The Characters We Never Really Leave Behind
What makes a book unforgettable? It often isn’t the plot—it’s the people. The characters who quietly step onto the page, feel completely real, and stay with us long after we’ve finished the final chapter.
fiction
The People Who Quietly Stay With Us
Years after finishing a novel, it’s rarely the plot we remember best. It’s the people. The quiet characters who felt real, who made us laugh, who gave the story its heart. Those are the ones who stay with us—and perhaps that’s true of the people we meet in life, too.
What’s On My Desk This Summer
Writers rarely work on just one book at a time. While readers see the finished novel, there’s often an entire queue of stories in progress behind it—drafts, edits, serials, and ideas waiting for their turn. Here’s a look at what’s currently occupying my writing desk this summer, from new thriller adventures to ongoing serial fiction and the next novel waiting in the wings.
The Story Beneath the Story
Every story has a plot. A detective solves a murder. A spaceship crew saves a colony. A retired man plants tomatoes. But the stories readers remember long after the last page are rarely about those events alone. Beneath the plot lies a deeper story—the emotional truth, the question being explored, the reason the story resonates. As an editor, one of the most important questions I can ask is: What is this story really about?
Why We Still Believe in Backlists
Most products fade quickly after launch. Books rarely do. At Stories Rule Press, we believe great stories have a long life, finding new readers months, years, and even decades after publication. That’s the enduring power of a strong backlist—and why we’re building a library for the long term, one story at a time.
Reading Requires Trust
Reading isn’t just “content consumption.” It’s time. Emotional investment. Trust. You’re handing several hours of your life over to another person and hoping they take you somewhere worthwhile. That’s why stories that feel genuinely human matter more now than ever.
Finding Great Books Shouldn’t Be So Hard
Finding a genuinely good book is becoming harder—not because great stories no longer exist, but because readers are being buried under rushed, low-quality content designed to game algorithms instead of move people. At Stories Rule Press, every book is still built the old-fashioned way: by real authors who care deeply about storytelling, characters, and giving readers an experience worth remembering.
Books Are Usually Better. Usually.
Books are usually better—at least, that’s the pattern Mark keeps coming back to after years of reading first and watching later. But every now and then, a film breaks the rule…
Why I Write (and Read) Short Stories.
“Short stories are like paper planes—light, quick to launch, and sometimes, they soar higher than you’d ever expect. They’re small vessels that carry big ideas.”