Mark Edwards writes psychological thrillers about scary things happening to ordinary people. He has sold more than three million copies of his books and topped the bestseller lists numerous times since his first solo novel was published in 2013.
His novels include The Magpies, Because She Loves Me, Follow You Home, The Devil’s Work, The Lucky Ones, The Retreat, In Her Shadow, Here To Stay, The House Guest, The Hollows, No Place To Run and Keep Her Secret. He has also published two short sequels to The Magpies, A Murder of Magpies and Last of The Magpies, and six books co-authored with Louise Voss.
Many of his books have been translated into foreign languages including French, German, Italian, Spanish, Estonian, Thai, Lithuanian, Czech, Hungarian, Turkish and Russian. In 2019 Mark won The Cat and Mouse Award for Most Elusive Villain at the Dead Good Reader Awards for Last of the Magpies.
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Mark has set out a guide to help new readers find their next favourite page turner.
Mark loves hearing from his readers and encourages them to contact him. He regularly interacts with readers on his Facebook page, where he hosts book release launch parties and lots of giveaways. You can also follow Mark on Twitter or take a peek at his pics on Instagram. Mark lives in the West Midlands, England, with his wife, their three children, two cats and a golden retriever.
Connect with Mark
Working hard at the kitchen table on what will eventually be my 22nd published novel. Today I’m planning an imaginary dinner party for my characters to attend and trying to figure out the menu is making my stomach rumble…
Question: do you enjoy reading about food? If characters are ...sitting down to a meal, do you want to know what they’re eating? Or are you only interested in what else is happening at the table: the conversation, the relationships, etc?
It’s #worldbookday and this is a simple post: six novels that I love. I would say I wish I’d written them but then I wouldn’t have had the pleasure of reading them. I once saw a quote from an author that went something like, ‘I’m a writer but I’m a reader first.” I think of myself ...like that. I write because I want to make people feel the way I do when I lose myself in a book.
The six:
Alex Garland, The Beach - this is a first edition and it has some kind of dirt on the spine that I can’t get off but what a book!
Natsuo Kirino, Out - magnificently dark Japanese crime thriller
Emily St John Mandel, Station Eleven - I have a quote on the UK paperback of this dystopian masterpiece
Mark Z Danielewski, The House of Leaves - best horror novel ever
Stephen King, Misery - not horror but his best work
Donna Tartt, The Secret History - I own five copies, two of them signed, one in DT’s presence. She shook my hand and I had a wobbly fanboy moment.
Have you read any of these? And what are you reading this World Book Day?
Event announcement! I'm appearing in Birmingham on April 20th as part of the brand new Heath Bookshop Literature & Music Festival. I'll be on a panel alongside Jo Callaghan, Rachel McLean and Barbara Copperthwaite. It's a few days after the release of The Darkest Water so all be ...signing books, giving away pens, etc. Tickets here https://the-heath-bookshop.eventcube.io/events/56765/crime-writers-panel/
Also, take a look at the rest of the line up. There are some fantastic authors and artists appearing. The full program is here: https://the-heath-bookshop.eventcube.io/events/56765/crime-writers-panel/
I'm not sure what other events I'll be doing this year. I know I'll be in Shoreham in October, and I am trying to rearrange the Bath event with Claire Douglas. Watch this space for details.
Do I have any aspiring or emerging authors following me? This May, for the first time ever, I’m going to be running an online course for writers. It runs every Wednesday evening in May and there are only 15 places available - so you’ll want to snap this up! Here are the details:
...EVERYTHING BUT THE BOOK
There are many courses that will tell you how to write a novel.
This one will help you understand everything else you’ll need to know, whether you want to be traditionally published or try self-publishing, and will show you how to lay the groundwork for success from day one.
Across 5 live Zoom sessions, established and successful author Mark Edwards will share his wealth of experience and help you learn how to find an audience for your work, avoiding all the most common mistakes.
This course will focus on:
• Starting your author journey: commercial vs literary fiction, defining success and laying the groundwork for it, creating the time and space to write, networking, writer and reader communities.
• Traditional publishing: finding an agent, querying, how publishing works, advances and royalties.
• Self-publishing: the entrepreneurial mindset, being professional, paid advertising, case studies of success.
• Marketing and PR: building a relationship with readers, social media, websites and newsletters, building a brand, measuring success.
• The hard stuff: dealing with rejection, bad reviews, staying motivated, not giving up.
More details here. As I said above, there are only 15 places available. If you’re a writer, this is a rare chance to pick the brains of someone who’s been there, done that and is still doing it. Link in bio or go to Writing West Midlands dot org and click Events and courses - Short courses
Do I have any aspiring or emerging authors following me? This May, for the first time ever, I'm going to be running an online course for writers. It runs every Wednesday evening in May and there are only 15 places available - so you'll want to snap this up! Here are the details:
...EVERYTHING BUT THE BOOK
There are many courses that will tell you how to write a novel.
This one will help you understand everything else you’ll need to know, whether you want to be traditionally published or try self-publishing, and will show you how to lay the groundwork for success from day one.
Across 5 live Zoom sessions, established and successful author Mark Edwards will share his wealth of experience and help you learn how to find an audience for your work, avoiding all the most common mistakes.
This course will focus on:
• Starting your author journey: commercial vs literary fiction, defining success and laying the groundwork for it, creating the time and space to write, networking, writer and reader communities.
• Traditional publishing: finding an agent, querying, how publishing works, advances and royalties.
• Self-publishing: the entrepreneurial mindset, being professional, paid advertising, case studies of success.
• Marketing and PR: building a relationship with readers, social media, websites and newsletters, building a brand, measuring success.
• The hard stuff: dealing with rejection, bad reviews, staying motivated, not giving up.
More details here. As I said above, there are only 15 places available. If you're a writer, this is a rare chance to pick the brains of someone who's been there, done that and is still doing it. https://writingwestmidlands.org/events/online-5-week-course-everything-but-the-book-may-2024/
I absolutely love the Danish edition of Keep Her Secret. This is almost exactly how I pictured Helena’s cliff top house in Sussex, with seagulls wheeling above and the sky dark and ominous. It’s my first book to be published in Denmark so something to celebrate!
I’m giving away a signed copy of The Darkest Water over on Instagram. To enter, simply follow my Instagram account (@markedwardsauthor) and like the post. For an extra entry, share it as an Instagram story.
I’ll be running a separate Facebook comp soon so if you’re not on Insta ...don’t fret!
Peggy says there have been too many dogs on my timeline this week and I have to agree. Here I am, on the eve of starting a new book, which will be my 22nd published novel, and I think this one will need to have a Maine Coon in it. It’s all been plotted, I’m very excited about it, and now I just... have to get 90,000 words down…
Join me for a discussion of The Lucky Ones
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