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Paul D. Marks

Goodreads Author

Born

The United States

Website

http://pauldmarks.com/

Twitter

PaulDMarks

Genre

Mystery, Thriller, Crime

Influences

Raymond Chandler, Ross Macdonald, James Ellroy, David Goodis

Member Since

January 2012

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Paul D. Marks is the author of award-winning Mystery-Thrillers about imperfect or flawed people trying to do the right thing in a corrupt and unjust world.
He is the author of the Shamus Award-Winning mystery-thriller White Heat. Publishers Weekly calls White Heat a “taut crime yarn.” Betty Webb of Mystery Scene Magazine calls its sequel Broken Windows “Extraordinary”. Though thrillers and set in the 1990s, both novels deal with issues that are hot and relevant today: racism and immigration, respectively. Marks says “Broken Windows holds up a prism from which we can view the events burning up today’s headlines, like the passionate immigration debate, through the lens of the recent past. It all comes down to the saying we know so well, ‘the m Paul D. Marks is the author of award-winning Mystery-Thrillers about imperfect or flawed people trying to do the right thing in a corrupt and unjust world.
He is the author of the Shamus Award-Winning mystery-thriller White Heat. Publishers Weekly calls White Heat a “taut crime yarn.” Betty Webb of Mystery Scene Magazine calls its sequel Broken Windows “Extraordinary”. Though thrillers and set in the 1990s, both novels deal with issues that are hot and relevant today: racism and immigration, respectively. Marks says “Broken Windows holds up a prism from which we can view the events burning up today’s headlines, like the passionate immigration debate, through the lens of the recent past. It all comes down to the saying we know so well, ‘the more things change, the more they stay the same’.”

His short story Ghosts of Bunker Hill was voted #1 in the 2016 Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Readers Poll. His story Windward was selected for the Best American Mystery Stories of 2018 by Louise Penny and Otto Penzler, and won the 2018 Macavity Award for Best Short Story. His stories have won or been nominated for multiple awards. He has also been published in Beat to a Pulp, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Switchblade, Hardboiled and more. www.PaulDMarks.com

(Subscribe to Paul’s newsletter: http://pauldmarks.com/subscribe-to-my... -- and check him out on Facebook: facebook.com/paul.d.marks )

He is co-editor of the multi-award nominated anthology Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea. Two stories from which were chosen for The Best American Mysteries of 2018 and one received a Macavity Award that year.

Though Paul writes about other places, he considers himself an L.A. writer and lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife, dogs and cats. He has served on the board of the L.A. chapter of Sisters in Crime and currently serves on the board of the SoCal chapter of Mystery Writers of America.

He also has the distinction, dubious though it might be, of being the last person to have shot a film on the fabled MGM backlot before it bit the dust to make way for condos. According to Steven Bingen, one of the authors of the well-received book MGM: Hollywood’s Greatest Backlot: “That 40 page chronological list I mentioned of films shot at the studio ends with his [Paul D. Marks’] name on it.”
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Popular Answered Questions

How do you deal with writer’s block?

Paul D. Marks Here’s what I do when I get writer’s block:

I Write.

And when I have no more to say, here’s what I do then:

I Write.

And when I hit that wall again, this…moreHere’s what I do when I get writer’s block:

I Write.

And when I have no more to say, here’s what I do then:

I Write.

And when I hit that wall again, this is what I do:

I Write.

I don’t really get writer’s block. And if I get something approaching it I have several things to try to get me over the hump. Long drives up the coast, music blasting. Walking the dogs. Even taking a shower seems to loosen up the brain matter. And sometimes, per my opening here, just sitting at the computer and typing (writing?) stream of consciousness. It doesn’t really matter what comes out and I might not use much of it, but it does help get the juices flowing.

The one time I really did hit a wall was when working on a script. I don’t know if you’d call it writers block, since I don’t much get writer’s block, but I had a good concept going and a draft that just didn’t work. I tried all of my usual tricks to get past it: taking some time off, driving up the coast listening to loud music at full blast. Having a drink or two. Nothing helped. Finally, I packed up the car, drove down to Palm Desert (near Palm Springs) by myself. I spent my days hanging out by the pool, reading, or going out to eat. At night I worked on the script. And then I did the old standby trick with index cards, something I’m normally too lazy to do. But I put every scene on color-coded index cards and shuffled them around and around. And eventually it all came together. And that script ended up getting optioned several times, though never produced (my perpetual plight).

I also might take a day or a week off from that particular project and work on something else. Or play. And even though I might not be thinking about it in the forefront of my mind, my brain is working in the background so that when I do sit down later I will probably be able to get on with it.

The bottom line is that writing is a job. And just like any other job or a job where you punch a time clock you just have to be there. You have to sit yourself down in a chair, stare at the screen and let your fingers do the walking. Eventually something worthwhile (well, hopefully worthwhile) will come out.
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What’s the best thing about being a writer?

Paul D. Marks Oh, the glory. The fame. The money. The recognition. The groupies.

Okay, I'm kidding.

The best thing about being a writer is trying to write a story th…moreOh, the glory. The fame. The money. The recognition. The groupies.

Okay, I'm kidding.

The best thing about being a writer is trying to write a story that will entertain people. Trying to make all the pieces fit so everything works as a whole. I like the process. It can be frustrating at times, make you crazy. But when it all comes together, well, there's nothing like that feeling!(less)

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Combine Editions
Paul D. Marks’s books

Average rating: 3.99 · 523 ratings · 129 reviews · 26 distinct works • Similar authors

	White Heat (Duke Rogers PI #1) 4.08 avg rating — 117 ratings — published 2012 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	St. Louis Noir by Scott Phillips (Goodreads Author), Calvin Wilson (Contributor), LaVelle Wilkins-Chinn (Contributor) 3.50 avg rating — 101 ratings — published 2016 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Blues Don't Care (Bobby Saxon #1) 4.30 avg rating — 43 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Vortex 4.17 avg rating — 29 ratings — published 2015 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	L.A. Late @ Night: 5 Noir & Mystery Tales from the Dark Streets of Los Angeles 4.57 avg rating — 23 ratings — published 2014 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Broken Windows (Duke Rogers PI #2) 4.44 avg rating — 18 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	51-50 3.60 avg rating — 10 ratings — published 2012	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Born Under a Bad Sign really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2012 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Free Fall 3.25 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 2012	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Angels Flight it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2013 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Paul D. Marks…

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Paul D. Marks's Blog

Broken Windows – Sequel to #Shamus-winning White Heat dro...

Broken Windows – Sequel to #Shamus-winning White Heat drops 9/10/18. A labyrinth of murder, intrigue and corruption of church and state and business that hovers around the immigration debate. #writers #mystery #amreading #thriller #novels https://www.amazon.com/Broken-Windows-Duke-Rogers-Pi/dp/1948235072 Read more of this blog post »

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Published on July 22, 2018 16:46

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Series by Paul D. Marks

Duke Rogers PI (2 books)
by

Paul D. Marks (Goodreads Author)

4.13 avg rating — 135 ratings

Quotes by Paul D. Marks (?)

“I didn’t have the same dreams and ambitions I did before I left. You could say I no longer had stars in my eyes.”
― Paul D. Marks, Vortex

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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Crime, Mysteries ...: Macavity Award Winners 2018	3	13	Sep 08, 2018 08:56PM
Aussie Lovers of...: Currently Reading/Just Finished 2020	1775	164	Dec 31, 2020 02:33PM
Pulp Fiction: Just finished - and a few thoughts	673	249	Aug 06, 2024 03:00AM

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Paul’s Quotes

“There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands' necks. Anything can happen. You can even get a full glass of beer at a cocktail lounge.”
― Raymond Chandler, Red Wind: A Collection of Short Stories

tags: detective, hard-boiled, santa-anas

180 likes

“I feel that life is divided into the horrible and the miserable. That's the two categories. The horrible are like, I don't know, terminal cases, you know, and blind people, crippled. I don't know how they get through life. It's amazing to me. And the miserable is everyone else. So you should be thankful that you're miserable, because that's very lucky, to be miserable.”
― Woody Allen, Annie Hall: Screenplay

tags: humour, life

961 likes