Friday Feature: @DavidMark

What’s that you say? It’s Friday? Yes, it is, and we know exactly what you want. What you NEED, in fact. You need to see into the life of another much loved and valued Proser, don't you? Well, your wait is over as we head over to sunny Europe and meet a smashing chap that goes by the username of @DavidMark

P: What is your given name and your Proser username?

D: I was Christened David Reginald Mark Rea. My friends call me 'Reg'. On Prose I use DavidMark.

P: Where do you live?

D: In Alicante, Spain.

P: What is your occupation?

D: Journalist and writer.

P: What is your relationship with writing and how has it evolved?

D: I started out working on a daily newspaper in Northern Ireland in the 70s after leaving High School. After that I worked for various organisations including the BBC, a leading Brussels based Economic think tank and the European Commission. I'm currently spokesperson for a large EU agency dealing with Intellectual Property issues. So, I think you could say that I've done most kinds of journalism and technical writing jobs, across newspapers, radio, television and the Internet and covering everything from factual content to public relations, or more broadly communications. I also write for fun, mainly publishing on Prose.

P: What value does reading add to both your personal and professional life.

D: At school I concentrated on science subjects from age 16 because I found the English and History classes really boring. In my spare time I was reading everything I could lay my hands on, so I don't think it was the subjects that bored me, it was just the torturous process of education. The first 'adult' book I can remember reading was my grandparents' copy of Tarzan of the Apes when I was 8. That was the start of a life-long love of fantasy and science fiction. However my reading is very eclectic, crossing science, history and philosophy. I also have read widely in philosophy and economics and have degrees in both subjects, studied part-time with the wonderful Open University and a college in Belfast.

P: Can you describe your current literary ventures and what can we look forward to in future posts?

D: Writing a book has been an on-off project for many years so I will probably be adding a few tombstones to that particular graveyard of abandoned hope. I'm afraid I just don't seem to be able to keep on track without a proper deadline. Most likely I will continue sharing my whimsical viewpoint on diverse subjects, through micro fiction and short poems as the fancy takes me.

P: What do you love about TheProse.com?

D: I never wrote any poetry before coming across Prose but I was encouraged to give it a go and I found it quite liberating. As a professional writer you are quite exposed to criticism so you have to do without much encouragement apart from the regular pay checks. It is quite nice to write for yourself and a few friends who are neither being paid to write or paid to read. So what if you fire a few blanks? Who cares? There's always tomorrow. And, of course, you get to write what you want. I find Prose to be a very friendly, safe, unjudgemental environment that allows me to stretch my wings and experiment. It allows me to scratch an itch I didn't realise was there.

P: Is there one book that you would recommend everybody should read before they die?

D: Can't really give a definitive answer to that one. Monogomy is not a concept that applies well to reading. For SF and fantasy almost anything by Roger Zelazny. For historical fiction Patrick O'Brien, for romance, Jane Austen, for Kafkaesque, Franz Kafka is quite good. Currently reading The Star King by Jack Vance whose weird visions of distorted human societies have been tickling my funny bone for going on too many years to tell. I have left out so many favourite writers and all time favourite books that I'd better stop before I get dizzy and have to lie down and fondle a first edition.

P: Do you have an unsung hero who got you into reading and/or writing?

D: The unsung hero in my case was the person who left books lying around. They kind of came with the house. My best guess is my paternal grandmother who I hardly knew. I have ruled out the other suspects, and as Holmes says, once you have eliminated the impossible, what remains, however unlikely, must be the solution.

P: Describe yourself in three words!

D: Not done yet.

P: Is there one quote, from a writer or otherwise, that sums you up?

D: John Maynard Keynes: When my information changes, I alter my conclusions. What do you do, sir?

P: Favourite music to write and/or read to?

D: I don't read or write to music. I find it rather distracting. I liked John Lennon better than the Beatles, once had all the Led Zeppelin albums, but secretly preferred Joni Mitchell. Live music attracts me more than recorded and I will listen to just about anything with soul.

P: You climb out of a time machine into a dystopian future with no books. What do you tell them?

D: 'If only we could travel back in time...Wait, we can! Bye.'

P: Is there anything else you’d like us to know about you/your work/social media accounts?

D: Nope. I would just reiterate what it says on my profile: 'it's not all about me'. It's not all true either.

If you

want truth,

look into

your own heart,

or better still,

by type,

pen or quill,

take to

the writer's art

and bend

some words to

your own will.

See, I'm delirious.

It's probably contagious.

End.

Wowzers. What a great interview with @DavidMark. If you don’t already do so, please interact with him, follow him and read his splendid words here on Prose.

If you, or anyone you know wants to get involved with a future Friday Feature, then please get in touch on info@theprose.com and we’ll send you questions and add you to the wordy queue.