Mark’s Comments (group member since Nov 08, 2010)

Mark’s comments from the 'Box of Lies' with Mark Laflamme group.

It was along those lines. I remember their system as being half experiment, half secret repository. If I recall, the fellow (I can almost remember his name) got hideously sick if he tried to reveal the secrets. In that way they had a sort of human robot whose only job was to hang on to all the dark secrets the government fed him. He'd have the knowledge but no way to purge himself of it. I imagine that would drive a man into a half-mad, reclusive state. Those black clad operatives could stop by any time and say, "Tell us what you know about the moon landing..." or whatever. I imagine they also had to made him physically unable to blow his own head off because that would be a pretty terrible way to live.

Oh, well I don't know if it means anything, but I've always considered Box to be among the weakest of the stories. I kept it in there mainly because I liked the concept (and because my publisher was sold on the title.)

You know what? I'll give that sucker another read and see if it sparks any memory. As conspiracy theory goes, I have a better memory of writing Worumbo, which is funny because that was my very first book, so Box would be more recent. I wrote those stories in a fast and furious writing spree, though, so the recollection of each story is a little diluted. Or something.

It's been so long since I wrote those stories, I struggle to remember the genesis of any of them. I recall liking the idea of one man being a repository for all the nation's dark little secrets. (If I remember right, I believe I'd been watching some of those History Channel shows on some of the most tenacious conspiracy theories out there.) The obvious problem with that, of course, would be how to compel that man from KEEPING those secrets. Not a very satisfying answer, I suspect. I'm going to look around to see if I still have any scribbles from that time. Might be some insights there. Thanks for the question. Even a decade or so on, I still like talking about those stories.

Wouldn't surprise me to discover that one at the top of just about everybody's list.

Hi, Lauren. (In the interest of disclosure, Lauren produced the video trailer for "Box of Lies." It's incredible. You'll find it on my author page.)

It's funny. When I started putting this book together, I was supposed to be escaping short stories. I got an attitude after I finished writing my first book, you see. That was around 2004 when, after a lifetime of writing in short form, I realized I could go long, too. It was a huge relief. It made me a grown up author, I figured. A bona fide novelist. Short stories had been merely a bridge to that status and I thought I'd leave them behind forever.
But of course, that was bunk. I never stopped writing short stories at all. I'd churn out three or four of them between novels. People read them and liked them. I published a few in magazines and on Amazon and others kept bugging me to put a book together. I resisted as long as I could and then I caved. It was a marvelous thing. Once I committed to a collection I went full bore and had just a blast writing every one of these stories.
Except Dove. That was just misery.

It's a book of short stories written over the spring and summer. A little bit of everything in there.
Men and women forced to march for their daily bread.
Cannibals hanging out together over pitchers of beer.
A professor who discovers that we all may be nothing more than figments of someone else's imagination.
A troubled young man can read the thoughts of both the living and the dead.
A professor discovers we might be nothing more than figments of someone else's imagination, stopping to pick up a penny could change the future in grand ways, and heaven may not be a permanent state.
Weird stuff. If you want to know anything about it, this is the place to ask.

This is where I'd like to pick your brains a little bit. Specifically, I'd like to know why you buy the books you do. What would make you try out an author you've never heard before? What do I have to do to get you to pick up "Box of Lies" or my other fine books? I'd consider it a great favor if you'd share a little about these things. I'll also consider it free therapy.

Why do I write the things I do? What do I find easy and what do I find hard? Professional questions or personal ones. In this space, I'm all yours.

Why do books have the power to scare us at all? There are no images, no screams, no blood spraying across a screen. But if you're into horror, you know if it's well done, it will scare you worse than any flick. Tell us what book is most likely to leave you sleeping with the light on.

"Rosemary Walker was the first victim the day the children went wild in Brookside, Maine."
So begins the story Knick Knack from "Box of Lies." I write a lot about children in my stories because it is my distinct belief that children are creepy. I also write a lot about very old people.
I guess the question is: which are creepier? Provide examples for bonus points at the end of the semester.

You pause in the middle of your day to bend to the sidewalk and pick something up. It happens every day. But the three seconds spent on that mindless task could influence the future in magnificent ways. It could mean the difference between a lifetime of happiness or misery.
We've all heard that a butterfly flapping its wings in China could have a direct impact on the good people of Boston. But do you believe it?

In this futuristic tale, men and women are forced to walk each day to help produce energy for a disordered society. It's grim and ugly but could it be foretelling? What will the future be like?

In this tale, a professor discovers that we all may be nothing more than computer simulations. It's based on a real theory with some alarming points offered up as evidence. Your thoughts?