WORKING remote has become “normal” for many since the onset of the global COVID pandemic.
But author Mark T Rasmussen seems to have taken that working philosophy further than most – his remote desk is located in a “remote seaside village” in Mexico.
An inveterate traveller (more than 60 countries and still counting) his movements were seriously curtailed in 2020 when COVID restrictions prevented his wife, Jennifer, from entering Australia.
“She was unable to enter Australia during the COVID chaos and visa processing times and costs blew out,” Rasmussen said. “I found a loophole that allowed me to exit when borders were shut [and] since that time, two years ago now, we’ve had a baby to mix it up and make life more fun.”
Rasmussen, who attended Mount Eliza Primary School and the then Mount Eliza High, worked as a journalist and editor for about 30 years on the Mornington Peninsula while living in Mornington and Safety Beach. He says he would like to retire to Red Hill.
He has written novels and screenplays and recently released The Journey, which was essentially written before he left Australia but fine-tuned in Mexico.
“In many ways I needed to go on this journey to realise my own journey, in order to complete my novel The Journey. That sounds awfully a lot like a Dr Seuss book. Sorry,” Rasmussen said.
While he has “good friends” on the peninsula none of them are “recognisable” in his latest novel, although “some will recognise an element of my life in the book, although it is a work of fiction”.
“Inspiration for The Journey came from a ‘What if?’ moment right around the time I was expecting my first child.
“While I was overjoyed about being a father for the first time, I wondered what if a man wasn’t thrilled? What if he wanted to escape his situation and find his freedom?”
Rasmussen says most of his writing ideas for adult and children’s fiction “comes from real life, events, experiences, and travel, while also being very observant, and then applying my own take on things, before fictionalising it”.
“I like stories grounded in some sort of reality yet be fantastical all at the same time.”
Although The Journey has only recently been released, Rasmussen is already deep into his next adult fiction book, The Last, which is previewed in The Journey.
While The Journey explores some darker, inner feelings The Last, “explores humanity and its destruction of the world in big and small ways”.
The biggest twist in this narrative is that humanity is being seen through the eyes and experiences of “the last Martian” who has come to Earth to see out his final days.
The Martian meets two friends try to show him a good time and show “what it’s like to be a human living on Earth”.
“Instead, the last Martian sees the horrors and atrocities around the world on the news and in real life, and can see the catastrophe awaiting the world and global human population if we don’t change our harmful behaviours and destructive ways,” Rasmussen said.
“Needless to say, The Last is big on current global events, yet is steeped in heart and love. I’m really excited to get back into it once the launch for The Journey is over.”
Before The Last comes out, Rasmussen plans on publishing a down to earth children’s picture book “that offers kid’s a refreshing and uplifting take on separation and divorce”.
“Almost every book I’ve seen on that topic felt heavy handed, dense and un-fun. I wanted to show kids it’s not all doom and gloom, while making it educational and fun for them to read.”
First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 17 January 2023
