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Mark Billingham Quotes


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Quotes by Mark Billingham

Showing 11-20 of 66 Quotes by Mark Billingham

I believe that if writers want their readers to care about a character, they have to care themselves. I have to root for a detective who screws up as much as Thorne does, who shares my birthday, my North London stomping ground, and my love of country music, both alt and cheesy.

~Mark Billingham

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More than 100 years after he first appeared, Holmes remains the template for the fictional detective.

~Mark Billingham

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As crime writers, we put these characters, year after year, book after book, through the most horrendous trauma, dealing with grief and death and loss and violence. We can't pretend that these things don't affect these characters; they have to. If they don't, then you're essentially writing cartoons.

~Mark Billingham

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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

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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

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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

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Crime is the biggest genre in libraries and in bookshops, and it is hugely varied.

~Mark Billingham

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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

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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

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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

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Biography

Nationality: English

Type: Novelist

Born: July 2nd, 1961

Links

Find Mark Billingham on Amazon

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