I am currently working on book 5 of the Mark King series of books and plan to write 19. Initially I wrote it as a script for a TV series but after a long list of rejections, my wife suggested I turn it into a book. At first, I was reluctant, preferring to perceiver with the process of contacting yet more and more producers and directors, mostly of my favourite TV series and mostly in the US. I adored these shows and felt that if I liked them, surely they would want some of my material? Unfortunately I was wrong and so proceeded to turn the script into a book.
Hit
When I write, I write to music, especially in battle scenes, tense scenes or scenes which require a high level of emotion. Classical and atmospheric music has often contributed to a sudden burst of creativity as I found I could build scenes around the music and then feed off the music to grow each scene. For example, in one of my later book manuscripts, I was writing a ballroom scene and it was at a point when Adele had just released ‘When We Were Young,’ and it was a perfect reflection of what was happening in that scene. So when I wrote the scene, I had the song on repeat until I had finished writing. It really inspired emotional creativity.
I was heavily involved in the theatre from a young age. Mainly trained in classical ballet, I once performed with the English National Ballet in Derek Dean’s Swan Lake. It was fantastic, although growing up as a dancer and attending an all-boys school had its downsides. I came in for an awful lot of trouble once my very closely guarded secret was finally revealed in Year 9, and it continued until the day I left school. It was true that, then, if you learned how to dance, you learned how to fight. However, once I left school I was free to pursue it without fear of persecution.
When I wasn’t at the dance studio rehearsing, my mum and I used to ride, hacking through the Hampshire countryside twice a week on a variety of horses. My mum’s regular horse was called Star and mine was a Welsh Cob called Heathcliff who would only let males ride him. I also took part in gymkhanas, winning in quite a few disciplines. My main event though was and always will be jumping, although I never quite clinched a 1st place, mostly finishing 2nd, but I loved it.
Nearly all of the characters in my books are based on real people I have met. This includes those heavily involved in the criminal world. When I am in need of a new character, more often than not I will venture out to city centres and listen in on people, sometimes unintentionally, and look around for inspiration. I’ve always loved being a people watcher and I am usually able to spot either a potential character, or a scenario which I think would make a great scene which I can expand on.
I used to work in the legal and financial industry which is where the character of Mark King was born. Actually, he was created whilst on my lunch break wandering around Ocean Village Marina in Southampton! After working with many legal figures in my career, I often wondered how they would react if their lives were so drastically changed in an event such as the one which sets my main character Mark King, on the path to professional killer. What intrigued me most was how much would it take for them to take the law into their own hands, I don’t know why, but I suppose I was just daydreaming and suddenly an idea was born.
Hit was actually a TV series I’d written long before it was turned into a book. I even planned which actors and actresses would play each character. I was a massive fan of many US shows and once I began to invent new characters, I instantly wanted the actors who I had seen, to play them. It was fun recording each and every episode so I was almost auditioning them from my living room, making notes about them and wondering how much they would charge to appear should it be taken on as a TV series.
While my mum was undergoing chemotherapy for Endometrial Cancer, she would ask me to sit with her with the laptop and to take her mind off the pain; we would write chapters and scenes together. She would suggest edits, tell me my character wouldn’t say certain things, critique, and suggest improvements. An awful lot of work came from my mum. Shortly after the Christmas of that same year, sadly mum passed away. She never got to see the completed work.
The most common question I am asked is, ‘is Mark King based on me?’ No it isn’t, although there are similarities. He is an amalgamation of several legal figures I have worked with over my career. I was lucky enough to be mentored at the start of my career by some seriously talented legal representatives, and I got to watch some great men and women at work both in and out of court. I guess Mark’s personality came out of all the research both from memory and online, of these people, some of whom I hadn’t seen for over 10 years. One in particular, was once a member of the Army, taking part in regular tours in arenas such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Northern Ireland and always wanted to be a marksman. That was where the idea for Mark King’s background came from.
I am part of a group in the Guinness Book of Records which holds the current record for the most people singing ‘Sing Star’ on a sofa. Off the back of this, two friends and I planned to drive from Landsend to John O’Groats on the back of a drop side long distance container lorry singing a song called ‘The 4 Chord Song’ which basically describes every pop song can be linked to the same 4 chords. As yet we haven’t done it, but it is planned, with any money raised to go to various Cancer research charities.
About the author: Living in Hampshire, right on the edge of Southampton Water, P.S Bridge has spent over a decade working in the private financial and legal sector. Away from his professional life, he embraces his creative side and is often found writing stories whilst listening to music. An avid reader from a young age he counts author Scott Mariani as one of the many influences that finally encouraged him to put the finishing touches to the first in his Mark King thriller series. Hit by P.S Bridge (published by Clink Street Publishing 27th July 2017 RRP £9.99 paperback and RRP £3.99 ebook) is available to purchase from online retailers including amazon.co.uk and to order from all good bookstores.