MARK A. CALDE

In 2016, Mark A. Calde publishes his fourth original novel, Bascomville, a sprawling romantic family drama about first love and the dark secrets that families keep hidden behind closed doors.

Telling the story from the point of view of young Max Bascom, who eyes his father with contempt and his mother with pity, the novel takes the reader on an insightful, absorbing and compelling journey which shows that despite the turmoil we see in the world today, the biggest wars we fight are usually confined within our own four walls.

Holding a mirror up to all our lives, the story spans ten years and follows Max's relationship with his next-door-neighbor sweetheart Janice, as they navigate their own unique family dynamics, while embarking on their own emotional journey into adulthood.

“Bascomville looks at the responsibility men have in romantic relationships and explores the idea that everyone's world really only exists within their own four walls. Max falls for the girl next door, so her world becomes part of his world,” says Mark. “If you look for test-tube normal in any family situation, you will ultimately be disappointed. No such thing exists. As humans we just have to be adaptable and do the best we can. That's our legacy."

This is Mark's fourth novel. His first book, Shadowboxer, a suspense thriller, was published in 1976 by G.P. Putnam's Sons New York. The Chicago Sun-Times said: “Calde pulls all the pieces of this original puzzler together in masterly fashion!” It was optioned by CBS for “movie of the week,” published in the UK and reprinted in German. His second novel, Conquest, a historical family drama, was published by St Martin’s press in 1980, and seven years later, The Solomon Stone, a contemporary action novel, was published in paperback by an imprint of Ballantine Books.

Mark, who was born in Hollywood, CA., and studied communication arts at Loyola University, has been married to his wife Shelley for 46 years; they have two children and five grandchildren.