Author Interview: Mark Jonathan Runte
JMR-Welcome to the Books Delight, Mark.Tell our readers where you live, what you do for fun and what does the perfectday look like?
MJR- I live in Canada with two small dogs forcompany. Hobbies, and what I like to do – I enjoy traveling at least once ayear – haven’t done South America yet but Greece and Rome are higher on mylist. My perfect day is one where I get a good hour or two of writing downwithout interruption.
JMR-What’s your favorite historical timeperiod? Why?
MJR- Nothingspecific, it depends on the story and the story’s needs. I’ve written for the Revolutionary War already. At some point I would like to have something setduring the Salem Witch Trials, and ninth or tenth century England in my work.
JMR-Who is your favorite historicalfigure? Why? If you could ask them one question, what would it be?
MJR- Again, I don’t have a specific person in mind –it just depends on the setting and who happens to be around during that periodof time.
JMR- How did you come to be a writer ofhistorical fiction?
MJR- I just kind of fell into it I guess. My momcollects Diana Gabledon’s Outlander series when they come out in hardcover.
JMR- Did you visit anyone of the placesin your book? Where did you feel closest to your characters?
MJR- Not yet, it’s somewhere on my travel plansthough. At present, I can only visit those places through my writing.
JMR-Mark, tell us about your new book, Neverbe a Saint: A Mythos Novel.
MJR – It’s a Revolutionary War story spread across afew years before and after the Declaration of Independence, with a third of it takingplace in contemporary US. I’m cautious about revealing too much but it alsodeals with LGBTQ themes.
JMR-Your book blends mythology andhistory, which is your favorite god? Greek or Roman? What does mythology add tothe flavor of your story?
MJR- Good question. Choosing my favorite god wouldbe as hard as picking a specific time period – I find all of them fascinating,too much to say just one of them.
JMR-What projects do you have in thepipeline?
MJR- Too many to list but that’s apparently how mybrain works. My primary focus is on Song for Dalriada, a fantasy echo of theAnglo-Saxon period in history. But I’ve also got Shieldmaiden and Little Beautyas connective works to my Eve book. Last but not least, a non-canon retellingof a pair of werewolf twins, if they’d stayed in Russia and grown up there,rather than their home in London.
JMR- Tell our readers how to find you onsocial media and the web.
MJR- I’m on twitter and Instagram, with a muchsmaller platform on facebook and Bluesky. I prefer twitter more than anythingelse. While I do have a website – it hasn’t been updated in a while. If you’relooking for my books in particular, Amazon is the best place to find them.
JMR- What question were you hoping I’dask but didn’t?
MJR- None, this was a very well put togetherinterview. Thank you for giving me this opportunity. 😊
JMR- Mark, thanks for stopping by and telling us a bit about yourself and your writing. Good luck with your new book, Never Be A Saint! Readers, I've included links to the books, just click on the book cover.
