Mark E. Johnson

Mark E. Johnson has been a writer since he began penning poetry as a six-year-old. Over the ensuing years, he has worked as a road musician and Nashville songwriter; a graphic artist; a journalist/editor; a freelance writer for a variety of magazines; and a humorist/blogger, usually writing about fatherhood and health and fitness. In 2017, Johnson and his wife, Holly, launched a Nepal trekking company after a chance meeting with an Everest region Sherpa in Nashville, Tennessee, developed into a friendship and later, unlikely partnership. This resulted in a trek to Everest Base Camp and the publication of Johnson's first book, "Doofus Dad Does Everest Base Camp: One of Planet Earth's epic adventures told by a slightly-less-than-epic guy," in the fall of 2018. Johnson's second book, "Blow the Man Down: How I navigated the sailboats and station wagons of the music business," was released in December 2019. It chronicles his Forrest Gump-like odyssey from the Appalachian mountains, to the mean streets of Nashville, to the beaches of St. Croix, and back again. In September of 2023, Johnson released his first novel, "Mr. Ledbetter's Boots." This historical fiction/adventure tells the story of Raymond Ulysses Ledbetter, a 95-year-old Tuskegee Airman and WWII hero who became one of America's first mountaineers. At an impossible age, he intends to become the oldest known person to complete the 40-mile trek through the Himalayas to Everest Base Camp. Traveling with him is Joe Vogler, a hotshot North Carolina journalist, and Maya Sherpa, a beautiful and mysterious trekking guide who hails from the village of Phortse. Both are drawn to Ray's strange old hiking boots, which hold a historical secret that will turn the odyssey on its head. Johnson lives in Middle Tennessee with his wife, Holly, and children, Sam, Ava, and Pete.