Mark Petersen is a graduate from Virginia Tech currently living in Blacksburg, Virginia working as an office supply salesman. He aspires to publish a novel someday, and has already begun work on it. That is, however, a long process. Currently he writes short stories to practice his writing and to gain feedback while also generating an audience. He enjoys thriller/suspense and desires to create a sense of fear in his reader while also imparting something lasting and of value. Mark has won an Honorable Mention Virginia Tech Literary Award for Fiction with his story "Cold Stairs".

Mark enjoys shooting, hiking, driving, coin collecting, reading, movies, and of course writing. He prefers to live somewhere with mountains and forests. He is also an avid typewriter collector and uses antique machines for a lot of his draft-writing.

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• Over The Bridge on April 13, 2010
  
  It was an enjoyable read and I feel like your main character was pretty realistic as far as his personality and thoughts go. Some of the gadgetry, particularly the Jeep's dashboard functions seemed a little too James Bond for me, and I would have enjoyed some explanation for the phone call's origin and perhaps some explanation of what came over the bridge. You definitely have strong skills in imagery and in engaging your reader. Well done!
  
• Kate and Ben on May 01, 2011
  
  A solid piece with a surprise ending that was interesting, the whole story being engaging throughout the read. Good writing, interesting characters, clever plot. SPOILERS BELOW: I do wonder why Kate did not know about her condition until the very end. If the boy was playing, and Kate held out just long enough to have the boy as told by her father, there must have been perhaps two years at least between her death and the time of the story. That was my only question, and it hardly distracted from an overall good short story. I think were it drawn out just a little longer, with some more explanation and details, not too much of course, I could easily give it five stars. I want to give it 4.5 stars, which rounds to five so even though a five doesn't quite get it, a four is not enough.