Mark Douglas, Jr. finds inspiration from history and cranks it up to eleven. After graduating college, Mark went on to teach history to teenagers. Each day, the kids participated in a program called Drop Everything and Read. However, many of Mark’s students hated reading, so he began reading aloud to them. Mark read Wednesday Wars, Treasure Island, and the Egypt Game. But the kids enjoyed Percy Jackson & the Olympians most. Several kids checked out the series from the library so they could read ahead.

Inspired, Mark embarked on his own storytelling journey. And a decade later, he’s telling stories about the exploits of spunky teenage heroine Maddie Jones.