{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The Side Quest Book Club Podcast","title":"Indie Author Interview - Mark Benson - Young Adult, Sci-Fi Thriller","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":4363,"description":"Join us as we sit down with Mark Benson, author, entrepreneur, and founder of Writerly — the thriving community transforming writers into family.In this interview, Mark shares his unconventional journey from Chicago's South Side to Marquette University (where he discovered that medical school wasn't his calling) to becoming a passionate novelist and storyteller. We dive into:✍️ His writing process and what inspires his emotional storytelling📚 His published books and creative projects🏔️ How he built Writerly — an annual gathering of writers in the Smoky Mountains🎭 Balancing multiple careers (from the World's Largest Laundromat to Disney travel advisor)💡 Advice for aspiring writers and creative entrepreneursWhether you're a writer, aspiring author, or someone curious about creative entrepreneurship, this conversation will inspire you to bet on yourself.📖 Mark's Books: authormarkbenson.com/books🎙️ Subscribe for more author interviews & writing contentABOUT THE BOOKIsaac was just 8 when his abusive dad killed his mom, with the horror captured in a single Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph: little Isaac, being led from the house with his puppy Miles, splashed in blues and the reds of police lights. Today, he’s bullied at school, handled with kid gloves by his adoptive uncle, and spends most of his time with an old and gray Miles, hiding in his parents' abandoned house. But one evening, he discovers his mom’s telescope, tucked away in the old house’s attic. The gift tag on the box is written in crayon, To: Mom, From: Isaac. With national and local news swarming for comment on his dad’s upcoming parole hearing, he has to move in the shadows, and night after night that’s exactly where he finds Halley, the new girl at school with an odd affection for breaking into houses but, oddest of all, an affection for Isaac. Using the telescope, with Halley and Miles by his side, he first discovers memories of Mom he thought were lost forever. Then he discovers Planet Nine, a super...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/AMKaOUxpu7QX1stlFkh6EvAHKU4C-UJoTN-2JKJadeU/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS8wNTMy/ZDM1Y2YyMWM1NmZk/ZjQwNTVjM2MxZWNk/ZGU5ZS5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}