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Welcome to My World
I’ve been telling stories for as long as I can remember. A surprising number of them have made it into print—fifteen novels so far, which still surprises me a little when I say it out loud. I live in the woods nears Stockton, New Jersey, a small borough on the Delaware River. The kind of place that inspires mysteries, thrillers and horror in the towns and countryside.
My longest-running series is The Kyle Callahan Mysteries—character-driven, funny in places, dark in others, and rooted in lives you might never expect to be troubled by murder. I also write the Marshall James Thrillers series and the Maggie Dahl Mysteries, each with their own voice and world.
More recently I’ve been working in horror and psychological thriller—territory I find endlessly compelling. And my forthcoming (October, 2026) Devil’s Wood is a supernatural thriller set in nearby Lambertville, drawing on modern small town life and ancient horror.
Through Your Write Path, I offer workshops and coaching for writers at every stage—beginners who’ve never shown anyone their work, experienced writers who’ve hit a wall, people who want to tell the story of their own lives. “Every life is a story, and each of us is the storyteller.”
My imprint Vivid Press publishes annotated editions of public domain classics—recent titles include Carmilla, The Willows, and Gaston Leroux’s The Mystery of the Yellow Room. Stories matter.
Look around, you’ll find much more here, and thanks for stopping by. – Mark
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A Twist Featured Interview: Rick Rose Talks with Miss Wisconsin Volunteer 2026 Kiana Schraufnagel
Kiana Schraufnagel is a leader, volunteer, and advocate whose accomplishments span academics, service, athletics, and personal empowerment. She currently serves as Miss Wisconsin Volunteer 2026, while pursuing her psychology degree at Texas Tech University and performing as a Texas Tech Twirler. Her commitment to service has earned her the prestigious President’s Volunteer Service Award, reflecting more than 1,500 hours of community involvement. A baton twirler and member of Team USA, Kiana has earned multiple national championships, World Championship medals in Liverpool, England, and numerous state and national titles. Beyond competition, she is the founder of True You Empowerment, a platform dedicated to building confidence and self-worth in young people.
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A Fearsome Fiction Interview with Comedy Horror Author Rick Gualtierie
I recently interviewed Rick Gualtieri, the bestselling New Jersey author behind the Tome of Bill series, for Fearsome Fiction. Rick has built one of indie horror-comedy’s most beloved franchises around Bill Ryder, a dateless gamer who gets turned into a vampire and becomes the undead world’s most reluctant savior—more than a dozen novels deep and still going strong.
We talked about his origin story, his writing process, the art of making horror funny without defanging it, and why comedy and horror belong together. It’s a great conversation for fans of the genre and anyone curious about what it takes to build a long-running indie series from scratch.
Listen wherever you get Fearsome Fiction.
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Save the Date! September 26 – Books, Art, Wine, Food
I’m very excited about this event. It’s not a back room at a coffee shop (and I love those too!).
I’ll be double-teaming again with author Kim Cook, whose memoir I helped write, and we’ll be joined by artist Larry Felder exhibiting his work.
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The New Hope Library Writers Group
This is my favorite group, at the New Hope Free Library. I’ve been running it with the same participants for over a year and a half now. Newcomers are always welcome and we had two last night.
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True Crime Tuesdays on the Fearsome Fiction Podcast: The Delphi Murders
Welcome back to True Crime Tuesdays on Fearsome Fiction. Today we’re going deep into one of the most haunting and complicated criminal cases in recent American history—the Delphi murders.
It started on a cold February afternoon in 2017 in the small town of Delphi, Indiana. Two best friends, thirteen-year-old Abby Williams and fourteen-year-old Libby German, went for a walk on a popular hiking trail near an old railroad trestle. They never came home. What followed was five years of anguish, dead ends, a viral piece of evidence the whole country watched, and then—finally—an arrest. But the story doesn’t end there. Not by a long shot.
