Mark David Stallard defected from the moderate climes of Southern England, preferring the swarms of blood sucking mosquitoes and arctic snow of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Knowing that one day he would be an author, he filled his resumé with the wildest range of day jobs, including carpet fitting, landscape gardening, graveyard maintenance, bakery supervisor, Illustrator, animator, musician, singer/songwriter, and he even worked in an abattoir for three whole days. He finally settled down as an IT professional, which is not as glamourous as the other jobs, but far more pleasant than working in an abattoir.