Welcome!

Welcome, everyone. My name is Mark S. R. Peterson, writer extraordinaire, and this is the premiere blog of "Views From The Outhouse."

For years, I've loved Stephen King's stories (and still do), and one of my favorite parts, besides the stories themselves, was when he would talk to his fellow readers and share his thoughts about the story, about writing, or even about life in general

When I started writing novels, I wanted to add an Afterward where I would spill my guts and talk about the story, just like my 2nd favorite author (yours truly, of course, is #1). I also wanted to have a unique name for it, something that would fit whatever novel I was writing, be it a horror novel, thriller, fantasy epic. Then, I thought of where I did my best thinking . . . the bathroom! And, since I live up here in the wilds of northwestern Minnesota, what better place to be than in my very own . . . outhouse!

Hence, "Views From The Outhouse" was born.

I didn't really know if I wanted to start a blog or not. I read many pros and cons . . . then, after reading The New Writer's Handbook Volume 2 by Scarletta Press and edited by Philip Martin, and found many interesting articles on blogs and how they can be used as a great marketing tool, I decided to jump headfirst.  But what to name it? Why, "Views From The Outhouse" of course.

So, here it is. After reading this you may ask, "Great, Mark, where can I buy your books?" Well, I have five completed novels, one of which I feel is in decent shape for publication (I hope, crossing my fingers) and it is a thriller based in Minneapolis, MN. The rest are in various forms of editing, some with a wee bit of fine-tuning and others with major re-writes on the horizon.

This has been fun. We'll do this again real soon. Stay tuned.

P.S.  Today is our wedding anniversary--not sure if that was planned or not.  Probably not, but isn't it weird how life gets aligned?