CWEnder Mark Berry is a commercial pilot for a major airline and a writer who is launching his first podiobook, "Pushing Leaves Toward the Sun," tomorrow night at The Vino Gallery. Mark is pictured above beside one of several flight boards that line the hallway of his three-story CWE home.
In the late 1990's TWA brought Mark to St. Louis to work in the training center here. For those of you who may be new to the area, St. Louis was TWA's midwest hub at the time. While continuing his flight duties, Mark also trained TWA pilots how to use a different aircraft, which is called "transition training." For a while Mark commuted from New York and stayed with friends in St. Louis. Having lived in New York, he was attracted to the CWE and compared the neighborhood to Tribeca with its mix of shops, restaurants and bars. In 2002 Mark bought a home in the neighborhood that was built in 1905 and spent the next five years restoring it.
Tragically, Mark's fiancee, Susanne, perished on TWA Flight 800, which blew up over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Long Island in 1996. Mark's father suggested he try writing to deal with his grief. Following that advice, he enrolled in a graduate program at Fairfield University in Connecticut to study nonfiction writing. The two-year program was "low residency," meaning courses were taught by different professors in 2 two-week sessions twice a year. The memoir that Mark produced during that program is shown above: Aluminum Parachute – Still Flying after TWA 800. The memoir still doesn't have an ending, though his relationship with St. Louis physician Alison Leston may prove to be the key to a happy ending and closure on the past.
In addition to his memoir and several novels, Mark has written many articles for Airways, and is now a contributing editor to that magazine.
The provocative poster above depicts the cover art for Mark's novel, Pushing Leaves Toward the Sun, which has been in the works for ten years and fifteen rewrites. The novel takes place in the east, though Derek and Amy Gamlin, owners of SubZero Vodka Bar, are the inspiration for supporting characters who run the fictional Fallout Shelter.
It was at an AWP (American Writers and Writing Programs) conference Mark attended in January where he learned about a way to get his novel before the public. At the conference, held in Chicago, he met author Seth Harwood who was having great success with podiobooks. Podiobooks are offered free, with donations suggested. But, it isn't the money that draws authors to this genre, it's the recognition and loyal following that may result–podiobooks are a way to reach out to potential readers. If enough listeners request more from Mark after reading Pushing Leaves Towards the Sun, he will release a sequel, Street Justice. A Kindle version of the novel will be available on Amazon for $6. When I asked Mark about a possible reading at Left Bank Books , he said, "Wow, that is the ultimate goal!"
When Mark isn't writing articles on aviation, working on his novels, or flying, he may be spotted in Forest Park riding his bike 25 to 30 miles three to four days a week while listening to–you guessed it–podiobooks. Visit Mark's website here to learn more about him and his many interests, including 60 original songs he has written that figure in his novels. The website also has instructions for downloading the podcast of Pushing Leaves Towards the Sun on iTunes. Better yet, ignore my really fussy interpretation of what Mark is up to and head over to The Vino Gallery tomorrow night to get a first-hand account of this whole new way of publishing a novel. The event is at 7 p.m., July 11, at The Vino Gallery, 4701 McPherson.
P. S. – It's 10:30 a.m. Wednesday morning and I've just received the following email from Mark:
Mary: Thanks for expressing what I’ve noticed over and over again. So happy to be the link.
Nick, who knew so many interesting people are living and working in the CWE?? And you’re the common link right in the middle, introducing all of us to each other!