Books celebrate ageing
It was a risk when Drouin resident Mark Biggs decided to write a three-book series aimed at older readers starring a couple aged in their 80s.
And yet, the retired psychologist has found success with his “Max and Olivia” eBook series which celebrates old age and challenges the perception of ageing.
The humorous and action-filled series stars grumpy 87-year-old Max and his renegade wife Olivia who are Cold War spies living in a nursing home and forgotten by time.
All that stops when they find a secret message in a newspaper which takes them back to their spy days.
Mark released “Operation Underpants”, which ranked 48th in its humour category after its release, “Claudia” and the newly added “Operation OBE (Over Bloody Eighty)”.
With 6746 books released each day on Amazon, Mark was surprised by the rankings in an exceptionally crowded market.
Although written for the Australian and UK market, it was the USA readers who embraced the series. Mark believes this was due to a willingness to try self-published works.
“It celebrates their achievements as older people,” said Mark. It shows they are still heroes as older people.”
Mark tried his hand at writing with book “Above and Beyond”, released in 2014. It told the life of his father Rev. Laurence Walter Biggs who served in special operations during World War II before becoming an Anglican minister in Drouin.
Asked about future books, Mark said “I’ve got a couple of things in mind”.
Whilst his recently released “Operation OBE (Over Bloody Eighty)” is the third and final book, Max has been considering a prequel to the series.
Mark Biggs’ books are available at amazon.com.