The following is an interview with award-winning author Mark Stevens regarding the recent release of his latest thriller novel, Two Truths and a Lie, with publisher Thomas & Mercer. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Stevens about how his own experience as a journalist influenced the story’s narrative, the conversations that he hopes the story may inspire, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the recent release of Two Truths and a Lie! What can you tell us about the story’s premise?
Mark Stevens: Not much! (Just kidding.) Well, in fact, it might not be a bad idea to have read No Lie Lasts Forever, the first in the series, before tackling this one. If not, there’s a handy recap in the beginning of Two Truths and a Lie in the form of summary of the trial of the serial killer—Harry Kugel, a.k.a. PDQ—who was captured in the first book. Both stories feature veteran television reporter Flynn Martin, who played a big role in discovering the identity of the serial killer in No Lie Lasts Forever. She starts Two Truths and a Lie thinking that everything will return to normal but she receives a threatening message that sounds exactly like the messages she used to receive from Harry Kugel. The first message arrives in her young son’s school backpack. And, at the same time, she asked to cover the story of an entire family that’s gone missing from their suburban home.
BD: How do you feel that your own experience as a journalist may have contributed to the story’s protagonist, Flynn Marten?
MS: I think it helped quite a bit. Well, I hope it did. I spent 20 years both as a newspaper reporter and as a television news producer. Following that career, I worked in school district public relations so I worked with reporters for a couple of decades, too. So, I think I understand what it takes to be a reporter and how various news operations operate. At the same time, I had lost touch with all the technology issues on the television side of the business, so I needed to do the necessary research to make sure that was up to date. But the basic work of a reporter (and I’m a firm believer in a healthy journalistic community as key to our democracy) hasn’t changed over the years.
BD: You previously noted that when it comes to crime fiction novels, you relish the opportunity to “see how the game is played with each new book.” With this latest story, where did your creative process begin?
MS: Good question that’s hard to answer. I thought No Lie Lasts Forever would be a standalone. I mean, the bad guy (Harry Kugel) is captured and he’s done really nasty things in his past so he’s never going back to civilian life. But the editor who bought No Lie wanted to turn the general premise into a trilogy, with Harry playing a role in some way, shape, or fashion. So, yes, I had to come up with a new concept and that involved figuring out a different antagonist who has a reason to come after Flynn. Where did the process begin? I think it began with thinking about how Two Truths and a Lie could be different. Very different. And yet still the same.
BD: Two Truths and a Lie tackles many prescient topics, including the impact of withholding information and the continuing sexism faced by women in the workplace. What, if any, conversations do you hope that these concepts might inspire with readers?
MS: Well, I really hope on the journalism side of things that the book underscores the critical role reporters play in holding government accountable and in covering events that matter to communities. On the matter of women in the workplace, I don’t know how you could write a contemporary novel of any kind without touching on that issue. It’s simply a matter of accurately reflecting what’s happening in the workplace—pay, promotions, career advancement, you name it.
BD: Are there any other projects – past or current – that you would like to highlight for our readers?
MS: I’m hopeful my agent can find a home for a novel I’ve written that’s set in the world of rock & roll. And I’m working on Book 3 in the Flynn Martin series that will wrap up the trilogy and answer all the questions raised in Two Truths and a Lie.
BD: Lastly, what would you like to tell readers who want to learn more about Two Truths and a Lie and your other work?
MS: My website is great place to start: www.writermarkstevens.com.
