How do you get inspired to write?
Sadly, I don’t have a lucky pen or wait for the muse to strike. I’d be waiting forever. Writing isn’t magic for me; it’s a habit. I sit down every day and do the work, usually for about two and a half hours. Some days it’s drafting, some days it’s editing, depending on where my projects are. It’s often a mix of things. I used to wait for inspiration, but that approach took me nearly eight years to finish a book. Now I can write one in about three or four months. It’s just part of my life, like showing up to the gym or the office. Routine beats inspiration every time.
How do you deal with writer’s block?
I’ve been lucky. I haven’t struggled much with writer’s block. I’m a moderate outliner, so I usually know the beginning, middle, and end, with a loose map of how I plan to get there. These days I write the blurb or synopsis before I start writing the book to stay grounded in the story. Writing regularly helps too. It builds a muscle that gets stronger over time. If I hit a tough spot, I might go for a walk, take a hot shower, or step away for a bit. Usually the answer comes. And even if it doesn’t, I keep writing. Sometimes I cut it in the next draft. Sometimes it works out.
What mystery in your own life could be a plot for a book?
I run a fitness program and do personal training in my home. There are fake walls up to block some of the unfinished work. Rumours have circulated that behind the wall is my Dexter section. I never said they were wrong.
What are you currently working on?
I just wrapped up the third draft of The Resonant, the final book in the Armageddon’s Descendants trilogy. It’s with beta readers now. In the meantime, I’m outlining my next psychological thriller, which ties into the Genesis Project technology from a different series I’m building.
Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?
My most recent release is The Chosen, book two in the Armageddon’s Descendants trilogy. The trilogy was inspired by a combination of ideas that evolved into something unique — crossing several subgenres in the process.
It started with the concept of a kidnapping story told from multiple points of view — not just the parents, but the child too. But I didn’t want to write a typical abduction thriller. I set it in a post-apocalyptic world, where there are no police or systems left to rely on, forcing the parents to take matters into their own hands.
The second thread came from wanting to explore how power can corrupt, especially in a religious context. How does someone in a trusted position justify harming a child? What would they have to believe to live with themselves? Part of this came from reflecting on Canada’s history with residential schools.
The third idea was about superhuman abilities — but instead of the usual trope where only a few have powers, I flipped it. What happens when everyone has them? Does power still matter? If everyone is super, is anyone special anymore? That angle was especially fun to dig into.
What kind of research did you do for this novel?
My world takes some creative liberties. In the series, the sun shifts closer to the earth, causing catastrophic heat and a massive population collapse. To fight back, governments created the Helios Vaccine, but it comes with major side effects. Could something like that really happen? I’m not sure.
I did a lot of internet research on how long food and supplies would actually last before rotting. Most things have a surprisingly short shelf life. That led me to invent the Helios Pack, the government’s solution to its own failure. I should add that I wrote book one before COVID.
I also read a lot of books while writing, especially ones focused on the psychological side of trauma, and am fortunate to have a psychologist as a beta reader. She provides helpful feedback on the emotional and psychological arcs as the trilogy progresses.
My first hope is to give readers a sense of adventure, to take them somewhere they’ve never been, into situations they’ve never experienced. While my stories deal with big themes, I don’t expect readers to stop and analyze them. I let the story speak through how the characters and world respond. If a big moment keeps someone up at night, replaying the consequences of what happened to a character, I count that as a win.
My stories tend to lean dark. Characters are pushed to their limits mentally, emotionally, and physically. But through that, I hope readers find something deeper. I want them to see what resilience looks like in the worst circumstances and to feel inspired by how much strength people can find when they need it. We are capable of more than we think.
Best advice on writing you’ve ever received?
If I’m pointing a writer to a source, it’s Brandon Sanderson’s university lectures, which are free on YouTube. He’s a fantasy writer, but a lot of what he teaches about character, scene, and world-building is pure gold.
I don’t know if it’s the best advice, but the simplest one that changed everything for me was, “Write every day.” Once I took that to heart, everything shifted. I went from writing sporadically to finishing book after book.
If I had to offer something useful of my own, I’d say this: when you’re drafting, ignore all the rules. Don’t worry about “show, don’t tell” or how many adverbs you’re using. Don’t even think about that stuff until later. Just write the story in your heart. Put words on the page every day. You’ll never know enough or be good enough to write the story you want to tell until you’ve done a lot of writing. One more lecture, one more class, or one more book on craft won’t replace actual practice.
What is the weirdest/wildest topic or fact that you’ve had to research or uncovered in your research?
While researching for The Collective (book one in my post-apocalyptic trilogy), I was surprised to learn that almost everything we make on earth would be unusable within five to ten years. Without refining, manufacturing, or fresh supplies, we’d be in serious trouble. I created the Helios Pack because I’d destroyed most of the known world with the sun and needed a believable reason for how people were still surviving — credit to a beta reader who encouraged me explore this idea.
Can you tell us a two-sentence horror story?
Jake stumbled into the house, his keys slipping from his fingers and clattering into the tray by the door. His wife appeared in the hallway, red-faced and breathless, and said, “Do you even know what day it is?”
What else would you want readers to know about you? Where can readers find you online?
I like to think of myself as the Stephen King of genre hopping. All my stories explore the darker side of the human experience. People struggle, end up in terrible situations, and have to find the resilience within themselves to survive. So while one book might be set in a military backdrop and another in a post-apocalyptic world, you can count on a consistent tone and characters who are pushed to their limits.
If you’re drawn to stories that explore trauma, resilience, and the gray space between right and wrong, that’s the world I write in.
The best place to find me online is https://markpjnadon.ca. From there, you can check out my podcast, explore my novels, and connect with me on social media.
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