Mark Henry Bloom grew up just north of Boston, Massachusetts, in the historic port city of Salem, where independent thought once inspired hangings. It was a fine place to come of age, but not such a good place to date, as one of his girlfriends turned out to be a self-proclaimed witch. With a W. The experience left him with a chronically bloody nose and a quest for answers.
Mark has been writing all his life, from grade school on. A professional writer since 1989, he toiled for years as an award-winning technical writer for large corporations (like America Online when it was actually cool), before working for a craft book publisher (LARK Books, now sadly defunct). Then he cofounded a business writing website copy and blog posts. This is just to show that Mark has lived with words. He’s dated words. Words tickle his mustache.
While trying to figure out what to do with his life, Mark attended Colby College in Waterville, Maine, where professors inspired his mind and alcohol poisoned it in equal measure. His epiphany came during his junior year in Munich, Germany, where he discovered a love of travel. His adventures really began after graduation, when he departed Maine with a useful Bachelor’s degree in German. He’s crossed the US by plane, by car, by motorcycle and by thumb. He’s ventured back to Europe, as well as to Canada, Mexico, China, Thailand and other less desirable locations.
Mark now lives in the scenic Appalachian Mountain city of Asheville, North Carolina, with a girlfriend and the ghosts of previous cats. A recovered technical writer, he is a published writer, the editor of published books, and the producer and writer of several short films. He has several publishing credits, including Writing a Professional Life, published by Allyn & Bacon and Dzorlord: a Crossroads Adventure, which is a book of interactive fiction published by Tor Books. He owns a rare copy of each book.
For his next trick, he’s self-published a book of his travel stories titled Don’t Even Go There. Check out that section of this website for a laugh and maybe you’ll be inspired to purchase a copy for yourself. Note: A story from Don’t Even Go There was published in the literary quarterly Nonbinary Review #29 by Zoetic Press.