This is not the same thing as having a lobotomy, though I imagine they are both somewhat disorienting experiences. The creative, funny, and dare I say paranoid genius at Predator Press was kind enough to interview me about Marvellous Hairy and The Amadeus Net, though LOBO was considerate enough to ask me about hockey, the existence of Canada, and inter-species romance as well.

The results can be found at Predator Press, and include such exchanges as:

LOBO: Have you repented to your clergy for all the sex in The Amadeus Net yet? I tried to get my penance reduced by ratting you out about it, but the church was skeptical: rather than take my word for it, they ordered a case of the books to be distributed among the congregation for review. Now they are all blind, and their palms smell like Gillette. All of this could have been avoided with the simple use of a praying mantis. Are you an atheist Mark?

MAR: If you mean, do I believe in a “Magic Sky Father”, then yes. If you mean, do you believe in a “Cosmic Unconscious Fun Monkey,” then the answer is: maybe.

The whole interview is here. And you should check out the blog — it’s very funny.

I stumbled across this review on Goodreads today, and was practically levitating out of my chair. It’s so cool to see a reader’s take on the book, and really interesting when it intersects so closely — but not identically — with my intentions. Plus, the review is well written!

Here’s a clip:

I sensed there was something of The Odyssey lying beneath the surface of The Amadeus Net. Or maybe The Iliad – I’m not well versed in Homer, but the background of at least one or two characters seemed to suggest it. Regardless of whether I imagined that influence, Amadeus is a fantastic story, very well told. The time and labour Rayner put into creating the characters within the pages becomes apparent quickly, and their eclectic richness pays off handsomely as the reader becomes deeply concerned with their individual and collective fates.

You can find the full review here.

What do you know, another complimentary review of my first novel!

What I love about this review is the great thumbnails Hayden draws of the various characters:

The other characters had compelling stories and I loved how many of their stories were wrapped around Mozart’s. We have Bella, the psychopathic artist, born after the Shudder who grew up with her survivalist father. She’s beautiful, twisted, insane, and completely devoted to her art. There’s Les, the boring Canadian diplomat with an obsession for Helen Printo, a self-serving investigative reporter who will stop at nothing to get a story. She’s “friendly” with Alex Burton, a cruel, former black-ops solider who is desperate to get the funds together for an upcoming trip into outer space. He’s got plans to sell Mozart to the highest bidder. Oh, and we can’t forget Katerina, the beautiful Czech woman Mozart has found himself in love with. Did I mention she’s a lesbian? Or that she’s half in love with Helen Printo, and half in lust with Bella?

I also love that the book raises questions for her. You can read the whole thing here.

You can follow me at Twitter, or sign up for my newsletter, The MonkeySphere, for news about my upcoming novel, Marvellous Hairy.

There’s a new review of The Amadeus Net available, and it’s another nice one. It was reviewed by Janet Paszkowski at Flash Me Magazine, which published one of my flash fictions a few years ago. Here’s a snip:

“Strange? Yes. Implausible? No, because Rayner successfully crafts an inherent logic into his surreal story with a collage of plausible first-person narratives, which includes the first-person ‘thinking machine’ narrative of the actual setting of the story—the post-apocalyptic, utopian city-state of Ipolis, located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

“Furthermore, Rayner’s flair for sustained humor, and compelling story telling enhances the preposterous premises, characterizations, and worthy themes of art, love, and the search for self-identity and sex in the day-to-day existence of an eclectic cast of characters making their way through the end of the world.”

You can find the whole thing at Flash Me, but you’ll have to sign up for a subscription to get it — at $3/issue or $8/year (four issues), a great value.