-
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 (September, 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
-
Devil’s Wood Now Available on Ingram
-
The Twist Podcast 335: Ptown Bound, Harping on Natalie, and The Devil’s Wood Unleashed
Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose pre-P-town getaway for Mark. We check out some fun facts about the town, learn that the Whopper came first, harp a bit on Natalie, and spread the word on Mark’s new supernatural chiller ‘Devil’s Wood.’
-
Fearsome Fiction Podcast: The Book Is Out – Devil’s Wood Unleashed, and the Devil’s Wood Mythology
The curse has been broken! Devil’s Wood is now available as an ebook and paperback on Amazon (including Kindle Unlimited), and soon through Ingram for wider distribution. Today on the Fearsome Fiction podcast I offer a short introduction on the book’s release, then treat listeners to the Devil’s Wood mythology, all part of The Devil’s Wood project. Check it out at TheDevilsWood.com for much more, and listen to this origin story and the legend behind it all.
-
True Crime Tuesdays on the Fearsome Fiction Podcast: Axe Murders and Mirrors
True Crime Tuesdays on Fearsome Fiction: Axe Murders and Mirrors
On the night of June 9th, 1912, eight people went to sleep in a small farmhouse in Villisca, Iowa. Six of them were children. By morning, all eight were dead — killed with an axe as they slept, in a crime so deliberate the killer stopped to cover every mirror in the house before he left. More than a century later, despite two trials, a confessed minister, a state senator with a grudge, and a theory that reaches all the way to a serial killer riding the rails, nobody has ever been convicted.
This week on True Crime Tuesdays, we walk through the Villisca ax murders — the victims, the suspects, and the eerie detail that still brings visitors to the restored murder house today, some of whom don’t make it until morning.
-
The Twist Podcast 334: Binging Below Deck, No More Humble Brags, and ‘Z’ is for Zepbound
Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose for this week’s Twist take on a crazy world. We talk politics, culture, weight loss, and our weekly Twist recommendations. Quirky correspondent Prance confesses his Below Deck addiction, and Mark and Rick offer our highs and lows as America spirals.
-
True Crime Tuesdays on the Fearsome Fiction Podcast: H.H. Holmes – America’s First Serial Killer and His Murder Castle
Long before the term “serial killer” existed, Herman Webster Mudgett—better known as H.H. Holmes—was quietly perfecting the art of murder in plain sight. This week’s True Crime Tuesday episode takes listeners inside the infamous “Murder Castle,” the Chicago building Holmes constructed and outfitted with hidden rooms, trap doors, and a body chute, all disguised behind the bustle of the 1893 World’s Fair.
We trace Holmes’s path from small-time swindler to one of the most prolific killers in American history, examining how his charm and cunning allowed him to hide in plain sight for years. It’s a story of ambition, deception, and horror that laid the groundwork for how we think about serial killers today.
Tune in to this episode of the Fearsome Fiction Podcast to hear the full story.
