Author Spotlight on Mark Rosendorf


I’m most pleased to welcome the talented author, Mark Rosendorf back to The Hook.  Mark, tell us a little about your latest novel - STATUS QUO.

Status Quo revolves around Alex Copeland, a twenty-five-year-old rookie school teacher who is offered the opportunity of a lifetime—to join a small civilian crew and travel to outer space to investigate a mysterious wormhole presumed to have been created by an alien species. Alex is convinced that they are being sent as ambassadors of Earth in establishing first contact. Alex is immediately suspicious. 
Meeting the crew only adds to his suspicions. Sara Maxwell, the daughter of the astronomer who made the discovery, has spent the last seven years in a mental institution. The ship’s pilot is a teenage boy whose only flight experience is on a simulator. The ship’s doctor is a novice who wants nothing to do with the mission. There’s also a convicted murderer and a troubled teenage girl on the brink of suicide on board.  
Absolutely no one chosen for this mission has any sort of astronaut training or experience. And worst of all, the project director’s agenda appears to be making sure that the ship and all aboard never return to Earth. This ragtag crew has to find a way to work together and figure out the true mission before it’s too late. Trapped in a foreign galaxy on a damaged ship and with both human and alien threats around, the odds are not in their favor. 


Wow! This sounds so good! Mark, remind our readers about your previous published works…

Happily. In 2009, The Rasner Effect, a psychological suspense/thriller was published through L&L Dreamspell. This was followed by two sequels, Without Hesitation: The Rasner Effect part 2 and Rasner’s Revenge which wrapped up the Rasner series. This series revolves around Rick Rasner, a psychotic killer and part of the mercenary group, The Duke Organization. He is captured by the government and used for an experiment where a chip is put inside his head to suppress his emotions. Hypnosis is used to remove his memories. Can he change his nature, especially when placed in a residential facility as a therapist for angry and troubled teens? Also, what happens when The Duke Organization finds him? That’s just the beginning of the story…then the twists and turns come out. Along with The Rasner series, I also had a story featured in the anthology, Cat in a Dreamspell.

Where can we purchase this new book and any of your other titles?

Status Quo can be purchased through any online bookstore such as Amazon or directly through the publisher. However, if you’d like a personally signed copy, you can get one directly through me. All of these options are available on my website, www.markrosendorf.com for Status Quo as well as my previous works.

Which author/authors have been the most inspiring to you as a writer?

It’s not as much authors that inspire me as specific works. HG Wells’ The Time Machine was one of the first books I read and enjoyed. Stephen Baxter’s Time Ships had small chapters, each one ending with suspense. I enjoyed that style. Stephen King’s addictive writing always attracted me, as did The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams. I’m sure there is a piece of all of these in each of my novels.

These are the writers that have influenced and inspired how I write. Perhaps someday a writer will list Mark Rosendorf as one of their inspirations. That would be a dream come true.
  
Regarding writing, what one piece of advice do you consider most valuable?

Be ready for the long haul. Be ready to deal with the frustration of rejection.  Success comes through persistence and once it does, it’s worth all the time and effort.

Great advice! What is your favorite quote (any topic)?

“If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bulls**t.” That quote has helped me out of a few situations in my past.
  
You’re on a desert Island, which 3 books (other than your own) would you have with you to read and re-read until you hopefully get rescued?

In this case, rather than entertaining myself, I’d rather go practical. I’d want a deserted island survival guide, a book on survival foods (what you can eat and what you shouldn’t) and a tutorial on how to build a boat out of tree bark. All of these types of books do exist and are available on amazon, I checked.

 How can we find you? 

You can check out my website, www.markrosendorf.com or google Mark Rosendorf.
I thank you for the interview and I thank your readers for the opportunity. 
Thank you for being here, Mark and best of luck to you with STATUS QUO! 

2 comments:

  1. Good interview, Mark. I have the book in my TBR basket right now. I've read all of your books and notice that mental illness seems to run through all of them ...uh ... not yours, one of the characters. LOL! Any comments on that?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We write what we know, Susan. :-) As a real life counselor, I find mental illness, when presented in a true to life way, makes for interesting characters. However, in Status Quo, it may not be what it seems. :-)

      Delete