Wm. Mark Simmons in Independence, Missouri, is an American writer best known for his humorous fantasy and horror novels. Simmons has worked a journalist, educator, entertainer, and broadcaster, spending over 30 years in the latter category working in classical music formats and NPR affiliates. Although he garnered awards as a journalist in his twenties, he did not turn his talents to long-form fiction until his late thirties, publishing his first novel in 1990. A Compton Crook Award finalist, it made Locus Magazine's "Best Lists" in 1991. A member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Simmons presently lives in Hutchinson, Kansas where he is the Music Director and Classical Morning host for the Radio Kansas network. In 2010 Simmons will be the Interfilk guest musician at FilkOntario 20, a yearly Filk music Conference and Convention in Ontario, Canada. 

January 1st, 1953 in Independence (Age 72)