Author

Mark Sowers

I was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, but raised in Tacoma, Washington. After high school I worked a number of odd jobs from janitor to truck driver until I decided it was time to get an education and enrolled in college. It took me almost four years, while also working full-time and playing drums in rock bands, but I graduated with an Associate’s degree. In 2008 I met my amazing wife and moved to Juneau, Alaska, where I went back to school and ultimately received a Bachelor's degree in History from the University of Alaska, Southeast. Upon graduation I spent nearly seven years working in an Arctic oilfield called Kuparuk near Prudhoe Bay. It was in Kuparuk, reading Terry Goodkind on a break, that I had the idea for what became the first book in my epic fantasy series The Blackfire Chronicles. I finished the fourth book in the series a couple weeks ago and now live in Wasilla, Alaska, with my extraordinary wife. In addition to Blackfire I’ve also written and published a mystery/thriller and two collections of short stories. Another, more recent project of mine, is writing short stories that all end happily and posting them for free on Substack. It’s my small way of countering all the negativity in the world.