MARK DANIEL

A selection of publications:

 

Novels:

Conviction (Michael Joseph, 1981)

The Laughing Man (Michael Joseph, 1983)

Under Orders (US Unbridled) (Barrie & Jenkins/Arrow, US Tick nor &Fields/Arden, 1989. Also in Japan, France, and Czechoslovakia etc.

The Bold Thing (do., 1990)

The Devil to Pay (Michael Joseph/Signet, US St Martin's Press/Arden, 1991)

Pity the Sinner (do., 1992)

Sleek Bodies (do., 1994)

A Killing Joke (do. 1996)                                    

 

Teenage Novels:

On the Spot (Armada, 1988)

In a Spin (Armada, 1989)

 

Novelisations:

Give Us A Break (Macdonald Futura, 1983)

Knights and Emeralds (Fontana, 1986)*

Chocky's Challenge (Thames Methuen, 1986)

MacGyver on Ice (Armada, 1986)

2 x Ghostbusters (Carnival, 1987)

2x Count Duckula (Carnival, 1987)

Jack the Ripper (Penguin, 1988)

And many others...

*Mark Daniel also worked extensively on the screenplay.

 

Belles Letters:

The Essential Gilbert White of Selborne (Country Classics, 1983, Ed. and Intro)

A Golden Treasury of Nursery Verse (Breslich & Foss/Pavilion, US Dial, 1986)

A Golden Treasury of Animal Verse (do., 1987)

A Child's Treasury of Christmas Verse (do. 1989)

A Golden Treasury of Seaside Verse (do. 1991)

World Famous Moments in Sport (Robinson, 1995)

Cranks & Gadflies: A History of the UK Independence Party (Timewell Press, 2005)

 

Comic Fantasy: (as Mark F. Parker)

X-Calibre (Mark Daniel's comic reworking of Mallory’s Le Morte d'Arthur), (Robinson/Magpie, 2001)

 

TO BE PUBLISHED 2007

French Letters and the English Canon (Timewell Press)

 

And another book – the first of two - to be published by The Friday Project under a pseudonym.

 

Mark Daniel is a widely respected journalist who has contributed many Opinions columns, leaders and features to the Express, the Western Morning News, the Irish Independent, the Ecologist and many other publications. As an accomplished cook and former restaurant chef, he has been for many years the crusading food correspondent for Country Illustrated and The Western Morning News and now for The Liberal, has a monthly racing column in Odds On and has written travel for House and Garden and others. He was principal columnist and leader writer for the Western Morning News, Britain’s largest regional newspaper, for eight years until 2006 when he returned to book-writing full-time. His humorous column, ‘The Coningsby Gazette’, has also run weekly in the Western Morning News for seven years. He is also renowned as a ‘Food Doctor’, a consultant assisting hotels, producers and caterers alike with their products, images, menus, produce and marketing.

 

The son of a Lambourn racehorse trainer and a well-known painter of horses, Mark was educated at Ampleforth and at Peterhouse, Cambridge. He spent two years cooking professionally in France and two years in Italy as a tutor and interpreter, and speaks both languages fluently. He also lived for ten years in Ireland, and is familiar with Irish culture and every level of Irish society.

 

For two years, he served as Press and Media Officer to the EDD Group in the European Parliament (references available on request), and has extensive contacts in the media, politics, sport and the food and catering industries throughout Europe..

 

Mark is an acknowledged expert in the Victorian underworlds and their ‘cant’, British natural history and the rituals and language of venery. He also, inevitably, knows a great deal about every aspect of food and food-production and about sport.  His principal hobbies are falconry, fly-fishing, surfing, high life, low-life and the collection of Corinthian horse-races worldwide.

 

*

Critical acclaim for MARK DANIEL

Of Under Orders, the New York Times Book Review said: "Ears-back and nostrils-flaring style...beauty and brutality. Not even a Dick Francis hero could pass him on this track."

 

Jilly Cooper wrote of: "A marvelous new novel, a tremendous discovery."

 

Publishers Weekly identified it as: "a dazzling insider's view of the sport... The characters and the ambience ring absolutely true, with some of the most exciting and realistic race-scenes ever penned. A top-notch, winning debut."

 

Mystery News said that "Daniel's mastery of the sounds and smells of the turf is alone worth the price of admission."

 

"A new writing talent has entered the genre of the racing novel with a book that is pacey, authentic and genuinely exciting," said the Daily Mail, whilst the Evening Standard spoke of: "Atmosphere, gnarled racetrack characters, mud, courage, tension... It is a story of people tempted, corrupted, out of control. An unusually classy thriller."

 

The Bold Thing was described by Preview as "Dick Francis for grown-ups", and by Race form as "A really cracking good read."

 

The Devil to Pay earned a further host of plaudits:

 

"Dashing... Mr Daniel can turn a steeplechase into a heart-thumping scene, but he can also set a grand scene at Ascot without going anywhere near the track... Written in championship style." New York Times.

 

"Heart-stopping steeplechase scenes and a plot that twists through nasty family secrets... Writing like Dick Francis without kid gloves, Daniel layers multiple surprises into the extended conclusion of this rewarding tale of a rough-edged racing crowd." Publisher's Weekly.

 

"Mark Daniel's style is nothing if not exuberant. This is a good old adventure yarn that will be immediately recognisable by the Dick Francis fan. On the other hand, it is a bit strong for your maiden aunt..." The Oldie.

 

"Pace, the thunder of hooves and plenty of action... Good stuff with enough of the turf to smack of a genuine rival to the old-timer." Oxford Times.

 

Pity the Sinner caused Booklist to observe: "Daniel's previous horse-racing mysteries were notably more challenging and, ultimately, more rewarding than anything of their ilk, but they could scarcely prepare the reader for this, his darkest and most harrowing tale... Readers expecting an evening's diversion will surely be discomfited upon being confronted with a deadly serious exploration of the nature of morality and conscience, but they will also be riveted to each page."

 

Kirkus Reviews told of: "a marvelously overextended tour de force that'll make your hair stand on end. The most formulaic of Daniel's racing thrillers, but, in its mounting pace, very reminiscent of Dick Francis's Nerve, the most deeply satisfying of them all."

 

Sleek Bodies drew from the Guardian the following verdict: "Not only the natural successor to Dick Francis, but a writing talent capable of taking the racing thriller to a far wider audience."

 

Whilst Booklist was unequivocal: "Daniel writes the grittiest, sexiest, most fully engaging horse-racing mysteries on the market... His plots are never predictable; the only sure thing is that his admirers will not be disappointed."