Red Ivy Afternoon

Red Ivy Afternoon is a novel of community and disenfranchisement, subversion and revolution in the digital age. The setting is a future we already know: good homes are unaffordable, good jobs are outsourced to other countries, and people anchor themselves to the glowing monitors in their homes to distract themselves. Julian Lightfall, a relatively successful Boston shipping secretary, lives his life from gadget to gadget and bar to bar in a haze of consumerism and boredom. He frequents the Portfolio lounge of the Ultimatum Hotel, playground of the rich and powerful, and throws his attention ineffectually at a sultry and disinterested regular named Christina. Another lone bachelor named Pyndan Calabas moves into the apartment next door. Calabas tells Julian he is a trauma surgeon and the two become friends. But, as Julian soon discovers, his new neighbor hides a secret that will change Julian's life, and the world, forever. Red Ivy Afternoon is a post-modern odyssey through a future that is already upon us.

Mark R. Brand was born in 1978 and raised in Evans Mills, NY. He graduated from St. Lawrence University in 2001 with dual degrees in Biology and Sociology. He is a practicing Massage Therapist and currently lives in Evanston, IL with his wife Beth.

His previous literature credits include the short stories "Cameron’s Encyclopedia" and "The Cabana" in Silverthought: Ignition: A Speculative Fiction Anthology, "The Riot Act" and "Ballerina" in Alien Light: A Science Fiction Anthology, edited by Carl Rafala, and an essay in To Wound the Autumnal City, a 9-11 tribute edited by Paul Hughes. Additionally, his young adult novel The Prince and The Pitchman was published in 2002. His work has been featured on several websites including Silverthought.com, Flagstonepublishing.com, and he is a cofounder of the literary site Dyingdays.com.