She should have died hereafter;
There would have been a time for such a word.
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death.
Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more.
It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing.
— Macbeth (Act 5, Scene 5, lines 17-28)
About Mark:
I’m a 44 45 46 47 year old husband and father of 4. I have a PhD in Astrophysics, though I now write software for Mayo Clinic. However, that’s my day job. I’ve always wanted to be a writer, and for the past 4 years I’ve written as much as my demons allow. I’m certainly no pro, but decided to put my writing on this website, nominally so that my friends can read what I’ve come up with, from completely raw (excrement) to more polished.
The best completed story I’ve written thus far is The Ocean Rose. It’s fiction, but it’s also deeply personal, a cathartic story to tell the story of my youth.
There is nothing like the act of creating a story. Contemplating ideas, writing throw away scenes that have unexpected characters popping up and pulling you in new and unexpected directions. Taking raw and unfocused ideas and pounding out a story that will hopefully touch someone, make them think, feel, perhaps give them some insight into both my, and their, inner workings. For art is connection with others, an interaction of souls.
I draw inspiration for my writing from my own experiences, my youth and my bouts with manic-depression brought on by The Demon that lurks in the back of my brain. I draw a lot of ideas, and especially emotions, from music. I’m both extroverted, for I love people. But, I’m also quite shy. When emotions run high, I dive into my writing, and need quiet.
Movies and music are especially important to me. What a boring world without all the lovely art of paintings, photography, plays, movies and music, what have you.
I’m a hopeless romantic with a well honed dark side, which seems to be contradictory. But it isn’t. My writing can be dark, yes, but cathartic. Catharsis is as important to me as the air I breath. If you want to learn a little about me, to get a glimpse of what it’s like to be bi-polar read:
My website is a repository of all my writing from personal to publication ready fiction and everything in between. This includes rough drafts, including partially written stories, in what I call a “fiction blog”. I make no apologies for the rough state of some of the work, or certainly what professional writers would consider “polish/finished” – I’m working on getting better at self-editing. In short, it’s a place where I can share stories, ideas, and I unabashedly fiddle and polish.
After all, they’re tales told by an idiot, what did you expect? Now go read my stuff!