Mark R. Sneller

My new book The Mars Virus is about an ecological disaster that strikes Earth in which climate change is on the fast track. This follows the terrorist novel Dying to Read and Toxic Exposure. The latter is about a scientist who gets sued because he doesn't find mold in a home and a crazy lady who insists there is. All of these follow Greener Cleaner Indoor Air, an encyclopedia with 118 chapters about better indoor air quality written for the layperson. (In progress: The City Beneath the Earth--sequel to The Mars Virus.)

Since childhood, I’ve loved words and writing. My mother gave me Classsics Illustrated, classic stories in comic book format that my mother gave me, got me hooked on reading. I tried my hand at writing one-page stories at the age of twelve and became embarrassed when the teacher requested that I read them to the class.

Appreciation for the spoken word came one year in summer camp, when someone read aloud Mists of Dawn by Chad Oliver. When I got to junior high, I got the book from the school library and fell in love with science fiction. After that, I read anything I could obtain and became enamored with doctor stories such as Not as A Stranger, The Cry and the Covenant, Arrowsmith, and the Microbe Hunters. After reading the latter, I knew I wanted to become a microbiologist.

At seventeen, I was voted into the Santa Monica Writer’s Club, then a very prestigious organization to which Ray Bradbury belonged, but I didn’t meet him until months later. The organization encouraged my efforts, which I wore in my heart like a badge of honor for many years.

During my first semester at Santa Monica Community College, Ray Bradbury came to speak. I had been reading him for years and was the first to intercept him when he left the meeting hall. He spent several patient minutes answering my questions while others gathered around, impatiently awaiting their turn.

Bradbury told me that to become a successful writer I should write a 500-word story each week for ten years.

In my professional career, I wrote a weekly newspaper for a number of newspapers, penning a 500-word column each week for fifteen years. Actually, two columns were involved: one was how the weather affects your health, and the other dealt with the effects of pollen, mold and other particles on the mind and body. The latter served as material for Cleaner, Greener Indoor Air: A Guide to Healthier Living, the non-fiction book that was to follow. My writings were also included in author Peter Radetsky’s Allergic to the Twentieth Century: The Explosion in Environmental Allergies–From Sick Buildings to Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

At some point I realized that it had been over forty years since I’d met Ray Bradbury and wrote to him reminding him of our first meeting and his advice to me. He wrote back, and now I have a treasured autograph of the writer who inspired me so many years before.

Over the years, I began writing short adventure and science fiction stories and novels, but only for my own entertainment. After Cleaner Greener Indoor Air was released in 2011, I turned my attention to fiction suspense novels, using my expertise in deadly microbes and experience as a bioterrorism consultant to writing Toxic Exposure and Dying To Read, both Professor Jeffry Shenero, PhD. The first is a true story, followed by a fictional terrorist attack. With the Doctor Jeffrey Shenero series, I was able to incorporate everything I know about university teaching, adventure, travel and intrigue – throwing them into a potpourri that featured an eccentric hero.

As a radio talk show host and interview guest, I’ve been featured on ABC, CBS, NBC national network news, National Public Radio, the New York Times, and Newsweek magazine. In addition to speaking on indoor air quality, I speak at author book events on topics including “How to Start Writing As A Beginner” and “How to Self-edit Your Stories and Books.”

Born February 9, 1942 in Los Angeles, California, I grew up in Venice/Santa Monica area of Southern California. After receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from California State University at Los Angeles in 1965, after which I joined Peace Corps, serving in India from 1965-1967.

Later, I received a Master’s Degree in Microbiology/Biochemistry from California State University at Long Beach and Doctorate from the University of Oklahoma in Microbiology/Biochemistry with a specialization in Medical Mycology in 1976. I also received two Post Doctoral appointments from the National Institutes of Health in combination drug therapy and cancer research, and served as Asst. Professor of Microbiology at San Jose State University, San Jose, California from 1977-1979.

In 1979, I founded Aero Allergen Research, LLC, an indoor air quality company located in Tucson, AZ, and have been recognized by the Arizona Lung Association for work in the field of respiratory health. I’ve served on the State of Arizona Air Pollution Control Hearing Board under appointment from the governor and have received numerous awards for work in the field of allergy and respiratory health. I have also has been under contract with the Department of Justice and Department of Defense for outdoor air monitoring projects.

In addition to my writing and professional work as a microbiologist and business owner, I am a Sensei with the Japan Karate Association, former president of the Society of American Magicians (local chapter) and three-time president of the Society of Southwestern Authors. I enjoy competitive swimming, linguistics, and am a 3rd year college-level student of the Russian language. I am also a member of the Oklahoma Writers’ Federation, Inc.