Prolific UK writer Mark Dawson is the bestselling author of the John Milton, Beatrix Rose, Isabella Rose, and Soho Noir thriller series. He’s currently ranked among the top 50 hottest-selling “Mystery, Thriller, & Suspense” authors on Amazon, and his remarkable self-publishing success story has been featured in Forbes, The Financial Times, and on the BBC.
Dawson was bitten early by the writing bug. He finished his first novella while still in middle school. Later, he went to law school and practiced for a few years before deciding it wasn’t for him. Other jobs along the way included stints as a DJ and selling ice cream in Chicago.
In 2000 he released his first novel, “a literary thriller” titled The Art of Falling Apart, issued by a major publisher. It didn’t sell well, though, mainly because the publisher failed to promote it. Dawson spent a decade in the British film industry, but his desire to write persisted.
When he heard about self-publishing ebooks on Kindle, Dawson decided to give it a try. He uploaded a WWII-era serial-killer thriller, The Black Mile. Then, he began to experiment with various promotional techniques. He watched in amazement as tens of thousands of copies were downloaded onto Kindles.
Galvanized, Dawson immediately set to work on his John Milton series. Making every moment count, he typed them on his laptop while commuting to and from his London job. To date, the seven books — including The Cleaner, The Driver, and the just-released Headhunters — have sold well over 300,000 copies. Dawson then branched out into the highly successful Beatrix Rose thrillers (beginning with In Cold Blood), as well as a series of “noir” period titles and several stand-alone tales.
After several attempts to schedule an interview with this busy writer, husband, and father, I finally caught up with him for this fascinating chat.
Note: You can receive a free selection of Mark’s ebooks by clicking this link to his website.
~~~
The Vigilante Author: Mark, as a fellow self-published author, I have to tell you that your success is an inspiration to me. Before we get down into the weeds, why don’t you first describe your two most popular series for us?
Mark Dawson: The John Milton and Beatrix Rose books are fast-moving thrillers with interesting characters in the lead. Milton, for example, is not the stereotypical good guy. He has a dark side and a lot of blood in his past. Fast-moving, page-turning, propulsive thrillers for Beatrix Rose. Slightly slower and more character driven for Milton, but with big action sequences.
The Vigilante Author: Let me ask you the familiar question that all authors get from their fans: Where did these unusual characters come from?
Mark Dawson: They are, of course, amalgams of my experiences and the art that I have been exposed to. Milton, for example, draws on James Bond, Jack Reacher, and — especially — Robert McCall from “The Equalizer.” Beatrix Rose is influenced heavily by Tarantino’s “Kill Bill” films.
The Vigilante Author: “The Equalizer”? Mark, I loved that TV series of decades ago. I now suspect that the McCall character subconsciously influenced me in developing my Dylan Hunter vigilante character, too. Joel Surnow, McCall’s creator, also was the brains behind Jack Bauer and the hit TV thriller series “24.”
Anyway, to date I’ve read your novella 1000 Yards and your novel The Cleaner, and I am well into Saint Death — all John Milton stories, and all riveting. I’m especially impressed by your unique “voice,” as well as your extensive research into settings and topic backgrounds. The details lend so much realism to your tales. And Milton is a fresh, interesting protagonist, too. In 1000 Yards, he was still working as an assassin for the British government. Am I correct in assuming that this tale preceded the events in The Cleaner?
Mark Dawson: You are correct.
The Vigilante Author: The Cleaner opens with an assassination committed by Milton, in which there is the shocking loss of an innocent life. I found that morally disturbing, as I’m sure a lot of readers have. I interpret the rest of the story, and the entire series, as chronicling Milton’s efforts to make amends for this crime and for other sins in his career. Clearly, he is a flawed, damaged man. In other words, The Cleaner is a redemption tale. Did you intend that?
Mark Dawson: Yes, that’s it. He’s got a lot of blood on his conscience. I don’t want him to be 100% sympathetic, although he is striving to make amends. His journey through the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous is a key part of his development as a character, particularly the steps on taking a personal inventory and then making amends to those who have been wronged. I see him as a ronin, wandering the wilderness without a master, seeking to atone for past sins.
The Vigilante Author: Are you trying to say something about the world with the Milton stories? Is something represented by the character himself?
Mark Dawson: I hate neat, happy endings. The world isn’t like that. I’ve had bad reviews because — spoiler! — The Cleaner doesn’t end well. Well, that’s life. Sometimes — often — it doesn’t.
The Vigilante Author: In that respect, you and I are different. I’m more Old School, in the Alistair MacLean tradition. My Dylan Hunter stories put the hero through living hell, but in the end, justice prevails.
Anyway, as I said, I’m extremely impressed by the richness of detail you provide in both the settings of the stories, and about the topics of the stories themselves: life inside the closed society of North Korea; the atmosphere and activities of young members of urban gangs; the violent activities of Mexican drug cartels; and so much more. Obviously, you do extensive research, because the pictures you paint are so vivid and persuasive. What do you do to gain sufficient knowledge to conjure such “you are there” realism?
Mark Dawson: A lot of research. And Google Streetview is pretty amazing.
The Vigilante Author: I use Streetview myself, a lot, especially to avoid having to wander into dangerous places. But to pursue this a bit, how much advance preparation, research, and outlining do you undertake before starting to write? Or are you a “seat of the pants” writer who goes back to research only after the first draft?
Mark Dawson: Minimal. I research as I go along, usually, because I don’t always know where it is going to go. I’m not a “pantser” — I know roughly what is going to happen — but the color is added as I write.
The Vigilante Author: I’m also amazed at your prolific output. What is your work schedule like?
Mark Dawson: Hectic. I write whenever I can. The first five Miltons were written on a ninety-minute commute when I was working full time. Since I left to write for a living, it’s been harder to find time, weirdly. The business is demanding.
The Vigilante Author: What prompted you to leave the John Milton series and work on other series and stand-alone novels?
Mark Dawson: I didn’t leave it — just took a brief pause. I wanted to tell Beatrix’s story; she has an interesting one herself.
The Vigilante Author: How does she differ from Milton?
Mark Dawson: Beatrix is much more direct and businesslike than Milton. He might deliberate and weigh up the moral consequences of an action. Beatrix just does it…
The Vigilante Author: Why don’t you share a bit of your own personal odyssey en route to becoming a bestselling thriller author.
Mark Dawson: I was born in Lowestoft, in the UK. I studied law and then practiced it for a while. I quit that after a few years — don’t like the ambition needed to make a career in law — and worked for a decade at the BBFC [the British Board of Film Classification, the film-rating equivalent of the Motion Picture Association of America]. It was a great job and I loved it. It also meant I got to watch a lot of film and TV, and saw some things that would prove to be inspirations.
I started writing when I was very young, had a couple of novels published traditionally at the turn of the century, and then went fallow for a few years until the Kindle was a thing. The rest, as they say, is history.
The Vigilante Author: Did any pivotal people or events in your life inspire your journey?
Mark Dawson: English teachers — one in particular — were very inspirational.
The Vigilante Author: Which writers have influenced you?
Mark Dawson: Anyone and everyone. You can learn from anything you read. It takes a while — and a few hundred thousand words — to be confident enough in your own voice to discard the training wheels, but I tried very hard (and failed miserably) in trying to emulate Martin Amis and Will Self when I started out.
The Vigilante Author: Would you care to compare your work with that of other well-known authors?
Mark Dawson: I’m compared to Lee Child a lot. Vince Flynn, too. All good by me.
The Vigilante Author: Two of my absolute favorites. You know, a lot of authors say that the writing life is tough and lonely. Do you agree?
Mark Dawson: It’s not tough or lonely! Writing is fun, and if it is too hard then you should be doing something else. It’s challenging, yes, but that’s not a negative. And there are so many places where you can hang out with other writers these days, that it shouldn’t be lonely, either.
The Vigilante Author: What motivates Mark Dawson to write?
Mark Dawson: I love telling stories. That’s number one. I love entertaining my readers. And I’m quite fond of paying off my mortgage.
The Vigilante Author: Yeah, me too, on both counts. Do your stories have a particular political of philosophical point of view?
Mark Dawson: Not really. I leave my politics at the door, despite what some reviewers say: I’m either a raving liberal or a neo-con nut. Can’t win.
The Vigilante Author: What is daily life like for you now, when you’re not writing?
Mark Dawson: I live in Wiltshire, in the UK, in a thatched cottage with my wife and two kids. I’m close to farmers’ fields, and I enjoy running through them — it’s where I get most of my better ideas.
The Vigilante Author: Let me back up a bit to clarify your own writing methods. You said you don’t exactly write by the “seat of the pants.” So, are you a meticulous outliner, then? Or some combo?
Mark Dawson: A bit of both. I have loose points that I want to hit and then I let my characters and the plot take control. As John Cheever, I think, said — and I am paraphrasing: “Writing is like driving late at night cross-country. You know where you start and stop, but you can only see as far as the headlamps illuminate.”
The Vigilante Author: Funny, but the previous thriller author I interviewed here, John Clarkson, cited that same simile, and he writes the same way. Do you write in any special place?
Mark Dawson: Anywhere. I wrote my first few novels during a three-hour commute to London and back. These days, I’ll write at home or in a number of cafes around town. Wherever I can get good coffee.
The Vigilante Author: Yes. Nectar of the gods and the essential fuel for writers. What’s the hardest thing for you about writing?
Mark Dawson: I don’t find it hard, thankfully. I have a lot of ideas and the words have never stopped flowing. I have self-confidence issues like all writers, but I get a lot of mail from readers now telling me that they love my stuff — that’s good for the self-esteem.
The Vigilante Author: You moved from traditional publishing into self-publishing. Care to make any comparisons or contrasts?
Mark Dawson: You could argue that trad pub is the real vanity publishing these days.
The Vigilante Author: I’ve argued that very thing! You give up an awful lot in rights and royalties just to have the supposed prestige and validation of a publisher’s name on your book’s spine, or to see it on a bookstore shelf for a few weeks, before all the copies are pulled and remaindered.
Mark Dawson: Getting a book on a shelf is nice, but if it doesn’t sell, it’s a waste of time. I think I can sell my books better than a publisher can, especially when it comes to digital publishing. I’d never say never, but I am very happy doing things myself these days.
The Vigilante Author: So, is that what you’d advise aspiring writers to do?
Mark Dawson: Give strong consideration to doing it for yourself. It’s not just about “the art.” You need to be of a mindset where you are prepared to change hats from writer to businessperson, and work accordingly hard — but the rewards are amazing.
The Vigilante Author: And you’re proof of that. You’ve succeeded tremendously. What made the difference, Mark? What qualities do you think are essential for any writer? And what other advice would you offer aspiring authors?
Mark Dawson: I’ll assume that the would-be writer can write. They’ll need tenacity, dedication, a strong work ethic, a thick skin, a thirst for learning, supportive family members, and a lot of patience. If they have that, they’re set fair to do very well.
The Vigilante Author: What can readers expect from Mark Dawson in the future?
Mark Dawson: More books. Different ways of interacting with readers. And then some more books.
The Vigilante Author: They’ll be delighted to hear that. Where can people buy your books and join your mailing list?
Mark Dawson: For my books, try MarkJDawson.com.
The Vigilante Author: You also have been sharing with fellow authors tips on book marketing. How can they learn more about that?
Mark Dawson: To take advantage of my free training videos on “Facebook Ads for Authors,” they should visit www.selfpublishingformula.com.
The Vigilante Author: Mark, this has been a privilege and delight. Thanks for taking time away from your family and your writing to visit with us. I look forward to your future thrillers, and I know that my readers will be eager to check them out, too.
You can receive a free selection of Mark’s ebooks by clicking this link to his website.
~~~
Photo (c) by Debbie Scott
