Mark Barnes was born in Sydney, Australia, in September of 1966. A strong athlete, he was also drawn to the arts at a young age, penning his first short story as a seven-year-old. He worked in finance and advertising before establishing himself in IT services management. Currently he owns and operates a freelance organizational change consultancy. In 2005, when Mark was selected to attend the Clarion South residential short story workshop, he began to write with the intention of making it more than a hobby. Since that time, Mark has published a number of short stories, worked as a freelance script editor, and has driven creative consultancy for a television series. Mark is the author of the Echoes of Empire series, published by 47 North. The series includes The Garden of Stones, and The Obsidian Heart. The Pillars of Sand is book three of the series. In 2014 the Garden of Stones made the Top 20 novels for the David Gemmell Legend Award for best novel, and was a finalist for the David Gemmell Morningstar Award for Best Debut/Newcomer. You can find out more at www.marktbarnes.com, his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/marktbarnes.author, or follow Mark on Twitter @MarkTBarnes.