Growing up in a decaying seaside town, Mark was always going to end up as a killer clown or a writer. Luckily, he chose “writer.” Well, he chose that path eventually. Despite a love of reading and stories as a kid, it was only later in life that he actually put pen to paper, when the urge to dress up as a clown became too strong and he knew he had to do something! 

Taking part in Twisted50 volume 2 back in 2018 was what drove him to his first published story and really focussed his mind on doing more. A briefly published contribution in an anthology and a successful submission to a Twisted Christmas anthology further whetted his appetite for writing and he has since gone on to craft many more short stories, and to work on a number of novels. The ultimate plan is to one day kick his good friend “Imposter Syndrome” squarely in the nuts and get something else published. 

He hopes that submitting to Twisted Volume 3, under the pen name Charlie Newark, will provide a boost and the kick up the backside he needs. But who is Charlie? Well, we don’t like to talk about Charlie, perhaps his story will come out in a Twisted Tale one day, when he is ready to share his secrets. While he isn’t procrastinating, Mark works in medical research with the NHS and lives with his family in Gloucestershire who he is slowly corrupting through his love of horror and the macabre. 

His own love of horror began as a kid when he begged to watch classics like Salem’s Lot and Horror Express and then cried himself to sleep when he was allowed. Is there anything more fun than scaring ourselves silly with a good horror? He has been a contributing writer to the Ginger Nuts of Horror website for over three years, where he regularly reviews a succession of low-budget horror films. He also occasionally adds reviews and news to his own website, DarkMarkWriting.com He shares his writing desk with two tarantulas and occasionally his cats.

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