Mark Anthony learned to love both books and mountains during childhood summers spent in a Colorado ghost town. Later he was trained as a paleoanthropologist but along the way grew interested in a different sort of human evolution—the symbolic progress reflected in myth and the literature of the fantastic.
After getting a start penning novels and short stories for various Dungeons & Dragons game settings, he journeyed to worlds of his own making, undertaking Beyond the Pale and the other books of The Last Rune to explore the idea that reason and wonder need not exist in conflict.
His next project began with a binge reading 19th Century novels as well as a question: What if there was a fantastical cause underlying the social constraints and limited choices confronting a heroine in a novel by Jane Austen or Charlotte Brontë? Writing as Galen Beckett, he turned to The Magicians and Mrs. Quent and the two following novels to answer that question.
Mark Anthony currently lives and writes in Colorado.
Contact the Author
Do you have a question or comment about the books of The Last Rune or The Magicians and Mrs. Quent novels? If so, please feel free to send me an email at:
I do read every message I receive, and I really appreciate hearing from readers. However, please be understanding if you do not receive an immediate reply. I do have a day job in addition to my writing, so I don’t always have time to answer. However, I will do my best to reply when I can, and I will try to address common questions on the main Wyrdwood.net page, so keep checking back.
Thank you so much for interest in my books and for taking the time to visit this site. I hope you enjoy them!
—Mark Anthony (Galen Beckett)
The Wyrdwood 
Love both series. Looking forward to whatever you have planned next!
Just finished the Last Rune series, and really enjoyed it. So, what’s next?!?
Your readers desire further updates! Looking forward to the next book!
I just finished the Mrs. Quent series and happened to google Galen Beckett, only to discover that it’s an alter ego. But more importantly, it means there are more books by a fantastic author for me to read! Hoorah!!! Love the Mrs. Quent series – elegant and rich in detail. Bravo, Mark Anthony/Galen Beckett 🙂
Great goods from you, man. I’ve take note your stuff prior to and you’re simply
too great. I really like what you have got right
here, certainly like what you’re stating and the way in which wherein you say it. You make it entertaining and you still take care of to stay it wise. I cant wait to learn much more from you. That is actually a wonderful site.
Dear Mr. Anthony, I am halfway through The Magicians and Mrs. Quent and am quite dazzled by both the creation of an accurate (albeit parallel) period piece and the emotional and psychological integrity of the story…sensibility without sentimentality…. Well done and thank you. I look forward to the Rune series after reading the Quent trilogy.
I am re-reading the Mrs. Quent series again this year, and enjoying it as much as the first time (last year). I love the well-woven tapestry of the threads of the story. Now that I know about your other series, I have even more to which to look forward.
more last rune more eldth world and further adventures.reading for the third time
joyce galvan