Mark Fernquest

Mark Fernquest is a Bay Area-based writer and editor who currently resides in Sonoma County. He grew up in the foothills near Silicon Valley, received a bachelor's in Asian History from UC Santa Cruz and lived in Oakland and environs for 20 years. He is widely traveled, having in recent years visited Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico, the UK, France, Sweden, Turkey, Israel, New Zealand, Australia and Peru. He has also spent extensive time in the desert Southwest, including Joshua Tree and the Painted Desert, and in the San Juan Islands north of Seattle.

Mark worked in the book industry in various capacities for 12 years, then in the software industry — in licensing and sales — for 11 years. He also worked as a copywriter for Seattle-based college-ranking website Optimal for several years. More recently he moved into copy editing and contract writing for several Bay Area weekly newspapers and magazines, where he honed his AP-style skills. He currently works as a teacher's assistant for Journalism classes at Santa Rosa Junior College while also freelancing as a writer/editor/photographer.

A Mad Max fan from way back, Mark attends post-apocalyptic desert festivals, plays the didjeridoo and takes Tibetan lessons. Ever-interested in world history and cultures, he contemplates the future of humanity at this critical juncture. He lives with a feral cat, Elijah Darkness, in a small house in an apple orchard outside of Sebastopol, California.