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Author Interview: Mark Arbour

Renee Stevens

Entry posted by Renee Stevens in Author Interviews

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Our featured story for the September Signature Background is "9.11" by Mark Arbour. As I'm sure many can imagine, writing about the events of September 11, 2001 couldn't have been easy. Not only do we get to learn a little about Mark Arbour in today's interview by Cia, but we also get to hear from him on what it was like to actually write about the events of 9.11.

Interview: Mark Arbour on "

9.11"

 

Personal:

 

Single people work more. Are you single?

 

I would like to see your empirical evidence to support that statement, which is my way of saying that’s bullshit: single people do not work more. And no, I’m not single.

 

Chocolate or Vanilla?

 

I like chocolate, but really light chocolate. There’s an ice cream shop near my house that makes awesome chocolate shakes: I have them use about a third the chocolate syrup they normally use.

 

What brought you to the site?

 

Dom Luka. I fell in love with his writing, and when he made the migration to
GA
, I went with him. I came over at about the same time as Sharon and Vic. I miss Vic.

 

Writing in General:

 

Do your characters try to make like bunnies and create ever more convoluted plots for you? Or do you have to coax them out of your characters?

 

My characters write the stories for me. It’s like I put them in a place, give them a premise, and then turn them loose. They do the rest.

 

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

 

I can’t answer that question by naming one person, because this whole writing thing has been an evolution. The writer who originally inspired me was John Walsh, who wrote "Fraternity Memoirs". I loved his story, and how vivid his characters were. The author who encouraged me the most (and still does) is Adam Phillips. I love his mind. Then there’s Dom Luka: his writing is not only awesome, it’s also a challenge, to see if I can even get close to building stories like he does.

 

Name one entity that you feel most supported you in your writing endeavors.

 

That’s easy: my team. If they quit, I’d probably stop writing.

 

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

 

When I first published "Chronicles of an Academic Predator" here on
GA
, it started to get some real traction with lots of ‘views,’ and that made me think I could actually do this, that I could write. But I didn’t really think of myself as an author until I got promoted to Promising status. After that, I felt like I was part of the
GA
writer’s guild (there isn’t one, but there should be).

 

Story Specific:

 

Tackling the 9-11 attacks is a pretty big challenge. How did you approach it?

 

After I finished "Millennium", which ended at the beginning of 2000, I could just feel this event looming. To be honest, I took awhile (2 stories) before I got there, and I was probably avoiding it. But it was such a pivotal point in our history, that I knew I had to deal with it, and I was determined to try to do it justice.

 

How did you do that?

 

Two things: research and story structure. I read three books on 9-11, including one on the architecture of the twin towers, in addition to countless web pages. I found that Wikipedia was a very reliable source, but I could only come to that conclusion after looking at a bunch of other stuff too. The other part was how I set up the story. The first part shows the characters blithely going along, doing what they do, mostly getting into petty arguments with each other, or screwing up their relationships. The attacks are next, and there really isn’t a character that isn’t devastated by them. The latter part shows them dealing with the aftermath, and the grief. I drew on my own experiences, where those attacks changed things for me, and changed how I looked at things. The little bullshit just didn’t matter as much after watching those towers collapse.

 

Writing a story like this must be emotionally draining. Is this the toughest one you’ve written?

 

It’s very draining. There were times when I’d write a chapter and find myself wiping tears out of my eyes as I did. As for the toughest story, I think it’s a toss-up between this one and "1968". "1968" was pretty dark, and while this story certainly isn’t a happy tale, it has some bright points you can hang your psyche on.

 

You’ve written one story since you finished 9.11, and you’re working on another one. What are your future plans for the CAP series?

 

The story after "9.11", "Flux", was largely about the characters recovering from the attacks and trying to move forward with their lives. The current story, "Streak", is focused on two of the characters that are closeted athletes: one is a football player; the other is a figure skater. I think that "Streak" could be considered a continuation of "Flux", but the story after this will be different. I’ve got some ideas, and some new characters to bring into the mix with that one.
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Andy78

If wonder if Mark ever had any idea just how big CAP would be here at GA back when writing the first book.

 

It's a true testament that he is still writing about the same world all these years later, and by the sounds of things there is no end in sight for the series.

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Cole Matthews

I was taken back to that day, and the days that followed, by your story account of the events. Very powerful and respectfully done. :)

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Mark Arbour

If wonder if Mark ever had any idea just how big CAP would be here at GA back when writing the first book.

 

It's a true testament that he is still writing about the same world all these years later, and by the sounds of things there is no end in sight for the series.

 

I did not.  You think I was surprised...talk to Sharon.  She's still recovering from the years of editing.  :-)

 

I'm still amazed and impressed at the size and scope of the series. Boggles the mind, I say! :blink:

 

Thanks.  It has been a labor of love. 

 

I was taken back to that day, and the days that followed, by your story account of the events. Very powerful and respectfully done. :)

 

Thanks!

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Westie

If wonder if Mark ever had any idea just how big CAP would be here at GA back when writing the first book.

 

It's a true testament that he is still writing about the same world all these years later, and by the sounds of things there is no end in sight for the series.

 

I actually wonder the other way around, how big GA has become because of fans being drawn here by Mark's stories.  For instance, I was a member of Mark's yahoo group, which lead me to GA.  Paya was the same.  If that straw poll of the people who happen to live in my house is accurate, then it would indicate that there are a few members here who were drawn in by Mr Arbour - even if they are these days participating fully in other aspects of the site.

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sat8997

Just goes to show you should never, ever open any email that says "Hey I need a favor".

 

He still amazes me.

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