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Mark Beyer

Mark Beyer

About

I enjoy books that take me into the lives of characters whom I might want to have been, or never in my dreams want to walk in their shoes. These are the kinds of stories I write, as well. Story to me is all about the characters, and I want to read authors who take care to bring their characters alive; I fire any book that cannot do this within 10 pages. Sorry, not worth my time!

Hello, my name is Mark Beyer. I write novels. Good ones.

Readers shall discover that my stories track the nuances of experience. People interested in reading strong fiction will quickly notice a common purpose among its writers: we work to understand the character of men and women in contemporary society. My first novel, THE VILLAGE WIT (2010), and the follow-up, WHAT BEAUTY (2012), explore the nexus between art and life, relationships and betrayal, work and diversion. Whether you think a little or a lot about these pairs, they play through portions of our lives on a scale that surpasses the otherwise banal moments we might often ascribe to “life”.

My motto is “read, live, write.”

I once lived in middle-America, in Chicago. Now I reside in Europe. It’s a pleasant continent.

My walls are adorned with two writing awards—for short story writing (Columbia University Scholastic Competition, 1998) and news features (Florida Association of News Publications, 2004). Today, as the top-selling author for Siren & Muse Publishing, I'm drawing attention to small-press publishers, where people work to make strong literature not merely survive, but thrive.

I'm writing a new novel about the lives of Max and Greta, married 40 years and wondering what's it all been worth; meanwhile I continue to blog at http://www.bibliogrind.com about books, writing, and social media.My first novel, THE VILLAGE WIT, is the story of Richard Bentley, an American who owns a bookstore in the English Cotswolds, a hilly, picturesque land NW of London. Bentley is escaping his past failures with women, most recently his wife of 13 years, and hiding from his memories, which find him, most nights. When he hires a local townswoman, Peggy White, neither thinks anything much of the other. But then they see one another in a different light, and things start to happen.

In my newest novel, WHAT BEAUTY, the narrator, Minus Orth, is a sculptor living in NYC, who crosses paths with a bag lady whom he recognizes from the past. He doesn't know her, but he's read her famous books on art criticism and American society. He develops a tenuous relationship with her, while, at the same time, he is searching for a new project; something he has never thought about before, a project that could change his life. As these two stories converge, the question about identity, art, and ego play more roles than either of them could imagine.

Feel free to contact me about reading and writing. I enjoy corresponding with new people and creative minds.

Commitment

Commitment

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Description

<p>It’s hard to be committed to anyone when you don’t know whom to trust.</p><p>Alexis Toles, a former FBI agent turned undercover CIA agent, is quickly finding that out in Nancy Ann Healy’s newest political thriller, <i>Commitment</i>.</p><p>Alex embeds in a secret organization of intelligence operatives known as The Collaborative. Its partners include operatives from the CIA, National Security Agency, FBI, US Department of Defense, and an entanglement of foreign intelligence agencies.</p><p>It’s about half a year after the death of President John Merrow, a friend and someone she respected. But she remains committed to overthrowing The Collaborative as she works with a onetime adversary who believes the organization’s involved in the president’s death.</p><p>Meanwhile Alex; her wife, Cassidy O’Brien; and Cassidy’s son try hard to live as a family but must first overcome personal struggles, including a nasty custody battle with Cassidy’s ex-husband, Congressman Christopher O’Brien. The family has their own share of secrets that, if unleashed, could affect their hopes for the future.</p><p>There’s no place to turn without discovering people who are not who they claim to be. That can’t stop Alex. She must remain committed to the cause, both at home and as she works against The Collaborative.</p>

Story Behind The Book

While living in NYC, I knew several homeless people, all of whom were perfectly normal, even successful people who decided to live outside society. For this book, I wanted to see what a society-based artist would do if his "hero" was found to be living on the streets.

Media Links

The Carl Purdon 10-Questions Interview

🔗 http://carlpurdon.blogspot.cz/2012/06/10-questions-with-mark-beyer.html?showComment=1355162853092#c6082231740890889016

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Reviews

<p style="text-align:center;">“I want to read this book. I must read this book.” <strong>— Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award</strong></p><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><br /></strong></p> <p style="text-align:center;">Minus Orth’s “eccentricities … make him the iconoclast he is intended to be.”<br /><strong>— Publishers Weekly</strong></p><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><br /></strong></p><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><strong>Orth's ambition to succeed in the art world is a Herculean fight in our secular age, and he does battle with adversaries as dangerous in their way as anything Odysseus faced: critics, rivals, and a mentor he's not sure he can trust.<br /><br />Packed with wit, emotion, and memorable characters, What Beauty is a rewarding read for people who are up to the challenge.</strong></strong></p><p style="text-align:center;"><strong>–– Steve Farrell, author of Nothingness<br /></strong></p><p style="text-align:center;"><br /><strong></strong></p><p style="text-align:center;"><strong>For me, the most beautiful parts of the prose were often the simplest. In these passages, Beyer’s connection to his  characters shone through without artifice – pure, clean, honest. This man has a voice that will be heard more and more in the future.</strong></p><p style="text-align:center;"><strong>–– Andrea Flory, Goodreads<br /></strong></p><p style="text-align:center;"><br /><strong></strong></p><p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Mark Beyer's use of descriptive language to create his scenes took me back to the days when I gorged myself on classic literature.</strong></p><p style="text-align:center;"><strong>–– Carl Purdon, author of The Night Train<br /></strong></p>