#9 Karl Klein 1 on 1 with Mark Atley
Karl Klein, dog lover! Lives in southeastern Michigan and can be reached via Instagram karlmklein
Hello everyone, and welcome to "1 on 1 with Me!" In this series, I highlight a new author and engage in a thoughtful conversation about who they are, what they care about, and their perspectives on various topics. I start with standard questions and then move into tailored follow-ups based on their responses.
I find the format to be conversational, and I truly enjoy it. My primary focus is to highlight the author I am interviewing.
Who am I? I am an author known for creating crime fiction, with a particular focus on complex characters, engaging dialogue, and narratives centered around crime themes. I genuinely enjoy listening to people and letting them share their stories.
If you are interested in being a guest, please reach out to me on social media or email me with the subject line: "Author Interview." This initiative is my way of giving back to the writing community. The guests you’ll hear from in these interviews come from diverse backgrounds, and they may or may not be familiar voices in the writing community. That’s the beauty of this platform on Substack—it's free!
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—Everyone matters.
—Be positive.
—Gratitude in everything.
—Default action is compassion.
—Empathy. Always.
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On to the interview!
Karl Klein, dog lover! Lives in southeastern Michigan and can be reached via Instagram karlmklein
Who are you and can you tell me a little about your work? What drives you? What do you hope to accomplish?
I'm Karl Klein. Born and raised in southwestern Michigan and now residing in Southeastern Michigan. I'm a father, work in the automotive business and write in my spare time. I've always enjoyed writing but it was ad hoc until about 7 years ago when I started approaching 40 and really wanted to buckle down and create something. I've got stories to tell and I think I've got enough talent and discipline to do so. As far as what I hope to accomplish: FAME and FORTUNE!!! Or rather getting things out there that people can either escape into or enjoy and connect with.
How do you see your relationship with the reader?
I love talking about my works. I've had some fun conversations with some of my readers about my works (influences, style, etc), though so far I haven't had anyone ask for clarification on "what happened?" or "why did character x do y?" which I take as a good sign that I've done enough in my work to show closure of plotlines and justification of actions.
How do you view your characters? What has changed over time, and what has stayed the same? How do you develop complex characters?
Firstly, I view my characters as living people with motivations, backstories, desires, most of which never explicitly make it onto the page. But that becomes the basis for what they do when they face a given situation. It's not what I'd do, it's what the character I've created would do. Sometimes this is easy, when the character has some traits they share with me (what would a father do in x situation becomes easy). Sometimes this is more challenging (a 13 year old orphaned girl wandering around the zombie apocalypse or a newly arisen undead ghoul driven mad by his situation). Ultimately, it comes down to finding something I can connect to within the character and getting in their headspace.
What is your version of success? Has it changed during your writing journey? How so? What’s different now versus when you started?
I think all writers want to be the Next Big Thing* and I would love that and that is still a dream but things shifted a few years ago. Health scares (both personal and others) drove me to just get things out there. That's why I went the self-published route. Now that I've got a completed trilogy (and a supplemental short story collection) as well as a few short stories in another genre, I'd like to try and move into the traditional publishing space with my next work. I think self-publishing is great and it's awesome to hold a physical copy of a book I created (and listening to the audio version was trippy) but I don't truly have the time and energy to delve into the marketing aspect that self-publishing needs. Aaaaand I'd like the validation of cracking into the traditional realm.
*George RR Martin, Stephen King, JK Rowling,
What type of reader are you? How do you view books you read, and how do they affect you and your writing?
I've always been a voracious reader. Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn were the first "adult" books I read way back in 1st grade. Later, I fell in love with the horror and fantasy genres (and I consider myself a fantasy/sci-fi fan first and foremost.Joe Abercrombie's First Law and James SA Corey's the Expanse are two of my favorite series - as well as Lord of the Rings, A Song of Ice and Fire, and Wheel or Time). I read for enjoyment 90% of the time and research the other 10%. Sometimes those intersect. I also take inspiration from everything I read, be it positive or negative. As an example, one of the inspirations for my Vampires vs. Zombies series was 'Salem's Lot and how quickly vampirism spread in that novel. With an infection vector like that, vampires would overrun the world pretty quickly or run out of a food source. One of the first things I did when deciding to write about vampires was putting limitations on how they spread.
Of course, the more I write, the more critical I've become.of stylistic choices of words and sentence arrangements, which sometimes takes me out of the escapism for a moment but if the characters and story are strong enough then it's a fleeting thought.
How do you find readers? What works and hasn’t worked for you? What resonates with you when readers share thoughts about your work? And where do you see yourself in the writing community and publishing world?
I struggle with this (the irony of someone that worked in marketing). I've tried social media (Reddit, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, X, Blusky, Truth, Threads... the only one I haven't tried is TikTok. A 40-something on TikTok is a bridge too far for me) and I get engagement but not sales, which is a common issue with indie authors.
I like getting feedback, especially when what I consider my strengths in writing align with what others also call out: Strong, believable characters, visceral action scenes, plot resolution.
I'm a nascent voice in the writing community. What I hope is that I can follow a Kid Rock career track. Selling self-produced tapes out of the back of my trunk to selling out venues. Right now, I'm still in the first phase of that.
—Please provide a brief blurb about yourself, and feel free to promote your recent book or work.
As my profile on social media says, I'm a part time beer snob, part time coffee snob and a fan of Detroit Sports (plus Michigan State and Liverpool). Having been to 4 continents and all 50 states, the latter mostly in an RV or camper, I enjoy travel, new places, and new experiences.
My Vampires vs. Zombies trilogy (book 1: Ashes on Snow Vampires vs. Zombies: Ashes on Snow - Kindle edition by Klein, Karl M. Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com. is available in Kindle Unlimited, paperback, and audiobook)
I also have three short stories Inspired by Robert E. Howard and Fritz Lieber set in a post-apocalyptic dystopia I've dubbed the Cycolpean Age The Cyclopean Age (3 book series) Kindle Edition available on Kindle Unlimited and collected in a paperback.
—Tell me something interesting about yourself that these questions stimulated thought about. And tell me something you want others to know.
My Golden Retriever, Celtic Pride's Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond, is my co-author, though she doesn't get credit on the covers.
How does working in the automotive business transfer over to writing? What do you do in the business and does this help or hurt your writing? Give you freedom? Or take up time? How does it not transfer over?
Working in the auto industry has exposed me to a vast cross-section of people from blue-collar line workers, to top level executives, as well as personnel that I indirectly work with (waitstaff, flight attendants, hotel staff, uber/taxi drivers, etc). This exposure to people allows me to pull character traits that I've witnessed and use that to flesh out characters to make them feel real. "Write what you know" is the adage everyone gets, but when writing fantastical stories, be it vampires, zombies, dragons, aliens, no one can "know" these creatures so the challenge is to make the characters come alive, and therefore the supernatural elements become more believable/realistic. I feel that living life, regardless of job or career, is what refines a writer's ability and can only make them better.
I think any job is going to limit the ability of any artistic endeavour, though I've had some great ideas while driving to and from and then quickly jotted a note down once I had a moment so I could build on it later. Of course there are times when the day job interferes with writing, as it should, it pays the bills. Having those bills paid gives me the freedom to carve out an hour or so to write, and I've done that in airports, hotel rooms, the back of taxis. It becomes about consistency and dedication.
I believe travel is essential to any good writer whether it be to the town next door or internationally. What has traveling brought to your as a writer? As a person? And as a family man? How does that come through in all those areas and what are some traveling tips you have to pass along to readers? Cons?
I agree and I've answered some of this in the previous question because I am lucky enough to have traveled to some interesting places for work. I also enjoy traveling for pleasure, as does my family. We've been to all 50 states and only used air travel 3 times. We enjoy seeing all aspects of the places we go and try to find unique things to see and do in each place we visit. We tend to prioritize National Parks and local cuisines. The more I travel, the more perspective I get. I see where people are coming from, what environment they live in and empathizing with that, allows me to show a real world... even if it isn't the real world.
Traveling trips: Enjoy the moment. Find the unique beauty in where you are. Interact with the locals. And treasure the people you get to share those moments with.
As to the last question, I see no cons in travel!
Dogs are man’s best friend. Let’s give your co-author credit here. May I have a photograph of the true brains behind the operation to share with others? Lol. What does being a pet owner and responsible adult bring to your writing? And what other areas does it enrich?
I love animals. If I wasn't allergic to cats, I'd have several. I also, obviously, love dogs. I don't know if my current, or previous, dogs have helped me as a writer, though it's always nice to have a companion in what is a solitary task. I've been in writing groups and that can be distracting. A dog curled up at (or on) my feet or sighing in the chair behind me is less distracting but alleviates the isolation. And the only time they're distracting is when they want food.
https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0BQZDHVGM
Mark Atley is known for writing crime fiction, with his works often characterized by complex characters, engaging dialogue, and narratives that build tension towards explosive climaxes.
Atley's approach to writing often involves creating intricate plots where characters' histories and motives are deeply interwoven, providing readers with both entertainment and a commentary on crime and morality. His work has been featured on platforms like Audible for audiobooks, indicating a broad reach in the crime fiction genre.
Mark Atley also engages with his audience through social media, where he can be followed for updates on new releases and insights into his writing process
You had me at digs & Fritz Leiber