A Suspension of Mercy (also published as The Storyteller). But I also love writers like Colum McCann, Willy Vlautin, William Kent Krueger, Christine Carbo, Ausma Zehanat Khan, Don Winslow, James McBride, James Sallis, S.A. Cosby, Don DeLillo, Stewart O’Nan, David Mitchell, Barbara Nickless, Francine Prose, George Saunders, John Updike, Eli Cranor, and many others.
How would you describe your work?
My five mysteries in The Allison Coil Mystery Series are much in the vein of outdoor mysteries like Nevada Barr, Craig Johnson, and Christine Carbo. Lots of wilderness and rugged settings. The whole series takes place in the Flat Tops Wilderness in northwestern Colorado and features a female hunting guide. My latest novel, The Fireballer, is more straight-ahead, character-based fiction.
What’s your writing process like?
Early. And daily. I like to write from 5 a.m. to 6 a.m. every day. On the weekends, I might go for 90 minutes. I aim for 400 to 500 words a day but I don’t beat myself up if it’s less than that or I’m just spending time figuring out what’s going to happen. The key, to me, is daily progress.
Tell us about your most recent book.
The Fireballer is about a rookie pitcher for The Baltimore Orioles who is ruining the game of baseball. He throws a baseball at 110 miles per hour and, at that speed, there is no time left for a batter to swing. Frank Ryder is the talk of the sports world and creating a major crisis for the sport. But he’s also carrying a heavy heart. Something happened when he was 12 years old, when he was pitching a Little League game in suburban Atlanta. And Frank Ryder has a long way to go to reconcile his life—and his fame—with that tragic day.
What are you working on now/next?
I’ve finished a novel set in the world of rock and roll. My agent has that out on submission. (And he’s also got a couple of completed crime fiction novels, too.)
Where can we find you online?
My website is writermarkstevens.com. I’m on X (Twitter) @writerstevens and Instagram @mark54stevens and Tik Tok: @mark54stevens