I discovered Mark Siegel purely by accident as I often do with many of my special guests on this webcast. Listening to a friend's webcast, (komicskast.libsyn.com) I heard him talk about this really neat webcomic that will soon be released as a graphic novel (October 5th) entitled, "Sailor Twain or the Mermaid In The Hudson".  The fact that Mark employed the use of charcoal for his art throughout the story really entrigued me. After visiting his website (SailorTwain.com) I perused through the first 10 pages of the story that he generously offers in its entirety and immediately fell in love. Siegel's use of charcoal is masterful and a perfect fit for the backdrop of the story. Digging a bit deeper and learning of his diverse background, it's amazing to me how I missed this talented artist's work throughout the years. His portfolio is as vast as his experience and it was a pleasure to interview him and I'm grateful to him for allowing me to take some time out of his busy schedule to share his story with me. Mark is also the Editorial Director at First Second Books.