Wesley Marks

My Story

It is how you respond when life happens that determines who you are and who you will be. I was raised by a single mother who worked hard to provide for her two boys. She taught us the value of hard work, determination, and to pursue our dreams. My mother was and still is my greatest encourager.

I worked hard in school to succeed, earning good grades but also accolades for my extra-curricular activities. I love History, English and public speaking, all of which created the foundation of my future. I had always enjoyed reading, however it was not until I was older that my passion for the written word came alive.

I married my high school sweetheart and we had two wonderful daughters, all why working full time and trying to earn a degree in Business. After eight years I walked across that stage degree in hand and then four years later earned a Masters in Divinity.

It was in my daily sermon writing that I began to cultivate my love of writing. Each one became for me a small story told to convey a message, to move an audience or to uplift those who were struggling. It was in those years that I learned to enjoy sitting down at a computer and writing for hours retelling stories and honing my wordsmithing.

Later, as I became an English teacher, I began to write with my students when they wrote. I wrote for example, I wrote to encourage, and I wrote for the pure joy of watching my students astounded that their teacher had created the story they just enjoyed.

My second book published was actually the first book I wrote, “Everything I Learned About Christianity I Learned From My Dogs.” I was writing about faith trying to encourage myself and others. It sat in my computer for almost seven years never knowing if I would publish it.

My first published book was really an idea I had to encourage my students to write more. I began to outline it in hopes of doing a group write with some of my students. Time did not allow me that year to put together a writing group but I had the outline and a good start, so I sat each night for three months writing until it was finished. Several of my students read it as beta readers and then I came across my wonderful editor Joan. When she finished I felt she had torn it to pieces with all of the markup, but in reality she taught me to be a better writer.

My third book went much smoother. This time a group of people including students read and made suggestions on every facet of the book and even helped me with the title. More characters and books are inside of me waiting to come out so be on the look out for them.

I have tried to make my life an adventure, traveling the world as I could and chasing my dreams. I learned to scuba dive in college, I learned to fly years later, but I had always had a love for water. So my wife and I stepped into a new phase of our lives. We sold or gave away just about everything we had and moved on to a sailboat. It has been my dream since I was young and my wonderful wife encouraged me to pursue that dream.