Interview with Novelist Mark Renshaw (CYBORN)

Matthew Toffolo: What is your novel about?

Mark Renshaw: A cyborg private detective Infected with a tekvirus teams up with a sexbot operated by his estranged daughter (#awakward) to solve all his cases and find a cure before he shuts down

2. What genres would you say this story is in?

Sci-Fi comedy with a bit of Noir detective mystery on the side.

3. How would you describe this story in two words?

Pure escapism.

4. What movie have you seen the most in your life?

Star Wars – A New Hope.

5. What is your favorite song? (Or, what song have you listened to the
most times in your life?)

The Bear Necessities

6. Do you have an all-time favorite novel?

Legend by David Gemmell and the Dark Tower Series by Stephen King.

7. What motivated you to write this story?

Cyborn began life as a three-page screenplay about an android accessing random memories during the last three minutes of his life as he runs out of power. It won a major writing competition and encouraged me to write is as a feature screenplay.

That too did well in competition, culminating in me travelling to the 50th Nashville Film Festival in which it was nominated for Best Comedy Feature Screenplay.

I had a few short stories published at this point, so it seemed adapting Cyborn into my first novel was destiny.

8. If you could have dinner with one person (dead or alive), who would
that be?

Isaac Asimov,

9. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?

I enjoy making short films. The last short movie I produced (The Dollmaker) has over 16 million views on YouTube, and I’d love to be more involved in making TV programs or feature films going forward.

10. What influenced you to enter your story to get performed?

I think Cyborn would make an excellent audiobook and wanted to see how it sounded. I’m also querying agents and publishers at the moment, and I’m hoping an audible sample will help me secure a book deal.

11. Any advice or tips you’d like to pass on to other writers?

Write as often as you can, even if it’s one hour a week. It all adds up. No writing is ever wasted.

 

Watch the Novel Transcript Reading: