Mark London Williams

Background

Williams was born on June 19, 1959, in Sacramento, California, the son of William R., a journalist, and Deborah R. Williams, an administrator.

Education

Williams graduated from the University of California Berkeley, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in drama in 1981; and later from the University of Southern California, getting a Master of Professional Writing in 1994.

Career

During his varied literary career, Williams has scripted comics, published poetry, written reviews for Variety and the Los Angeles Times column "Meta Hollywood," produced plays nationally and internationally, and written his own series of children's books. When one day Williams's son Elijah blurted out "I'm Danger Boy!" he unknowingly sparked the idea for his father's "Danger Boy" series for middle-grade readers, which first rolled off the presses in 2001 with Ancient Fire. In the debut novel, the main character Eli, who lives in the year 2019, is a regular kid until his mother disappears during a time-travel experiment. Then Eli must go back in time to the ancient Egyptian city of Alexandria, where he teams up with Clyne, a highly evolved dinosaur from another planet, and Thea, the daughter of the last librarian of Alexandria, to save the world and rescue Eli's mother. The tale is told in the first person, with chapters alternating between the three characters. Upon returning to his present time, Eli earns the moniker "Danger Boy." In the second installment in the "Danger Boy" series, Dino Sword, Eli and his companions from the first book team up again to tackle the "Fifth Dimension."

Both novels were popular with readers, reaching the Los Angeles Times best-seller list of children's books, and Ancient Fire was nominated for a children's science fiction award. A Publishers Weekly reviewer praised Williams for being able to write clearly about complicated ideas, predicting that Ancient Fire, an "inventively twisted" story, will give readers a "rewarding excursion." Furthermore, School Library Journal contributor Mara Alpert predicted that the first volume in the "Danger Boy" series "will leave readers awaiting the next installment."

Achievements

• Williams is best known for his young adult time travel series Danger Boy. He has also written short fiction and comic books.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Two Trickster Tango

    (What if John Steinbeck made a left instead of a right at ...)

  • Danger Boy: Ancient Fire (Episode 1)

    (The year is 2019 and a secret government agency is forcin...)

    2000
  • Danger Boy: Trail of Bones (Episode 3)

    (Fresh from a dangerous mission, Eli Sands and his friends...)

    2005
  • Danger Boy: Dragon Sword (Episode 2)

    (Eli Sands’ time-traveling talent has led him to his missi...)

    2001
  • Danger Boy: City of Ruins (Episode 4)

    (After another close call, Eli Sands is back in San Franci...)

    2007
  • Max Random and the Zombie 500 2017

Connections

Williams is married to Catherine. The couple has two children: Elijah and Asher.

Father:

William R. Williams

Mother:

Deborah R. Williams

Spouse:

Catherine Williams

Son:

Elijah Williams

Son:

Asher Williams

colleague:

Rick Klaw

References

• Contemporary authors Volume 211
  2003