Forget earthquakes! Newsweek warned California to be more worried about volcanic eruptions. Mark knows this truth in his bones. He lived it. He breathed the ash. He outran the falling sky. And now, decades later, he drags his scarred body back to the scene of the blast.
This isn’t a lecture. It’s part survival memoir, part gonzo travelogue. Mark makes his otherworldly survival story worldly for audiences, then invites you to travel with he and his wife back to Pinatubo’s crater through his vlog.
Will he make it to the rim of the volcano that nearly claimed him? Will the ash speak again? Find out in Echoes of Ash.
About Mark R. Clifford
Mark R. Clifford is a proud fourth-generation San Franciscan and the second-born in an Irish Catholic family of seven, making him a self-declared expert in the pseudoscience of birth order characteristics.
Clifford’s life has been a relentless pursuit of service and adventure. He served in the Marine infantry for ten years and as a Police Officer for over a quarter-century. In the Marines, Mark rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant. He received Special Operations training while attached to the 3rd Marine Division in Okinawa and was operating in the Philippines in 1991 during the historic eruption of Mount Pinatubo. His law enforcement career was equally eclectic. He rose to the sergeant’s rank and served in many assignments to include SWAT and undercover narcotics. In his retirement, Mark mentors veterans transitioning to civilian life at musician Zac Brown’s Camp Southern Ground.
As an author, Clifford has been internationally recognized. He channels his firsthand experiences into gripping narratives, which lend authenticity to his craft. His story has appeared in The San Jose Mercury, Contra Costa Times, Military Experience & The Arts magazine, The Manila Times, San Leandro Times, Diablo Gazette, and Lamorinda Weekly.
Clifford’s writing is praised for its vivid imagery and engaging narratives, drawing comparisons to classics like “Stand by Me” and “Heart of Darkness”. Return with Mark to Pinatubo’s crater in Return to The Devil’s Sea — -his next novel promises to be his most daring yet…
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