Blog – Mark Posey–Crime, Thrillers, Suspense

What We’ve Been Watching Lately (And Why I Can’t Stop Thinking About It)

Leave a Comment / Other Thrillers, TV Tuesday / April 13, 2026 / 1980s, authentic characters, binge watching, character-driven stories, Cold War, Cold War drama, drama series, mark posey, Soviet spies, spy drama, Stories Rule Press, storytelling, streaming, suspense, television, television review, The Americans, Tracy Cooper-Posey, TV shows, what we're watching

Lately, Tracy and I have been watching The Americans, and it has completely hooked us. Not because of the spy story—although that’s excellent—but because everything about it feels real. The relationships are messy, the choices are complicated, and the 1980s setting feels lived in instead of staged. It’s the kind of show that doesn’t just entertain you for an hour. It lingers afterward and leaves you wondering what you would have done in the same situation.

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Five Movies That Prove Story Always Wins

Leave a Comment / Reflections / April 6, 2026 / books and movies, classic films, David Morrell, film adaptations, First Blood, mark posey, movie recommendations, movies based on books, narrative voice, Robert James Waller, Robert Ludlum, Stand By Me, Stephen King, story first, storytelling, storytelling in film, Tags: book to film adaptations, The Bourne Identity, The Bridges of Madison County, The Shawshank Redemption

Some movies adapt a book. A rare few understand it. From Stand By Me to The Bourne Identity, these are five films that prove story always matters more than spectacle, budget, or special effects.

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The Story That Reminded Me Why Stories Matter

Leave a Comment / Reading, Reflections / March 30, 2026 / coming of age, friendship, mark posey, movies, nostalgia, Stand By Me, Stephen King, story craft, storytelling, why stories matter, writing inspiration

A great story doesn’t just entertain—it pulls you under. Stand By Me still hits because it reminds us of who we were… and who we still are beneath everything else.

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Fall From Grace — Status Update (Heavily Redacted)

Leave a Comment / My Books, Progress Monday / March 23, 2026 / action thriller, behind the scenes, conspiracy, crime thriller, espionage, Grace Worthington, indie author, mark posey, mystery, political thriller, psychological suspense, sequel, strong female protagonist, suspense, thriller, upcoming release, work in progress, writing update

Grace Worthington is facing a situation that’s already spiralling out of control—and someone involved may be helping, sabotaging, or both. Details remain… classified.

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Sorry About the Lost Sleep

Leave a Comment / My Books / March 16, 2026 / cliffhangers, mark posey, page turners, readers and writers, reading habits, storytelling, suspense fiction, thriller writing, writing craft, writing process

Ever sit down with a book thinking you’ll read just one chapter before bed… and suddenly it’s 2:03 a.m.? Mark Posey confesses why those “just one more chapter” moments are sometimes a little bit deliberate—and why writers secretly love hearing about them.

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Why Readers Matter More Than Writers Sometimes Think

Leave a Comment / Reading / March 9, 2026 / book lovers, indie authors, readers, reading, reading community, Stories Rule Press, storytelling, the magic of books, writers and readers, writing life

Writers spend months — sometimes years — alone in a room inventing characters, places, and entire worlds. It can start to feel like writing is a solitary act. But the truth is, a story isn’t finished when the writer types the last sentence. It comes alive when someone reads it. When a reader laughs, gasps, misses their bus stop, or stays up far too late turning pages — that’s when the story truly becomes real.

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I Forgot I Wrote This Book

Leave a Comment / My Books / March 2, 2026 / behind the scenes, book markets, Canadian author, high stakes fiction, indie author life, indie science fiction, moral dilemmas, Project Gateway, sci-fi thriller, science fiction, science fiction books, speculative fiction, thriller novels, time travel, time travel fiction, time travel thriller

I forgot to bring my own time-travel thriller to the market. Not sold out—forgot to order it. Which is impressive, considering I wrote it. If you like high-stakes time travel, moral consequences, and science that actually matters, this is your reminder.

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A Writer’s Mind Does Not Walk in Straight Lines

Leave a Comment / Writing life / February 23, 2026 / alternate realities, creative thinking, imagination, speculative fiction, story ideas, where stories come from, writer’s mind, writing inspiration, writing process

A writer’s mind doesn’t stop at a strange thought — it follows it past the point most people turn back. Somewhere along that drift, reality starts to feel negotiable… and a story begins to breathe.

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Where Ideas Actually Come From

Leave a Comment / Writing life / February 16, 2026 / author insights, creative process, finding story ideas, storytelling, time travel fiction, what if questions, where ideas come from, writer mindset, writing inspiration, writing life

Ideas don’t arrive fully formed. They start as small, sideways questions — the kind that won’t leave you alone once they land. That’s where stories actually come from.

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When the Work You’re Paid For Pushes Aside the Work of the Heart

Leave a Comment / Writing life / February 9, 2026 / author mindset, author workflow, balancing roles, craft of writing, creative discipline, editing, productivity for writers, professional writing, writing life, writing process

Some weeks, the stories don’t stall — they simply make room for other word-work. Editing, shaping, refining someone else’s manuscript is still time spent inside the craft. And when you finally return to your own blank page, you bring sharper instincts with you.

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Writing While the House Is On Fire

Leave a Comment / Writing life / February 2, 2026 / AmWriting, author mindset, creative work, full time writer, indie author, indie publishing, productivity for writers, protecting writing time, writers life, writing discipline, writing habits, writing life

Right now the to-do list is loud. Fulfill a 660%-funded Kickstarter. Edit other writers’ books. Run a publishing company. Market existing titles. Keep upcoming releases on track. And somewhere in there is a quiet little line that says: Write the next book.

That line is always the easiest to slide.

Because it doesn’t yell. It doesn’t send invoices. It doesn’t have shipping deadlines. It just waits — patiently — while everything else feels urgent.

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The Top Five Misconceptions About Authors

Leave a Comment / Writing life / January 26, 2026 / author humor, author misconceptions, author reality, book marketing, creative work, indie author, publishing life, writing discipline, writing life, writing process

People have a general sense of what authors do, but that sense is… impressionistic. Which leads to some wonderfully confident assumptions about money, inspiration, and what happens after a book is published. In the spirit of public service, here are five of the most persistent misconceptions about authors—and what the job actually looks like from the inside.

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