Autism Books Fiction

Fortune on the Spectrum is a new novel featuring a character with autism. This character becomes the youngest self-made millionaire in Texas history and endures multiple challenges both before and after his great achievement. Autism books fiction.

Autism books fiction

Books and novels abound these days with themes relating to autism spectrum disorder.  A large percentage of these books are in the non-fiction category which give advice to parents and loved ones of children with autism. Doctors, therapists and other professionals also have added their take on the subject in great numbers of published works.

My novel is obviously a work of fiction, but so much of it is drawn from real-world experience raising a son with autism. Many of the interesting quirks and behaviors of the main character were inspired by my son. Of course I gladly ran with the fleshing out of an interesting adventure for all readers, but knowing parents with experience with such things will recognize familiar themes as well.

Author Mark Ferdinand

Mark Ferdinand lives on the South Texas coast with his wife, daughter and son. Fishing the surf, hunting, gardening, carving, auto and home repair occupy his spare time. He has written on the topic of autism spectrum disorder from a father’s perspective in parenting articles and in other non-fiction venues.

Autism author Mark Ferdinand

Having limited typical communication skills, his son introduced Mark to new ways of interpreting his needs and aspirations. As his son grew older Mark became fascinated by the story potential within these amazing children. This prompted the creation of a dynamic adventure story focusing on a character with autism.

Mark is about to publish his new non-fiction work entitled You’re Gonna’ Get Bit! Harrowing Tales of Herpetology.

From chasing frogs as a child, to milking venomous snakes for a living, Mark Ferdinand explores a lifetime of tales from the world of reptiles and amphibians. Whether it’s a quest for his first turtle, keeping crocodiles in his closet, or chasing snakes around the workplace, You’re Gonna’ Get Bit! has a story that all “herpers” and nature lovers can relate to and enjoy.

Book Summary 

Denny was diagnosed with autism at three years of age. Autism gave him the gift of obsession. This gift made him the youngest, self-made millionaire in Texas history. Autism also made him vulnerable to the forces of the outside world, of both society and nature. 

Fortune on the Spectrum is the journey of an unstoppable young man, destined to succeed and challenged to survive. Denny's story takes you through struggle, humor, love, and danger from the voice of an atypical mind.

Books by Mark Ferdinand are available here:

Amazon Page

iTunes

Google Play

 

Autism and Christmas

Autism and Christmas

The closer we get to Christmas, and the older he gets, the more involved he becomes. He starts asking about when our tree will be up, what colored lights will be on the tree, and how much time off will he get. If we try to skip anything (like outdoor lights for example) he now knows to call us on our slacking.  Autism and Christmas promises to be interesting this year!

More than any other holiday or occasion, my son loves Christmas. He is just like me this way. It is more than just the presents that he loves, there are so many surrounding factors as many of us know.
These days it begins after Halloween when we visit the big box stores. The Christmas decorations are on full display in the blink of an eye and he knows that the time has begun.

This is the beginning of all the sights and sounds that he loves. The beginning of lights, fake snowmen, bells and commercials on TV. After Thanksgiving, things really start to kick in!

This holiday season has run rife with inconsistency and deviations from tradition. We have already changed the routine with Thanksgiving this year. We told the grandparents we would visit them for Christmas so they skipped Thanksgiving at our house for the first time in twelve years.

Now we will be traveling and not spending Christmas in the home. We shall see what happens!

Mark Ferdinand is the writer of the adventure novel "Fortune on the Spectrum".  He lives on the South Texas coast with his wife, daughter and son. Fishing the surf, hunting, gardening, tiki-carving, and repairs occupy his spare time. He has written on the topic of autism spectrum disorder from a father's perspective in parenting articles and in other non-fiction venues. Having limited typical communication skills, his son introduced Mark to new ways of interpreting his needs and aspirations. As his son grew older Mark became fascinated by the story potential within these amazing children. This prompted the creation of a dynamic adventure story focusing on a character with autism.
After completing his first novel, Fortune on the Spectrum, he decided to compile a group of lifetime stories that brought him to the unusual occupation of snake venom extraction called You're Gonna' Get Bit!: Harrowing Tales of Herpetology.

Books by Mark Ferdinand are available here:

Amazon Page

iTunes

Google Play

 

 

Autism and Thanksgiving

Autism and Thanksgiving

As I write this we are preparing for this year’s thanksgiving festivities. This year, however, promises to be a bit of a blow to his routine. For the last ten years or so, we have enjoyed visits from his grandparents for the entire week. I would take most of the week off, and we would enjoy visiting, eating, drinking, and going to restaurants. This year is a new experience with autism and Thanksgiving.

What leads me to believe that he will be at least slightly thrown off, are the questions coming up this year now that he can identify the fact that this year is different.
By this time his grandparents (called Oma and Opa) would have been here. By this time I would have already taken off work. He is happy to be off school and at home, but he knows that something is amiss.

Autism and Thanksgiving

Update: Maturity does have a positive effect on his dealings with changes. Thanksgiving came and went, and we informed him repeatedly that we would be seeing Oma and Opa on Christmas and that “This year is different”.

He now understands that when we say “Today is different” or “This year is different” he is in for a change to what he is used to, and better be ready to deal with it. I promised to take him to the restaurant on the following weekend, and we ended up making a father/son day out of it.

Autism Author Mark Ferdinand

Mark Ferdinand is a Texas author living on Padre Island with his wife, daughter and son. Fishing the surf, hunting, gardening, carving, auto and home repair occupy his spare time. He has written on the topic of autism spectrum disorder from a father's perspective in parenting articles and in other non-fiction venues.

Having limited typical communication skills, his son introduced Mark to new ways of interpreting his needs and aspirations. As his son grew older Mark became fascinated by the story potential within these amazing children. This prompted the creation of a dynamic adventure story focusing on a character with autism.

Books by Mark Ferdinand are available here:

 

Amazon Page

iTunes

Google Play

 

Herpetology Books

Herpetology Books

Texas author Mark Ferdinand tells tales of his adventures with reptiles and amphibians. This is his first venture into herpetology books after authoring the adventure novel – Fortune on the Spectrum. From chasing frogs as a child, to milking venomous snakes for a living, Mark Ferdinand explores a lifetime of tales from the world of reptiles and amphibians.

Herpetology books

Whether it’s a quest for his first turtle, keeping crocodiles in his closet, or chasing snakes around the workplace, You’re Gonna’ Get Bit!:Harrowing Tales of Herpetology has a story that all “herpers” and nature lovers can relate to and enjoy.

For those like the creepy crawly reptiles and amphibians. Fun tales from amateur fun to professional pitfalls.

Mark Ferdinand has a scientific collector’s permit when collecting venomous snakes. He has always had a love for herpetology books. He has worked with venomous animals for biomedical research for over ten years and has extracted venom over twenty thousand times without serious incident. Knock on wood as hard as I can!!


You’re Gonna’ Get Bit! is available in the following formats:
Paperback (Amazon)
Kindle (Amazon)
Android (Google Play)
ePub (iBooks and iTunes)

Mark Ferdinand

Mark Ferdinand lives on the South Texas coast with his wife, daughter and son. Fishing the surf, hunting, gardening, carving, auto and home repair occupy his spare time. He has written on the topic of autism spectrum disorder from a father’s perspective in parenting articles and in other non-fiction venues. 

Having limited typical communication skills, his son introduced Mark to new ways of interpreting his needs and aspirations. As his son grew older Mark became fascinated by the story potential within these amazing children. This prompted the creation of a dynamic adventure story focusing on a character with autism. After completing his first novel, Fortune on the Spectrum, he decided to compile a group of lifetime stories that brought him to the unusual occupation of snake venom extraction called You’re Gonna’ Get Bit!: Harrowing Tales of Herpetology.

Herpetology books author and Texas author Mark Ferdinand. Mark writes novels with autistic characters, Texas fiction, and true tales of reptiles and amphibians. Books available in paperback, Kindle, Android and Apple devices.

Texas Writer

Texas Writer

Texas writer Mark Ferdinand, a resident of Corpus Christi, Texas has a son with autism that inspires him every day.  Mark’s experience enables him to bring a unique character to life in the world of fiction. With the increase of special needs characters as a trend in books, movies and television, Mark is able to approach the creation of such characters with a realism and respect not often seen in popular media.


Fortune on the Spectrum is a novel in which the main character has autism. Traits of his autism give him great focus on his obsession with day trading the stock market. He becomes the youngest self-made millionaire in Texas history.
Mark published his new non-fiction work entitled You’re Gonna’ Get Bit! Harrowing Tales of Herpetology.


After completing his first novel, Mark decided to compile a group of stories that brought him to the unusual occupation of snake venom extraction. For those like the creepy crawly reptiles and amphibians, these are tales from amateur fun to professional pitfalls.

From chasing frogs as a child, to milking venomous snakes for a living, Mark Ferdinand explores a lifetime of tales from the world of reptiles and amphibians. Whether it’s a quest for his first turtle, keeping crocodiles in his closet, or chasing snakes around the workplace, You’re Gonna’ Get Bit! has a story that all “herpers” and nature lovers can relate to and enjoy.
Mark Ferdinand writes on topics considered unusual for a Texas author.

Fortune on the Spectrum and You’re Gonna’ Get Bit! are from Texas writer Mark Ferdinand and available through Amazon in both paperback and Kindle. Both are also available for Android (Google Play) and Apple (iTunes).

Autism in Fiction

Autism in Fiction

The Texas-based novel “Fortune on the Spectrum” delves deeply into the life of Denny Jagen, an autistic character.  Although autism in fiction is unusual, Texas author Mark Ferdinand was inspired to write an adventure novel by his son who was diagnosed with autism at age three.  He imagined what kind of adventures such a character may have as he overcame challenges of normal society.

Denny Jagen was diagnosed with autism at three years of age. Autism gave him the gift of obsession. This gift made him the youngest, self-made millionaire in Texas history. Autism also made him vulnerable to the forces of the outside world, of both society and nature. Fortune on the Spectrum is the journey of an unstoppable young man, destined to succeed and challenged to survive. Denny’s story takes you through struggle, humor, love, finance and danger from the voice of an atypical mind.

Mark Ferdinand lives on the South Texas coast with his wife, daughter and son. Fishing the surf, hunting, gardening, carving, auto and home repair occupy his spare time. He has written on the topic of autism spectrum disorder from a father’s perspective in parenting articles and in other non-fiction venues. Having limited typical communication skills, his son introduced Mark to new ways of interpreting his needs and aspirations. As his son grew older Mark became fascinated by the story potential within these amazing children. This prompted the creation of a dynamic adventure story focusing on a character with autism.

Corpus Christi author and Texas author Mark Ferdinand. Mark writes novels with autistic characters, and Texas fiction.  Mark is actively working on the next installment of the life of Denny Jagen, exploring HAUTISM, and other fun projects to come. 

Autism in fiction writer Mark Ferdinand writes novels with autistic characters, Texas fiction, and true tales of reptiles and amphibians. Paperback, Kindle and Android and Apple versions of his work are available.

COLORADO AUTHOR

COLORADO AUTHOR
Colorado born author Mark Ferdinand is the author of the autism adventure novel Fortune on the Spectrum and the book You're Gonna' Get Bit!: Harrowing Tales of Herpetology. Mark was born and raised in Longmont, Colorado attending Longs Peak Jr. High and Longmont High School. He earned a degree in Technical Journalism at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. He now lives on Padre Island on the Texas coast, but is still a frequent Colorado visitor with ties to the family cabin. Fishing the surf, hunting, gardening, carving, auto and home repair occupy his spare time. He has written on the topic of autism spectrum disorder from a father's perspective in parenting articles and in other non-fiction venues. Having limited typical communication skills, his son introduced Mark to new ways of interpreting his needs and aspirations. As his son grew older Mark became fascinated by the story potential within these amazing children. This prompted the creation of a dynamic adventure story focusing on a character with autism. After completing his first novel, Fortune on the Spectrum, he decided to compile a group of lifetime stories that brought him to the unusual occupation of snake venom extraction called You're Gonna' Get Bit!: Harrowing Tales of Herpetology. For those like the creepy crawly reptiles and amphibians. Fun tales from amateur fun to professional pitfalls. From chasing frogs as a child, to milking venomous snakes for a living, Mark Ferdinand explores a lifetime of tales from the world of reptiles and amphibians. Whether it's a quest for his first turtle, keeping crocodiles in his closet, or chasing snakes around the workplace, You're Gonna' Get Bit! has a story that all "herpers" and nature lovers can relate to and enjoy. Corpus Christi author and Colorado author Mark Ferdinand. Mark writes novels with autistic characters, Texas fiction, and true tales of reptiles and amphibians. Paperback, Kindle, Apple and Android app.