The Rebel in the Writer - Marcus Blake and His Career as an Indie Writer.

By John Stevens  July 16, 2009

 I asked him about not being well known and not having the marketing that big names usually have, He said “It’s harder for Indie Writers to get the marketing that bigger names like Stephen King can get and the publishing industry can be discrimitory because corporate firms essentially don’t like Indie Writers - they think that their books won’t sell, but the internet has changed that. The internet makes it possible for Indie Writers to be successful and to find an audience. I’m the perfect example of that because my books are successful without having to rely on retail stores like Barnes and Noble and using the tagline New York Times Best Selling Author.”

       It’s been ten years now since Marcus Blake published his first novel, The Music of Life. Like most authors that started their writing careers over the last fifteen years the evolution of the internet opened up more doors than any literary agent could. That’s because the internet went straight to the people instead of a literary agent acting a mediator trying to find the best publishing deal  The music of Life was first published as an e-book in 1999 while Marcus was still in college. He was attending Stephen F. Austin State University at the time and only 21 years old when he wrote his first book.  It was a rare accomplishment for such a young person and especially for an author who was still struggling with finding his place in this world, but hey, critics said the same thing about Jack Kerouac.

       Marcus Blake’s first novel wasn’t extremely dark or tragic as his later novels, but it had “It’s a Wonderful Life” feeling to it as the characters search for their own meaning of life. It was a subject matter the author tried to tackle at 21 and somehow in his first novel he found the best way of doing it – the main character finds a second chance and still has to let it go in order to see if true love can exist for him again. It’s in that kind of tragic circumstance that we see the essence of humanity and only great writers have a way bringing that out in their work. For Marcus Blake, it wasn’t too bad for his first book. The Music of Life would be printed as a book in 2004, both as a play and a novel.  The book would never reach the pen of the critics or find its way on a best seller list, but it did mark a great effort by an author who surely had more to give in the book world.

Eighteen months would go by before a second book by Marcus Blake would hit bookshelves. In the spring of 2006 Mr. Blake would release a collection of works including early short stories, poetry, and a famous essay titled The American Experience: Seen Through the Writers Eyes. The book was a published just to showcase some of Marcus Blake’s earlier work from the beginning of his writing career in college. It would be in the fall of 2006, seven years after writing his first novel that Marcus Blake would publish his second novel, Returning Home.  Most authors spend a career trying to find the book that defines them as an author. Marcus Blake would do it with his second novel. Although, it’s not his most famous work, Returning Home showed us that he was more than a simple writer. The book showed us that he was a true storyteller – someone that could take us into the darkness of humanity and bring an emotional sincerity through words that in the end inspire us.

Marcus Blake Photo © Truesource Publishing

Returning Home was the novel that made Marcus Blake a true writer. Some authors will attempt to write a book just to try it and it’s quickly forgotten as soon as it’s published. That seems to be the doomed fate of first novels unless you’re one of those lucky few who become a writing sensation  first time around. Marcus Blake certainly wasn’t one of those, but he would achieve something similar to that this second time around.  He would achieve something most writes never find with a book...he would write a novel that could  those outside his normal audience love him as a writer and storyteller.  The book was not an immediate sensation, but it would make the literary world take notice of Marcus Blake.

Returning Home was Marcus’ story of family and the reconnection that an estranged family can find through the death of a loved one. It was based on his own family and the unique thing about the book was that although it was fiction the black and white photos inside the book were of Marcus Blake’s real family. This added to the autobiographical nature of the book in a way not often seen in literature. It also would become a staple of Marcus Blake’s books – there seems to always be unique black and white photos within his books now.

            After three books Marcus Blake still hadn’t found the kind of success most writers look for and its not always about making millions of dollars. Most of the time success for a writer comes in the form of recognition and having a large audience that loves your work. 2007 Would be the year he would find that and it came with a controversial novel. In 2007 Marcus Blake released Sex Game. As soon as it released it was immediately attacked by church groups in Dallas Texas, which would eventually lead to the book being attacked by larger Christian groups such as the Christian Coalition and the American Family Association.  All of this resulted in the book being banned in bookstores and posters asking people to censor the book.  Sex Game couldn’t be found in a Barnes and Nobel or a Borders Bookstore anywhere in the United Sates. Still today it’s hard to find this book in bookstores, but it hasn’t stopped online book sales through places like Amazon.com and Starving Writers Books.

      How could Marcus Blake top a book like Sex Game, well, he did it by taking readers into the dark abyss within themselves. In November of 2008 Marcus held up the mirror so we could see our inner turmoil and what its like to live as a victim with his new novel. He Published The Lonely Girl and it was the darkest and most tragic novel that Marcus Blake had ever written, but it was also the most truthful. As a writer he put himself into a place that most of us never want to go and from reading the novel it seemed like Marcus dealt with some of his own personal demons as well. The book was about two women who dealt with tragedy and are the mirror images of one another. One woman tries to help the other while both have to move beyond playing the part of the victim and being the lonely girl. The book took a tragic theme and made us look at what it means to find acceptance. The Lonely Girl did what great books always do – make the story the story of us so that we see something in ourselves which we have never seen before.  

      Yet despite writing books that could inspire people not one hasr ended up on a bestseller list or  even been reviewed by the New York Times or LA Times but in December of 2008 Marcus Blake would finally be recognized as a great writer when he won two awards from the National Literary Foundation. Independent writers never seem to win national awards because Indie Books themselves never get noticed, but it happened for Marcus Blake. Returning Home won the American Book Choice Award for Fiction and Sex Game won a posthumous ward, which was for the category of Sexual Tales in Fiction. That’s right despite being a banned book Sex Game became an award winning book in 2008.  I had to ask Marcus what it felt like winning those two awards. He said, “It’s great to be recognized, but it didn’t change anything about me as a writer, I’m still the same guy and I still write the same way. I will always try and write a good story about the human condition and my hope is that people get something out it, not to win award.  I think my parents were more excited about the awards because now they have bragging rights when it comes to their kid.”

We haven’t heard the last of Marcus Blake as he continues to work on another couple of books and lend a hand in changing the publishing industry so more Indie Writers can find success. He doesn’t need fame or a great book deal from a larger publishing firm out of  New York.   He’s happy right where he’s at whether its teaching literature at The Imagine House, the leaning center he’s a part owner of or on his radio show, The Dueling Patriots, a show about politics.  Marcus Blake is happy just being the rebel within the writer and honestly that’s what we love about him.