Mark Gagnon
Bio
I have spent most of my life traveling the US and abroad. Now it's time to create what I hope are interesting fictional stories.
I have 2 books on Amazon, Mitigating Circumstances and Short Stories for Open Minds.
Stories (291/0)
Words Take Flight
Zhang Wei is a tinkerer, inventor, and dreamer. He really has no business serving in General Meng Tian’s Great Army, but King Qin Shi Huang dreams of unifying China and Zhang wants to be part of it. Besides, the General is a builder like Zhang, so he feels they are kindred spirits. The General is committed to building a great wall that will protect China from the Mongols, while Zhang is experimenting with capturing the wind. For everyone’s dreams to be fulfilled, General Meng’s army has to first defeat Xiongnu Province and make it part of the newly unified China. To accomplish this, Meng amassed a great army that stretched over an immense area of land.
By Mark Gagnon8 months ago in Fiction
- Top Story - August 2023
Where’s Home?Top Story - August 2023
Jake perched on a barstool at the NCO club, surrounded by fellow sergeants and their friends. The chief topic of conversation this evening was familiar to them all—Where’s Home? The subject usually came up when several were taking a leave and heading home for a visit. Descriptions of childhood places, brothers and sisters, or longtime friends inevitably followed. Home was always some place that anchored them, and drew them back from the far corners of the world. It was never a subject Jake enjoyed taking part in.
By Mark Gagnon8 months ago in Fiction
The Red Door Society
The Red Door Society held monthly meetings in the old decommissioned stone church on the second Friday of every month. The church has been Williamstown's centerpiece since being constructed in 1699. A bright red door is its most prominent feature. Old rumors about the church founders being escaped Salem witches and warlocks only added to the building's lore.
By Mark Gagnon8 months ago in Horror
Unmitigated Greed
Chapter 8 Frank spent the next ten days negotiating for the purchase of Border-to-Border Charter Bus Company. He spent the evenings with Marisol. What stood out to him as he crisscrossed the border every day was how much both cities had changed. Laredo was no longer a frontier border town with dirt streets and run-down neighborhoods. Large warehouses dotted the landscape, and the people appeared more prosperous than when he lived there.
By Mark Gagnon8 months ago in Critique
Blank Page
I must have been staring at this blank computer screen for at least an hour with nothing to show for it. People write about writer’s block, which in is an oxymoron since they’re writing about it, but never experienced it until now. Bored, frustrated, and feeling useless, I did what anyone would do in this situation—I took a nap.
By Mark Gagnon8 months ago in Writers
Fairyland TV News
“Welcome to the Fairyland 6 o’clock news. I’m Peter Pumpkin Eater, and here is what’s breaking as we speak. A tragic series of events occurred this afternoon involving Mr. Mouse and a clock. For more, let’s go to Henny Penny, who is speaking with Mr. Mouse.”
By Mark Gagnon8 months ago in Humor
Mitigating Circumstances, a Critique
An international crime syndicate takes over a pharmaceutical company to produce a highly addictive drug. Several board members block its release. They hire male and female assassins to eliminate the troublemakers. The assassins use a motorcoach tour to move from city to city. Mitigating Circumstances disrupt their murderous plans.
By Mark Gagnon8 months ago in Critique
Death Warmed Over
Do you like detective stories or zombie stories? If your answer is yes to both questions, you’re going to love Kevin J Anderson’s Death Warmed Over. The main character is a zombie detective looking for his girlfriend's killer, who is a poltergeist. It all happens in New Orleans.
By Mark Gagnon8 months ago in Critique
Ivanhoe
Knights, castles, jousts, sword fights, palace intrigue, oh yes, and romance, what’s not to like? Ivanhoe, a story set in thirteenth-century England, has everything a seventh-grader could ask for. I hated reading until Miss Hilferty assigned this story to our literature class. One story can change the world.
By Mark Gagnon8 months ago in Critique