Mark Cantrell has long-fancied the literary life, but was gobsmacked to discover it actually demands hard work. Nevertheless, he's stuck it out.Mark is the author of two novels published by indie small press, Inspired Quill: Citizen Zero (2017) and Silas Morlock (2013). Both haunt dystopian ground, but aside from their dark tone they remain very different beasts. Over the years, his stories have appeared in a variety of journals both in print and online, and includes a self-published collection of fiction, Isolation Space (2009).Before he put pen to paper as either a journalist or an author, Mark was already earning critical acclaim for his creative efforts. As a geeky teenager in the late '80s, he developed and published a series of award-winning text adventure games for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum.As a jobbing hack, Mark has worked for a succession of B2B publications, both in print and online. Currently, he's the editor of three online news platforms covering social housing and construction, each with a technology and innovation slant.On the side, he blogs about politics and social affairs, through science and technology, to arts and literature. Anything a little quirky that catches his eye is fair game, too.Mark trained in periodical journalism at The City University, London. Before that, he received his undergraduate degree for political theory and institutions at the University of Liverpool. In March 2020 - just in time for Covid - Mark became a full-time carer, spending the next three years looking after an elderly parent with dementia. It was tough at times - demanding, exhausting, sometimes maddening - but filled with poignancy and plenty of shared humour. Certainly, he doesn't regret it.Mark is a Yorkshireman by birth (and inclination), born and bred in Bradford, but these days he lives in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. He sometimes jokes he's an 'ex-pat' Tyke.
