For Mark A. Shaw, growing up in the concrete, urban environment of Baltimore, Maryland only cultivated a stronger appreciation for that which he had little of –wilderness and countryside. It also fostered in him a vibrant imagination and captivating creativity, and he began crafting stories in his mind at an early age. Mark draws his inspiration from a lifetime of adventures – from his childhood play with a whimsical stick and blanket, which became his magical instruments for commanding the wind, to his current life in Vancouver B.C., where he strolls through nearby woods and forests much like those portrayed in his first novel, The Keeper of the Wind. Mark is a U.S. Navy veteran.