The Story Behind Fall Out
After a stint on the outer reaches of Lloyds of London - Kidnap, Ransom and Extortion Insurance, I started with Jim Henson and the Muppets. That job change is a cracking story, but for another day! Following the Muppets, I became an Independent Producer. I have been involved in the Entertainment Industry for many years and in just about every aspect of it... Writer, Producer, Distributor, Channel Owner and even Recording Artist/Talent Management. During this wonderful ride I have worked with numerous stars.
My book Fall Out is a thriller set in that world and from the kind reviews of Oscar and Emmy nominated Producers as well as other thriller writers they seem to agree it’s both accurate and fun!
I learned many things in Hollywood about story. “Character is Action. What a person does, is what he is, not what he says,” said Hollywood script Guru Syd Field. I have forever kept that tattooed on my forehead.
Nevertheless, razor-sharp dialogue and well-chosen locations are equally important. The first must be crisp, concise, and revealing. Dialogue is there to move a story on, everything from a quiet aside to during action. A location also drives a story on. If well-chosen, it should reflect the underlying themes in the storyline at that moment; be they danger, loneliness, action or relaxation. Location should never be random but it’s description must quickly set a picture in the readers’ mind’s eye, so as not to slow the pace of the story.
Fall Out has locations in Bel Air and Venice Beach in LA, Belgravia in London, Theoule and Cannes in the South of France, Como in Italy, Habkern in Switzerland, and Manila along with Pagsanjean in the Philippines.
I have been fortunate enough to visit over 120 countries. All the places and experiences have gelled together from my past along with the darker side of human nature.
I attended various Festivals in Cannes (Film, Television and Music) over 50 times. When I was an owner of the Hallmark Channel, we rented the apartment in Cannes that I describe and is a murder scene. I also visited the satellite uplink in Subic Bay in the Philippines and have always been fascinated by their culture.
I was married at the Villa D’Este in Como and grew up near the Eden Rock Hotel in Cap D’Antes where I was a water-ski instructor one summer. The villa in Theoule, the boat and the statue all belonged to a dear friend of mine. The art filled house next to the Dorchester Hotel was owned by colleague and collaborator, multi-Emmy award winning Producer, Robert Halmi Snr. It was Lilly Langtree’s house where she had an affair with King Edward VII.
‘Write about what you know’ is a cliché for good reason. Wherever possible I have written about things that I have first-hand knowledge of, locations, cars, food, art, history, people, events, even forms of fighting. My wife has drawn a veil over the sex scenes!
What you don’t know you need to research. The book has a long bibliography; everything from Eleanor Copplola’s Book, Notes on Making Apocalypse Now (she is Director Francis Ford Coppola’s wife) via Balisong, The Lethal Art of Filipino Knife Fighting to Lonely River the secret stories of Hunan Province and Nu-Shu. In fact, Nu-Shu, a hidden written language used only in secret by women, fascinated me so much it got wound into my Da Vinci Code type clues!
It is difficult to pinpoint the actual inspiration for the book. It’s an amalgam of my love of travel, adventure, dangerous sports, history and Asian Art. This led to discovering a well-hidden mystery with an explosive reveal; a gem of a true story that needed telling in a relevant and I hope gripping setting. When reading Fall Out the reader should not be able to tell where reality ends and fiction starts.
And as for the film industry itself, the reader is an insider, as I lift the veil on the secrets of film making and some of the chicanery behind it. This is done by storyline rather than in a teachy-preachy style. As a bonus to enjoying a thriller, readers pick up a few titbits that help them understand what goes on making a movie. They can even read the credits understanding some of the arcane names and terms!
As to the long road to publication I learnt an expensive lesson. Never ever send out a manuscript until you are 100% certain it is the final edit. You get one bite at the cherry so make it count. I got there in the end, but the path was painful.
Finally, many people believe the publishing deal is the end. It is not. Yes, your publisher will help promote but never give up the pressure on social media or thinking outside the box. In addition to Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook, I have even entered the world of Tik Tok.
As for the characters in Fall Out… I’d get sued if I told you whom they are based on!
“A page-turning, jaw-dropping thriller of action and surprise. A riveting debut.” – Damien Lewis, international bestselling author
An LA screenwriter is killed shortly after completing his latest script, FALL OUT – a thriller destined to be a blockbuster but written with a secret double purpose. Echoing events from the past, the screenplay is sent to a very specific group of people and will change their lives forever. All are connected to a movie that had abruptly stopped shooting in the jungles of the Philippines years before. FALL OUT exposes the truth about a conspiracy and murder that led to a half-a-billion-dollar fortune for a select few.
Follow the story of Producer Marcus Riley, who sets out on an increasingly dangerous quest to get FALL OUT made. From a powerful agent’s office in Hollywood, hidden treasures in Belgravia and a remote chalet in the Swiss Alps to murder at the Cannes Film Festival, Marcus teams up with designer Melinda (Mako) de Turris as they and the other recipients of the screenplay are pursued by an assassin from the past.
With clues cleverly concealed in the screenplay, Marcus and Mako unravel a lethal puzzle that for some will bring death, others the truth and ends in a cave with a shocking secret…
“If you want a fast-paced stand out different thriller, I can’t recommend Fall Out enough. I loved it.” —Emma Forbes, broadcaster
“Amazing . . . I agree with all the other reviews that have stated if you like Dan Brown or James Patterson, then this book is for you.” —Joyful Antidotes
“And, action! Plenty of it and super nasty bad guys and stories so outrageously crazy they can only be true . . . Fall Out is inventive and, at times intentionally filmic . . . The fun doesn’t stop for 440 pages.” —Booksplainer
Book Information
Release Date: August 27, 2021
Publisher: Bloodhound Books
Soft Cover: ISBN: 978-1912666751; 400 pages; $13.46; Kindle: ASIN: B09C1PJNZ4; 480 pages; $4.99; FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED, FREE AUDIOBOOK WITH AUDIBLE TRIAL
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3M133DQ
Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/3Fz1DhI
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/fall-out-11
Mark Grenside, born and raised in London, began his working career straight out of school at Lloyds of London, specializing in Kidnap, Ransom and Extortion Insurance. At 25 it was time for a career change and to dump the suit and tie, so he started his media career working for Jim Henson and The Muppets©. From that moment on he has been involved in Entertainment and nearly every aspect of it.
He went on to create and produce several television series and mini-series. At the same time, he started a music management company launching million seller artist Neneh Cherry.
In 2004 he arranged the US $250 million buy-out of the Hallmark Channel International which was then successfully sold to NBC. He returned to producing a number of movies and mini-series.
He has recently morphed into a serial entrepreneur and is now a co-founder of seed to shelf CBD producer Dragonfly Biosciences (www.dragonflybiosciences.com) and a founder in two separate digital companies.
In addition to his love of cooking, an unhealthy amount of time and money is lavished on a collection of classic cars that he has raced all over the world. He enjoys risk and has parachuted in New Zealand, scuba-dived in the Pacific, hang-glided in the Himalayas and even tobogganed down the Cresta Run. In nearly every case chasing after his wife who is utterly fearless!
He is now writing the follow up to Fall Out, entitled The Bastion. In addition, he writes a humorous blog with subscribers in more than 40 countries. www.andanotherthing.com
He has two grown sons, two daughters’-in-law, three grandchildren and lives in Malta with his wife and two French bulldogs.
Mark’s latest book is the thriller, Fall Out.
You can visit his website at www.MNGrenside.com and his blog at www.AndAnotherThing.com or connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads.
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