Michael McDonald

Biography

Writer, reader, ranter; Michael J. McDonald likes an eclectic range of things, but not bananas. He started writing stories before he could write by hand, sticking printed words together to form the sentences in his first days of school, then bothering the teacher to print off more so he could complete his epic. Things have come full circle, as due to injury he finds himself again unable to write by hand, but thanks to the magic box on his desk his prose continues to flow. Unless somebody is wrong on a forum.

Being a grumpy misanthropist with a cane leads to a particularly disillusioned undercurrent in his writing, but it's not all doom and gloom. Sometimes he lets most of the characters live. Though sometimes they'll wish they didn't. Michael has been published by Quantum Muse magazine, Wherever It Pleases e-zine, Books To Go Now and the University of Glasgow Student Association. He is currently working on a sequel to Underworld and a more adult novel that is a cheerful story of teen angst, rebellion and death.

Where to find Michael McDonald online

Books

UnderWorld
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 108,850. Language: English. Published: September 10, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Fantasy » Contemporary, Fiction » Humor & comedy » Satire
It was war, and that made it all right. A servant girl is caught at ground zero of the Great Calamity, sparking a war that forces the inhabitants of a fractured world together underground in dreary subsistence. But her survival comes with a gift, and a curse, passed on to her bitter, cynical daughter who wants nothing more than to break free of the UnderWorld, and she's bringing down the house.
Fall to Climb
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 24,680. Language: English. Published: May 17, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Anthologies » Short stories - single author
Someone has to take the fall. In this collection of stories, things have gone terribly wrong, and the most unlikely of candidates is driven to step forth and try to make a difference, for good or for ill. From the indulgent countess to the cynical politician, from the plucky scientist to the bitter priest, somebody has to take responsibility for starting the revolution.
Last Confession
Price: $1.79 USD. Words: 9,220. Language: English. Published: May 16, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Themes & motifs » Spiritual & metaphysical, Fiction » Religious
Richard Adams is a father, in more ways than one. Once a man of the cloth, he gave it all up to live the family life, but acts of God took his wife and then his daughter away from him. Richard dies drunk and alone, only to find himself in heaven, reunited with his loved ones. Yet eternal bliss is not all it's cracked up to be, and Richard soon clashes with God himself over his missing daughter.
Mother
Price: Free! Words: 4,970. Language: English. Published: May 16, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » General, Fiction » Science fiction » High tech
(5.00 from 1 review)
Since the Great Calamity of February 14th, 2016, population rates have been dwindling. The cause: Mother Nature. A brilliant scientist juggles her relationships with her grouchy mentor and her new team leader as she strives to create artificial life. Will humanity get in its own way in its quest to save itself from extinction?
Dismantle
Price: Free! Words: 2,650. Language: English. Published: May 15, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Themes & motifs » Political, Fiction » Literature » Plays & Screenplays
(5.00 from 1 review)
A week is a long time in politics. In diary format, one political candidate chronicles his drastic change of fortune as he goes from the potential Prime Minister to a pariah within his own party.
Good Enough
Price: $1.79 USD. Words: 7,910. Language: English. Published: May 15, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Romance » Fantasy, Fiction » Fantasy » Short stories
Countess Amy de Metter is in trouble. Brother Puck is in love. Imprisoned by her king, the Countess stands accused of a crime she will neither confess nor recant. The monk beseeches her to save herself with a confession, growing ever more desperate to save her from a grisly end, but the Countess remains steadfast, hoping that her death might be the spark that lights the fires of rebellion.
The Game
Price: Free! Words: 4,200. Language: English. Published: October 13, 2011 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Short stories, Fiction » Thriller & suspense » General
A hapless geek finds himself on the beta program for a revolutionary operating system - in a Faustian deal that grants him the perfect job and perfect life in exchange for simply giving his blessing to the program. As with most things that come so easy, he found this life less than fulfilling, and watches in horror as the program he endorsed rains chaos down on the world.

Michael McDonald's tag cloud

abortion    affair    affair guilt    anthology    apocalypse    artificial intelligence    atheist fiction    biology    black comedy    catholic church    catholicism    cheating spouse    comedy about hell    corruption    countess    creation and evolution    damnation    daughter    deal with the devil    death    dystopia    election    election campaigns    election candidate    election fraud    erotica    everybody lies    fantasy    fantasy about women    father    father and daughter    faustian    female protagonist    geek    god    god is dead    guilt    heaven    heaven and hell    hell    hell reality and agony    hellfire and damnation    monk    monk erotica    movie star    nightmare    nuclear war    nuclear winter    oppression    political    political corruption    politics    politics and murder    politics and science    priest    priesthood    rebellion    religion    religion and death    religious fiction    revolution    romance    royalty    scape goat    sci fi    science and creation    science and medicine    science and politics    science and technology    science fiction    science fiction politics    scotland    scottish    scottish short story    scottish story    set in scotland    short    short adult fiction    short contemporary    short drama    short erotic    short fantasy    short ficton    short novella    short stories    short stories for adults    short story    short story anthology    sin    speculative fiction    steam punk    steampunk    teenage protagonist    tragedy    tragedy and the common man    war    warfare