Mark Allen Masson was born and raised in a bleak Midwestern town. He is a mostly self-taught artist and writer, and has held jobs in such widely diverse fields as gardening, graphic design, journalism, violin repair and restoration, caregiving, postal service and public transportation. He has long had an interest in archaeology, rare books and the occult. In 2016, amidst a series of strange events and coincidences, he acquired ownership of the long-defunct small publishing imprint Burning Thief Books, of which he is now the president and sole proprietor. He currently ekes out an existence in Olympia, WA, where he shares a dilapidated garret with two cats and innumerable ghosts.