I bought an insurance policy covering the inheritance tax my kids will have to pay when we die, which I thought was a good bit of forward thinking. And I always know I'm going to have enough for tax because I make sure I keep it back in my business account. Mark Billingham accountbackbite share on social
Crime is the biggest genre in libraries and in bookshops, and it is hugely varied. Mark Billingham bigbookshopcrime Change image and share on social
The problem with being a writer is that some readers tend to think that anything that comes out of a character's mouth is you talking. Mark Billingham charactermouthproblem Change image and share on social
I started performing as a stand-up comedian on my own in the mid-1990s. Mark Billingham 1990scomedianmid Change image and share on social
It never ceases to amaze me that readers who are willing to suspend their disbelief when it comes to the motivation of a vicious serial killer get high and mighty because I have put a coffee shop where there isn't one. Er... it's a novel. I made one up. I'm allowed to make stuff up. I'd go as far as to suggest that I make stuff up for a living. Mark Billingham allowamazecease share on social
I think there's as much violence, in a way, as a scene with two women having a cup of coffee in a Ruth Rendell novel - in terms of emotional violence and the violence you can inflict with language - as there is in the most graphic kind of serial killer/slasher novel you can think of. Mark Billingham coffeecupemotional share on social
As a writer, you're making a pact with the reader; you're saying, 'Look, I know and you know that if this book was really a murder investigation, it would be a thousand pages long and would be very dull, and you would be very unhappy with the ending.' Mark Billingham bookdullend share on social
I was never a fan of cozy mysteries of anything set in the countryside, you know. Mark Billingham countrysidecozyfan Change image and share on social
Whether your audience is in a sweaty basement club or nestled in a favourite armchair, good money has been paid, and attention has got to be grabbed if you are not to be heckled off the stage or find your novel discarded in favour of the latest volume of 'Fifty Shades of Whatever.' Mark Billingham armchairattentionaudience share on social
The fact is that most crime novels contain a good many punchlines. They are just rather darker than the ones you might hear in a comedy club. Mark Billingham clubcomedycrime Change image and share on social