I was born in Liverpool, England in the Oxford Street Maternity Hospital, the same hospital as John Lennon--an important detail to a huge Beatle fan like me! My family moved to the U.S.A. when I was one. We lived in Massachusetts and California, but most of my childhood was spent in Barrington, Rhode Island. Here is a picture of me when I was thirteen.

I've been making up stories for about as long as I could hold a pencil. Even before then I loved to tell them. Today I spend hours sitting in coffee shops typing into a keyboard.

I was a very late bloomer so starting in fifth grade I was always the shortest kid in my class. I spent gym periods terrified that someone might pass me the ball and I'd end up getting trampled, which actually happened on more than one occasion! Fortunately, in the summer before my senior year of high school, I grew. I'm pleased to report that I now stand five foot eleven inches tall. Today, I occasionally run into people I knew in high school but haven't seen since then. Invariably they say something like, "Oh my God, Mark! Why aren't you short?!"

As a teenager I worked in many different jobs including gas station attendant, fast food zombie, beach sticker enforcer, dishwasher (I was fired after only two days), clam factory worker (this was the smelliest of jobs--my sisters avoided me all summer), and movie theater usher, among others.

I now live in Massachusetts with my lovely wife, Karen, and our three kids: Evan (12), Lucía (11), and Zoe (8).

More Fun Facts:

… I was once kicked out of eighth grade music class for throwing a spitball.

… I used to be the singer/guitarist in an alternative rock band called Exhibit A.