Get to know Mark S Bonta, crime fiction writer

and his band without knowing the sound that defined them. The process of creating each track was a mix of improvisation and structure, layering guitars, drums, bass and vocals until the music matched the emotion of the story.

Starting with the visual image of the setting or scene, I’d build a mood board of colours and textures that matched the feel I was going for. Then I’d let the characters guide me towards the details – the smell of smoke, the hum of amps, the flicker of bulbs in a run-down dive bar. That base would suggest a tempo, a key, a vibe, and from there, I’d just follow its lead.

Every song is a chapter, and every chapter is a song. They inform each other: lyrics inspire scenes, characters dictate beats, and sometimes, a stray chord can rewrite a paragraph. The album becomes a character in its own right, intertwining with the story like a parallel timeline – neither existing without the other.

The cool thing about it all is that by the time the final book is done, the album’s finished too, so I can offer the reader a kind of bonus experience when they pick up the novel. They’re not just following the story – they’re following the melodies, the harmonies, the silences in between. The music deepens the emotional connection, making the characters real, the stakes high, the stakes and setting vital.

And after all, isn’t that what crime fiction’s all about? It should be more than just reading words on a page – it should be an immersion into another world, a journey through the heart of something real and true, no matter how dark or twisted. That’s what I hope to bring to readers – the kind of visceral experience that hits all the senses, engages the mind, and carries you away, like a ripped-off riff kicking in right when the tension peaks.