Nick Sharman
Nick Sharman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Scott Grønmark November 20, 1952 Oslo, Norway |
| Died | June 29, 2020 (aged 67) London, UK |
| Pen name | Nick Sharman, Alexander Scott, A. G. Scott |
| Occupation |
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| Website | |
| scottgronmark | |
Scott Grønmark (1952–2020), best known for his pen name Nick Sharman, was a Norwegian-born English author of horror fiction.[1]
Life and works
Grønmark was born in Oslo in 1952. His father and mother had met in England during World War Two; he, an officer in the Luftforsvaret, was a bomber pilot with the RAF, and she was in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force. In 1958, upon his father being posted to the Norwegian embassy in the United Kingdom, the family relocated to London.[2][3]
After graduating at Cambridge, Grønmark went on to work in publicity for an academic publishing house in Camden, and then in public relations for New English Library, an imprint specializing in original mass-market paperbacks in the genres of fantasy, science fiction, mystery and horror, and whose roster included staple names such as Stephen King, Harold Robbins, Robert Bloch, Brian Aldiss, and Frank Herbert.[2][4] Grønmark first tried his own luck at writing in 1977; his debut horror novel The Cats (likely capitalizing on the success of James Herbert's 1974 best-seller The Rats) sold 100,000 copies in the UK alone.[1] Because he held a position at NEL at the time, he couldn't use his own name, so he came up with the pseudonym Nick Sharman.[5]
With this first success, Grønmark was able to become a full-time writer, publishing more horror novels in the tradition of NEL: rich in violence, gore, and sexploitation.[6][7] Outside of the horror genre, he began a series of historical adventure stories set in Scotland during the peak of Jacobitism, "Highland Rebel" (1978), but only two books were released, under the pseudonym Alexander Scott. His last novel, Steel Gods (1990) would be the only one to be published under his real name.[2]
Novels
- The Cats (1977)
- The Scourge (1980)
- The Surrogate (1980)
- Childmare (1980) (also as by A. G. Scott)
- Judgment Day (1982)
- The Switch (1984)
- You're Next! (1986) (also as Next!)
- Steel Gods (1990) (as by Scott Grønmark)
Highland Rebel series (as Alexander Scott)
- The Devil's Clan (1978)
- Capture the Prince! (1978)
References
- ^ a b Hendrix, Grady (2017). Paperbacks from Hell. Philadelphia: Quirk Books. ISBN 978-1-59474-981-0.
- ^ a b c Morris, Roderick Conway. "Scott Grønmark Eulogy". Scott Grønmark Eulogy. Retrieved December 11, 2025.
- ^ Hendrix, Grady (October 2017). ""But Mr Tanner, Isn't That a Bit Close to the Rats?"". The Paperback Fanatic (38): 28.
- ^ Dobbs, Gary; Martin, Jack (August 10, 2008). "Great Paperback Publishers: New English Library". Tainted Archive. Retrieved December 11, 2025.
- ^ Errickson, Will. "The Cats by Nick Sharman (1977): Apocalypse Meow". Too Much Horror Fiction. Retrieved December 11, 2025.
- ^ Errickson, Will (May 7, 2017). "The Surrogate by Nick Sharman (1980): Father Do You Wanna Bang Heads with Me". Too Much Horror Fiction. Retrieved December 11, 2025.
- ^ Errickson, Will (March 25, 2013). "Childmare by A.G. Scott (1980): A Riot of Their Own". Too Much Horror Fiction. Retrieved December 11, 2025.