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Author Mark Cantrell  has been told his writing demonstrates a certain dry humor, a cynical wit, and a tendency towards the darker view of life. While he is at ease with all that, he also feels his work embodies  an underlying optimism, a qualified celebration of the human spirit and its strengths, but a refusal to separate them out neatly into good and bad. “Life is never that neat and I try to reflect that in my fiction.”

Mark’s work covers a wide swath, from straight journalism to commentary. He says the tone changes depending on what he’s writing about. Depending on what is called for, he may adopt a conversational style, tongue-in-cheek humor, or the strident tones of an angry young man. Continue reading “Meet the Author: Mark Cantrell”

Gerry McCullough, author of Belfast Girls and Danger Danger believes  the most important thing in good prose writing is clarity. She credits a quote from George Orwell for reminding her that good prose is like a window pane. She says, “I strongly dislike writing which is complicated, pretentious, and hard to follow. I’ve tried in my own writing to keep it simple and clear, without ending up sounding like someone addressing a child. At the same time, I believe there’s room in a novel for more than straightforward, clear prose. The lyrical descriptive effects of poetry can add to the atmosphere; and I’ve often introduced poetic images and words in my descriptions. I think the mixture works well. The clarity moves the action along at a good pace, while the occasional poetic description draws the reader into the atmosphere of the book and the characters.” Continue reading “Meet the Author: Gerry McCullough”