Mark Leo Tapper was raised in Windsor, Connecticut. After a two-year stint in the Peace Corps in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, he read law at Vermont Legal Aid and became an attorney, ultimately opening his own firm, where he toiled for twenty years. During that time he hatched several escape plans: music teacher, outdoor journalist, probate judge, fly fishing guide, and sommelier. He finally made it out of law by becoming a Registered Nurse. He happily continues to ply his trade in Vermont. Through all of his ill-fated career choices, he has written fiction. He writes under the name M.L. Tapper for the K-Nurse Series.