Mark Gagnon
Bio
My life has been spent traveling here and abroad. Now it's time to write.
I have three published books: Mitigating Circumstances, Short Stories for Open Minds, and Short Stories from an Untethered Mind. Unmitigated Greed is do out soon.
Achievements (1)
Stories (457)
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The Book
There was a time when reading bored me to tears. When I was young, my mother would call me over to her and say, “Come sit next to me and I’ll read you a story.” My standard response was either “I want to go out and play,” or “I’m building something with my Legos right now.” As you might imagine, school was twelve arduous years of reprimands, poor test grades, and detentions. Had I not been such a good athlete, I would have never graduated. At least I didn’t graduate at the very bottom of my class; that distinction belonged to Jack. I was next to last.
By Mark Gagnon5 days ago in Fiction
The Guardian Chapter 4 Learning the Truth
It had been five years since Alexander and Leo had their encounter with the Cthulhu and thirteen years since the Beast Masters and their living dead army, known as Jikininki, killed his parents and decimated his hometown of Tranquility. Since Draco the Dragon had rescued him from a pack of hungry Dire wolves and brought him to the Citadel to live, he had grown from a five-year-old child to an eighteen-year-old on the verge of adulthood. He had studied hard and mastered every challenge Actus and the other elders had presented. Now, he was through with all the double talk, the evasive tactics, the “You’ll be told when you're older
By Mark Gagnon6 days ago in Fiction
Guardians of Knowledge
David continued to pump gas for the next three month while searching for work. The job market was tight for people without a specific trade. He learned quickly that the technology field had no interest in someone without a degree in electronics or coding. He considered looking for work at one of the paper mills in the neighboring town of Fitchburg, but that wasn’t any different than working in a plastics factory. He even considered rejoining the Army or maybe the Air Force because the living conditions are better. The one thing he was sure of was that time was continuing to surge ahead, and his life was at a standstill.
By Mark Gagnon7 days ago in Chapters
Epilogue
Andy looked forward to settling into his overstuffed recliner, anxiously anticipating the grand finale of the book he had been reading for the last four days. He wasn’t a slow reader; on the contrary, if left alone, he could plow through most books in two days max. The problem with this book was that every time he settled down to read it, something or someone interrupted him. Either the phone would ring or the dog needed to go for a walk. Occasionally, a friend would stop by for a visit. Once, he had to work a double shift because someone called out sick. Tonight was going to be different. He only had two chapters and the epilogue to get through, and he could return the book to the library and find a new one.
By Mark Gagnon10 days ago in Fiction
Coming of Age
Over the last five years, life in the Bay State seemed to be in a constant state of turmoil. Tariffs on glass, lead and several other items were responded to by the colonists with boycotts. Unrest grew to a fevered pitch until, on March 5th, 1770, the Boston Massacre occurred. Three years later, a group of men dressed as Native Americans boarded a ship and tossed its cargo of tea into Boston Harbor. Their action was dubbed the Boston Tea Party. It was easy to see how a fourteen-year-old boy who lived twenty miles from the big city could be easily confused by the state of the world.
By Mark Gagnon16 days ago in Fiction
Instruction Manual
To our most valued customer, thank you for purchasing this state-of-the-art hand tool. We know you will enjoy many years of use from this masterfully designed device. Only the highest-grade materials have been used to create this multipurpose tool, so you may feel confident that it will always function to the best of its ability in all types of environments. Our company has been manufacturing this implement for over one hundred years, and we have never had a complaint due to poor quality or inadequate design. To ensure that you are thoroughly satisfied with this product, we have included a list of instructions for its proper use.
By Mark Gagnonabout a month ago in Fiction
The Woods
“I warned her over and over again, don’t go into the woods alone. There are creatures living in those woods that will kill you or worse, but did she listen? Of course not. She would laugh at my warnings and, in a mocking tone, reply, What’s worse than being dead?” “If only I had a way to show her the horrors I have witnessed in those woods actually exist, she might still be with us now. All that is left for me to do now is go into the woods and search for her. My friends, neighbors, fellow villagers, who among you will join me?”
By Mark Gagnonabout a month ago in Fiction
Revelation
I can’t remember a time when Maddie wasn’t in my life. We met as toddlers, our parents were next-door neighbors, and we spent almost every day playing together. Many children drift apart once they start school, but not Maddie and me. We attended the same grammar school, had the same teachers, and helped each other with homework. Inseparable, joined at the hip, two peas in a pod, and all those other tired clichés were used to describe us by the adults. That’s how it was right up to the day her father got promoted and the family moved to another state.
By Mark Gagnonabout a month ago in Fiction
