Debbie Harpham
ABOUT MARK SULLIVAN:
Mark Sullivan is the acclaimed author of eighteen novels, including the #1 New York Times bestselling Private series, which he writes with James Patterson. Mark has received numerous awards for his writing, including the WHSmith Fresh Talent Award, and his works have been named a New York Times Notable Book and a Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year. He grew up in Medfield, Massachusetts, and graduated from Hamilton College with a BA in English before working as a volunteer in the Peace Corps in Niger, West Africa. Upon his return to the United States, he earned a graduate degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and began a career in investigative journalism. An avid skier and adventurer, he lives with his wife in Bozeman, Montana, where he remains grateful for the miracle of every moment.
More About Mark
Mark grew up outside of Boston and says the best job he’s ever had was selling souvenirs at Fenway Park during his high school summers. He attended Hamilton College, graduating in 1980 with a BA in English. Two weeks later, he boarded a plane bound for Niger, West Africa, where he worked as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Agades, an oasis and trading center on the ancient caravan route between Tripoli and Timbuctu. Mark rode with Tuareg nomads deep into the Sahara, immersed himself in their culture and taught their children English in a regional high school.
Upon Mark’s return to the United States in 1982, he attended the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. He worked at Reuters, Ltd., as a financial correspondent covering the Chicago Commodities Markets from 1983-1984. He left to become a political reporter in Washington D.C., at a small wire service called States News Service where his role was backup reporter to the D.C. bureaus of the New York Times, Newsday and the New York Daily News. He also began to make a name for himself in the tough world of investigative reporting, breaking a series of stories about a financial scandal that almost toppled the nation’s mortgage brokerage business.
In 1986, Mark joined the San Diego Tribune as a full-time investigative reporter. Still profoundly influenced by the experience of total cultural immersion he had experienced in West Africa, he began to develop a journalistic style that focused on the cultures of the things he was investigating. His award-winning work included a series that examined the culture of children living with addicts, and another that drew back the curtain on the culture of corporate funeral home conglomerates.
As a young boy, Mark had been an avid reader who’d dreamed of becoming a novelist. At the age of 30, he panicked at the thought that he might not follow through on his childhood dream. So he began writing fiction in his little spare time and soon had short stories published in various literary journals.
In the winter of 1990, he took a leave from his investigative duties at the newspaper and moved to Utah and Wyoming to live among extreme skiers. That experience yielded his first novel, The Fall Line (1994), which was named a New York Times Notable Book of the year, a rare honor for a debut author.
The following year, he published Hard News (1995), a mystery that exposed the underbelly of modern newspapers. The book garnered widespread critical acclaim and has become something of a cult classic among journalists.
But it was not until 1996, with publication of The Purification Ceremony, that Mark’s career broke out. The novel, told in the voice of a woman who is an expert tracker, has been published and on bestseller’s lists all over the world. It was a finalist for the Edgar Allen Poe award for best novel, won the W.H. Smith Award for best “new talent” author, and was named one of the best books of the year by the Los Angeles Times. The Purification Ceremony has been translated into fourteen languages and optioned numerous times for film, though sadly it has not yet been made.
His subsequent novels have been optioned for film, translated into dozens of languages, and graced international bestseller lists. In 2011, Mark began working with legendary thriller author James Patterson. Since then they have written five #1 New York Times Bestsellers including Private Paris, Private L.A., and Private Berlin. Mark lives in southwest Montana with his wife, Betsy. He is an avid skier, sportsman, martial artist and devotee of Crossfit training.
ABOUT THE LAST GREEN VALLEY:
In late March 1944, as Stalin’s forces push into Ukraine, young Emil and Adeline Martel must make a terrible decision: Do they wait for the Soviet bear’s intrusion and risk being sent to Siberia? Or do they reluctantly follow the wolves―murderous Nazi officers who have pledged to protect “pure-blood” Germans?
The Martels are one of many families of German heritage whose ancestors have farmed in Ukraine for more than a century. But after already living under Stalin’s horrifying regime, Emil and Adeline decide they must run in retreat from their land with the wolves they despise to escape the Soviets and go in search of freedom.
Caught between two warring forces and overcoming horrific trials to pursue their hope of immigrating to the West, the Martels’ story is a brutal, complex, and ultimately triumphant tale that illuminates the extraordinary power of love, faith, and one family’s incredible will to survive and see their dreams realized.
Order your copy here.
PRAISE AND RECOGNITION FOR THE LAST GREEN VALLEY:
An Amazon Best Book of the Month: Literature & Fiction
“After his triumphant novel Beneath a Scarlet Sky, Mark Sullivan delivers another stunning tour de force. Based on interviews and careful research, The Last Green Valley is the novelization of an inspirational true story featuring human strength, faith, and endurance against all odds.” —Authorlink
“[Sullivan’s] got an extraordinary imagination, paired with a real talent for creating realistic scenes, both hair-raising times of danger—like being strafed—and intimate moments of pain.” —Historical Novel Society
“Mark Sullivan has done a fantastic job reliving this harrowing story…If you’re a fan of historical novels this is one of the best that will come out this year or any year.” —Red Carpet Crash
“Sullivan brings to life another little-known tale of perseverance and bravery in the face of incredible hardship.” —She Reads
“A simply riveting read from cover to cover, The Last Green Valley is a deftly crafted novel that showcases experienced author Mark Sullivan’s exceptional narrative storytelling skills combined with exceptional originality.” —Midwest Book Review
“I hail Mark Sullivan for doing it again—taking very real, very human stories set during the most intense period in recent world history and providing us with a work of historical fiction that we will not forget anytime soon.” —Bookreporter
“Mark Sullivan has done it again! The Last Green Valley is a compelling and inspiring story of heroism and courage in the dark days at the end of World War II. Fans of Beneath a Scarlet Sky will savor this novel based on an extraordinary and little-known tale of the war and its aftermath.” —Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone
“Mark Sullivan weaves together history and memory in an epic journey of love and resilience. One of the most riveting, page-turning books I’ve read in a long time.” —Heather Morris, author of the #1 international and New York Times bestseller The Tattooist of Auschwitz
“Sullivan again demonstrates his gift for finding little-known embers of history and breathing life into them until they glow and shine in ways that are both moving and memorable.” —Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Girls of Paris
“Mark is one of the most gifted and successful novelists of our generation. His ability to weave drama, morality, and emotion through wonderfully captivating stories of the human spirit puts him among the greats.” —Tony Robbins, #1 New York Times bestselling author and the nation’s #1 life and business strategist
AUTHOR VISITS:
Author visits with Mark Sullivan are available via Novel Network.