Featured Interview With Mark S. Parker
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Born in Mexia, I spent my early years in Waco and graduated from Belton High School and Texas A&M back in the 70’s. This Central Texas boy married a West Texas girl, Ann Becker, in 1977. We moved to Midland, her hometown, in 1980 when I received my Master’s degree. I went to work for Gulf Oil as a landman and was just happy to have a job. I’ve been a landman ever since, sometimes with a company and sometimes independently. Our four children grew up in Midland. We now have five grandchildren with one on the way. I cohabitate with my wife’s two dogs, Lucy, a Chocolate Lab and Jonesy, a Welsh Terrier (or Terror).
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve always been fascinated with books, words and letters. I learned to read while my daddy read the Sunday funnies to me after church. My writing, until recently, has been for family, friends and church. A couple of years ago (in my late 50’s), about the time our grandchildren started coming along, my muse took off and I started writing books and songs for children and young people. I’m having a ball!
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
When I was young, Ray Bradbury fired my imagination. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD is still my favorite book. LONESOME DOVE is a close second. Today, I admire anything my Kate DiCamillo. Katherine Applegate is also one of my favorites. There is too much talent in the children’s/middle grade/young adult genres today to single anyone out. I think this is a golden age. Just show me a good storyteller and wordsmith and I’m hooked. Oh, and I still love Dr. Seuss.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My first published Middle Grade novel, SHAKY MAN, is set in a small town outside of Waco, Texas in the 1960’s. It is a story of baseball, friendships, racism, understanding and the things that go through any young boy’s mind during times of turbulence. There is even a murder and a trial. The narrator is the grown up Top Parsley, recalling his sixth grade year in Tonkaway, Texas and the experiences and revelations he encountered. Central to the story is his unexpected friendship with a black boy from the Waco Boys’ Club, Mickey Jackson. I can’t say too much about the Shaky Man without spoiling the tale.
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