Mark Winegardner is an American writer born and raised in Bryan, Ohio. He is best known for his novels continuing the Godfather series, which extend the story of the Corleone family originally depicted in Mario Puzo's The Godfather. Winegardner's works in the Godfather universe include The Godfather Returns and The Godfather's Revenge, published in November 2006 by Putnam. Beyond the Godfather novels, he has written other works of fiction including Crooked river Burning and The Veracruz Blues. In 2002, he published a collection of short stories titled That's True of Everybody.