MARK HOWARD

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mark Howard is thrilled to welcome readers into the world he spent years imagining and invites them to join him on a crusade that has already been a long and rewarding pilgrimage.

The journey began during his freshman year of college, when he typed several short scenes at times when he probably should have been studying. Looking back, Mark freely admits that the first draft was not especially good. He spent much of the remainder of his undergraduate years chasing girls, playing video games, and wondering why his grades were not better. Still, the story never entirely left him. Its characters, setting, and possibilities remained in the back of his mind, waiting for him to decide what the next version should become.

Uncertain how to approach a second draft, Mark repeatedly postponed returning to the manuscript. After earning his bachelor’s degree in 2014, however, he resolved to begin writing again in earnest. Life had other demands in store. He now had a wife and young child to support, and he had also chosen to pursue a master’s degree. Finding time to write while balancing family, work, and graduate studies transformed the project into a test of patience and persistence.

Mark also made the difficult decision to discard most of the original draft. He retained only a few characters and the central setting, rebuilding nearly everything else from the ground up. The new manuscript required another five years to complete, but the time proved invaluable.

His graduate education gave him a broader foundation in history and literature from which to draw inspiration. Meanwhile, his experiences as a husband and father navigating the pressures of work and school deepened his understanding of sacrifice, responsibility, ambition, and perseverance. Those lessons helped him create more mature themes and give his characters the emotional depth they had previously lacked.

For Mark, writing the Griffin Legends became more than completing a manuscript. It was a process of growing alongside the story and learning that some creative journeys cannot be rushed. The resulting work reflects years of revision, education, personal experience, and determination. He hopes readers will find the pilgrimage worthwhile—and that they will remain beside him as the crusade continues.