Mark has degrees and/or certifications in accounting, law, management, financial management, and emergency management.  He has won awards for writing, editing, management, academics, cooking, public speaking, bowling, kite-flying, and possibly more.  With a wide variety of interests, Mark's interest in the fantasy genre was sparked by the works of Tolkien and Terry Pratchett, as well as the Thieves World series.  A Twist of Fate is his first novel, and is projected as the first in a series.

Saturday Writers Short Story Contest 2010, 2nd place; editor, Dragonlaugh, named one of Writers' Digest's "Fifty Best Places to be Published Online" in 2001; Several 3rd place and honorable mention awards in Byline Magazine contests