Mark Johnston is a dad and teacher from Milton, Ontario who is writing for fun.

I was never into reading or writing much as a kid, but I’ve learned to appreciate novels more since I got out of high school and realized there were books not by Shakespeare. By teaching the writing process to my elementary students, I’ve come to appreciate it and I now understand the rules much better.

I spent many many hours googling how to write dialogue correctly and when to use indents and all other manner of grammatical wonders. I think I even got some of them right!

After writing my first book as a personal challenge, I found the process very rewarding and decided to share Solar Umbrella with family and friends in late 2023. I started work on the book in summer 2022 and worked on it for those two summers before finishing up.

I generally write in the summers since teaching is a lot of work.

In September 2024, I released a sequel to Solar Umbrella called The Travelers.

I completed my third book, a YA sci-fi novel, Generations in March, 2025. I wrote this book for my own kids and students to have a book to enjoy.

My goal in writing is to create exciting works that people can enjoy reading in smaller or larger chunks, so I always try to keep my chapters short. I definitely try and put some social messages in there as well, but the overall goal is a fun read.

Outside of writing, I spend time with my wife, two daughters and my furry son (pictured).

Peace.