Who am I?

My name is Mark Earnest. I was born in Chicago and grew up on the north side. I eventually moved to the suburbs, two blocks at a time. My education is a mixed bag. I attended Chicago public elementary school and a parochial high school. For college I split the time: the University of Illinois - Champaign and Chicago, earning a Bachelors Degree in Economics with a History minor. I was on the seven year plan and actually married my high school sweetheart two years before I finished college. That marriage is still intact after 23 years. We have three sons.

Travel, jobs and business activities in commercial real estate, steel manufacturing and financial services have taught me a lot about life on this third rock from the Sun. I try to not take things too seriously, but usually do.

I live in the Chicago metro area.

That is the abbreviated version. The longer, autobiographical edition will raise its ugly head one day. The names and dates will be changed to protect the innocent. Until that day, read The Delta Project. It is a small window to my soul.

Where do my ideas come from?

I write about the world around me. And I do not discriminate.

I see its beauty and majesty, and its warts and wrinkles. I see its heroes and saints, and its criminals and killers. Everything I write is in some measure inspired by others. I am a scribe of life.

A few months ago a friend informed me in a very business-like manner that I should have written Delta decades ago. Sitting squarely in the prime of middle-age, I replied that I could not have done it then. I did not have the life experiences and the wisdom that time brings to each of us. And, the visions and words of the story only recently revealed themselves to me.

They come when they are ready.

Why do I write?

I get that question fairly often.

The answer is that I honestly don't know. That is, I know why I write what I see. I do not know why I see what I see.

The more detailed background on Delta is elsewhere on this website. But, in general, ideas for stories come from all manner of places and circumstances. I do not know their origin. But I am grateful for their arrival.

Sometimes I just do things and try to figure out the reasons for my actions later - not always the smart play. But several years ago I made the conscious choice to share with the world the voices, people and images that come to me in my mind's eye. The result of that decision is The Delta Project - and countless essays and short stories that have yet to see the light of day (but they will).

As long as the stories continue to play out in my mind, I will write them down and share them with you. I hope you enjoy the results of what is for me a profoundly mystical experience.

That's my story. What's yours?

Email me: author@markearnest.com

Or click on the link below to post a Comment on my Blog:

Mark Earnest - Reader's Blog

The Delta Project

A Great New Mystery Novel!