Mark Billingham Quotes:
We didn’t have all the distractions that young people have today. We didn’t have these incredible computer games and social networks to engage with. I understand that. But once young readers do discover reading, when they discover a book which they fall in love with, it really unleashes something new in their imagination.
Mark Billingham
Part of the reason why Scandinavian crime has been so popular is the landscape. It is just so strong and alien. Although without taking anything away, you should probably also never discount the fact that blood does look particularly good against snow.
Mark Billingham
There have been some brilliant and very successful standalone books that work in themselves and also seem to refresh a series. Anyone who writes a series lives in fear of it becoming stale, so you do whatever you can to keep it fresh – although it does feel a bit nerve-racking to write outside of your comfort zone.
Mark Billingham
Crime is the biggest genre in libraries and in bookshops, and it is hugely varied.
Mark Billingham
While the subject matter of my novels could not be further removed from the stuff I used to trot out at the Comedy Store, the delivery of the material employs many of the same techniques.
Mark Billingham
Whether your audience is in a sweaty basement club or nestled in a favourite armchair, good money has been paid, and attention has got to be grabbed if you are not to be heckled off the stage or find your novel discarded in favour of the latest volume of ‘Fifty Shades of Whatever.’
Mark Billingham
The fact is that most crime novels contain a good many punchlines. They are just rather darker than the ones you might hear in a comedy club.
Mark Billingham
When I began to write, I was surprised at how little London had been used in crime fiction. Places such as Edinburgh or Oxford or L.A. seemed to have stronger identities.
Mark Billingham
Having worked as both comedian and crime writer, the one thing I know is that both involve the delivery of a performance.
Mark Billingham
I am trying to give the best performance possible in 400 pages. I want readers to be scared; I want them to be moved. Entertainment doesn’t necessarily mean something trivial, but it does mean people wanting to get to the end of a book.
Mark Billingham
I often wonder, with my hand on my heart, if ‘The Dying Hours’ was made into the biggest movie franchise in history, would I pick up my pen again? Wouldn’t I be happier spending the rest of my life travelling around with my wife?
Mark Billingham
Whenever people ask where I get my sick and twisted ideas from, I reply, ‘Just open your eyes.’
Mark Billingham
You throw the kitchen sink at your early books. You put everything in there. It’s like when you meet a new girlfriend or boyfriend, you tell them all your best stories. By the time you have been married for 10 years, they are crying, ‘Shut up!’
Mark Billingham
I write slowly and get distracted a lot.
Mark Billingham
I read ‘Jaws’ and ‘The Godfather’ back to back one summer when I was 14 and was suddenly aware of how powerful fiction could be.
Mark Billingham
I’m completely absorbed by Peter Guralnick’s definitive, two-part biography of Elvis Presley: ‘Last Train To Memphis’ and ‘Careless Love.’ Meticulously researched, this is a compelling mix of history, myth-busting, and, of course, some timeless music.
Mark Billingham
It’s heretical, I know, but I’ve never really been able to get on with Agatha Christie. She is, of course, a giant of the genre, but I never feel that she cared a great deal about the characters. Consequently, neither do I.
Mark Billingham
I do have a touch of OCD, and I used to obsess about research. But I’m better than I was. Gone are the days when I would drive to a set of traffic lights to find out if you could turn left. I finally realised it didn’t matter. A book will not stand or fall on whether or not there’s a branch of Starbucks in Brixton.
Mark Billingham