with Mark Gilleo
We are delighted to welcome back Mark Gilleo to Omnimystery News, courtesy of The Story Plant, which is coordinating his current book tour. We encourage you to visit all of the participating host sites; you can find his schedule here.
Last month we featured an excerpt from Mark's new suspense thriller Favors and Lies (The Story Plant; July 2014 trade paperback and ebook formats) and today we are following that post up with a few questions about the book.
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Omnimystery News: Introduce us to the lead character of Favors and Lies.
Photo provided courtesy of
Mark Gilleo
Mark Gilleo: Dan Lord is a combination of a lot of people that I have known over the years. He is part private detective and part attorney, who solves problems that cannot be solved through typical channels. There were times when I was writing Favor and Lies when I wondered if I was going too far with Dan Lord's character, but it felt plausible on some many levels that I forged ahead.
A few months after the manuscript was complete, the Washington Post ran an article about a man named Terry Lenzer, who was a private detective and attorney and who was considered "one of the most feared men in Washington." I had never heard of him before reading the article, but Terry Lenzer sounded a lot like Dan Lord, without the latter's penchant for bar room brawls.
OMN: How did the title come about?
MG: Unlike my first two novels, where I knew the title of the book almost from the beginning, Favors and Lies was a title I thought of near the end of the book. I had batted around several possibilities, but then I thought I would simplify it. "Favors" and "lies" are two words that everyone knows and there didn't seem to be a book out there with that title. The added bonus was that the title fit the story of the book perfectly.
OMN: Describe your writing process for us.
MG: I write without an outline. All I need to write is a computer, music through my headphones, and maybe a cup of coffee. The location is irrelevant.
OMN: How true are you to the setting of your books?
MG: Favors and Lies, as well as the majority of my first two novels, is set in the Washington DC area. I was born and raised in this area, as was my mother and my grandfather. Between my mother and my grandfather, who is 93, they know the history behind most neighborhoods in the Beltway region.
When writing, I usually start with an idea for a location, and will either use Google maps, or visit the location in person if the data on Google maps is out of date. If the location doesn't provide what I need for the story, I will choose another location or create one. For example, there is no spy shop in Clarendon, but I placed one there for Favors and Lies. In the past, I have had readers point out inconsistencies between something in one of my novels and in real life. For example, I've had several readers point out that the escalator at one of the metro stops in my book is not as long as I described it (I was aware of this when I wrote the book). I have also had several readers tell me that there are no 14-story buildings in DC because there is a height restriction. (There are height restrictions in DC, but it is not what people think it is. There are several 14-story buildings.)
OMN: What is the best advice you've ever received as a writer?
MG: The best advice I ever received as a writer was "Get to the end."
OMN: What kind of feedback have you received from your readers?
MG: I think feedback is the single thing that keeps writers sane. On average it probably takes a year to finish a novel, (three months if you are Stephen King.) That is a long time to wait to hear if someone else likes your work.
OMN: When selecting a book for yourself to read, what do you look for?
MG: In general, I'm looking for a good story. A good storyteller, for me, doesn't have to be a great writer. I'm sure there are many people who would disagree with that sentiment. A great writer without an interesting story just doesn't do it for me. A great story with average writing may keep my attention. A great story, with great writing, is for the elite — it is something amateurs cannot often accomplish.
OMN: What are you reading now for pleasure?
MG: I typically don't read too much fiction when I am writing, but I have been burning through novels at a good clip recently. In the past, I read virtually everything from Stephen King, Tom Clancy, Patricia Cornwell, John Grisham, Michael Crichton. I recently tried my first Jack Reacher book. I also recently started on my first Daniel Silva book. I have read several books by Michael Connelly and recently started reading him again. His writing style is awesome.
OMN: Create a Top 5 list for us on any topic.
MG: My Top 5 Favorite Authors:
1) John Grisham;
2) Stephen King;
3) David Baldacci;
4) Nelson DeMille; and
5) Patricia Cornwell.
OMN: What's next for you?
MG: I am currently working on a couple of books with completely different subject matter. I initially tried to avoid working on two books at the same time, but I'm now warming up to the idea. It allows me to change gears when I need to, without being idle.
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Mark Gilleo holds a graduate degree in international business from the University of South Carolina and an undergraduate degree in business from George Mason University. He enjoys traveling, hiking and biking. A fourth-generation Washingtonian, he currently resides in the D.C. area. His two most recent novels were recognized as finalist and semifinalist, respectively, in the William Faulkner-Wisdom creative writing competition.
For more information about the author, please visit his website at MarkGilleo.com or find him on Facebook.
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Favors and Lies
Mark Gilleo
A Suspense Thriller
Dan Lord is a forty-year-old private detective with a law degree working the blurred line between right and wrong in the Nation's Capital. As a self-employed solutions broker and legal consultant, he works for a very select clientele. He doesn't advertise and only takes cases on referral. But when two people close to him are murdered, Dan's work becomes very personal.
With the assistance of a newly hired female intern, extracting clues from a ladder of acquaintances, Dan bounds through both the underbelly and elite of society, each step bringing more questions and yet ultimately taking him closer to the answer he seeks. A bail bondsman, a recluse hacker, a court clerk, a university student, an old-school barber, a high-class madam, an intelligence officer, a medical doctor, and a police detective are among the list of people Dan must cajole for help. His quest will lead him to discover things he never wanted to know, and put him in the position to reveal things that important people would prefer remain unrevealed.
