Vulliamy, Mark: - Born in Vancouver, Mark Vulliamy has resided in that city ever since. In his 20s he lived in a series of communal houses while writing plays and acting in mainly grant-funded theatre companies. Eventually he found job security and a steady income within municipal government, where he wrote policy, planning, land acquisition and other reports for deliberation by elected officials. Now in retirement, he has reverted to writing fiction, including plays and short stories. Through Thorns is his first novel.