Featured Interview With Mark Binmore
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Born in Torquay, England and moved to London in my early 20s. I actually trained as an actor but my boredom levels were low so switched to writing. A few years ago relocated to Beziers, France where my partner and I bought an old house opposite a river and transformed it into a small bed and breakfast, so I guess I have two heads I can switch between – a hotelier one and a writing one.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I guess I’ve always been a writer. I’ve always kept diaries since I was a child and even at school used to pen short shorties and verse. Recently I discovered a whole batch of stuff I had written years and years ago, some of it long forgotten but its interesting that certain “themes” were there as a young child and still as a forty something adult – water, love, the countrywide, healing, need to be noticed and seen etc. One childhood ambition was to write a set of songs, record them and release an album so for years I would write and write but what happened was that the songs turned into longer prose and some of them into short stories. My first short story collection was published four years ago – Even When Tonight Is Over and I have followed that book with three more
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love to read memoirs either by someone relatively know or not. My new book coming out later this years is actually a fictionalized memoir so over the last few years have been reading more and more. I was inspired by reading – Diary of an Ordinary Woman, a novel framed as an ‘edited’ diary of fictional woman Millicent King (1901-1995), written by Margaret Forster. At the end I wanted to know more about this person before realizing, “actually shes doesn’t exists” – I thought that was great. I’ve just finished reading (again) diaries by Kenneth Williams and Joe Orton – mainly because I love both their observations of life and what is going on around them. Currently reading the scripts of “Generation War” by Stefan Kolditz which i as brilliant as the mini series. At the moment I am fascinated by real people’s lives during war, how they acted, behaved, survived (or didn’t).
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My forthcoming book is called “Now Is Not The Time For Trumpets”.
To quote from the press release, “Summer 1987. Stephen Wallingford, once the epitaph of all things fabulous and now a recluse of the modern era, receives a letter from an up and coming author wishing to talk about his life. Although reluctant to meet, Stephen decides to re-emerge from the shadows, and reflect on the past, of childhood ambitions and dreams, forgotten lovers and the scandalous demise of the bright young things. And with tears, laughter and broken hearts rediscovered, Stephen is transported back in time to a life of parties, pink gin and illicit love”.
I guess its part novel, part interview, part biography, the book reflects on the life of one Stephen Wallingford, the last of a dying breed and someone who shed light on the beautiful bright you thing era between the wars. It’s a happy book, a sad reflective book that sheds light through the many characters but mainly centres on Stephen which was loosley based on real life recluse Stephen Tennnat but with some elements of my life thrown in.
I am proud of this book though. I like the simplicity and the structure, the characters are similar to the celebrities that are forced upon us today. These bright young people of the 20s and 30s were written about, photographed, adored, despaired and ultimately hated. With today’s celebrities we vote for them, tweet them, follow them, adore them and then ultimately we wait for their downfall and relish in in. The pattern is the same.
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