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 (468)
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Shocked
It will be over in less than a minute. All you need to do is relax and don’t struggle. Your outcome has been predetermined so you might as well accept your fate. Think of it as your path to freedom and a new life. This, and so much more, is what I was told to make me feel better. Of course, I knew they were lying and so did they. Nothing, not kind words, or soothing gestures, no nothing will make me willingly accept my rendezvous with old sparky.
By Mark Gagnon2 years ago in Fiction
To Con a Pig. Top Story - April 2024.
Mo, Larry, and Curly were simple country pigs. They lived in a small town called Sty, where nothing much changed from day to day. Their homes were humble abodes constructed of straw and sticks, much like their neighbors. Every day was like the day before until it wasn’t.
By Mark Gagnon2 years ago in Fiction
LIGHTSPEED
Aaron stared past his windshield into the vastness of true nothingness. Sure, he had heard people use that term before, but he knew they had no idea what the physical part of the phrase actually looked like. No, felt like is more accurate. Neither had he until that bitch, Athena, nudged his car across the 50th parallel. He understood her rookie desire to make her mark in the interplanetary racing world, but that was no excuse for placing another racer in harm’s way. Now, while he was drifting in a seemingly endless void of timelessness, she would join his fellow racers in a moment of silence for their lost comrade, then continue with her victory celebration, and no one would be the wiser.
By Mark Gagnon2 years ago in Fiction
Pain
There are a few basic elements that connect every person on the planet. Emotions like love, hate, fear, depression, and joy are feelings every human will experience during their lives to varying degrees. A writer wouldn’t be able to create an effective love story if his or her audience had no concept of what love was. True physical pain is unlike any of the other conditions I have previously mentioned, even though every human can feel it.
By Mark Gagnon2 years ago in Writers
Unsportsmanlike!
“This has to be a dream, and everything will return to normal once I wake up.” Of course, Aaron knew he was lying to himself, but what else did he have left? His former life felt more like a fairy tale than reality, so why couldn’t this lie be real? For the hundredth time, he would mentally revisit the events that placed him in this situation. Maybe, just maybe, an overlooked detail would emerge. Could it be that simple?
By Mark Gagnon2 years ago in Fiction
The Customer. Top Story - March 2024.
The Epicurean possessed the title of best restaurant in the tri-state area. People would try for weeks before acquiring a reservation in the main dining room. Snagging a coveted table in a private room took influence and a great deal of cash. It didn’t matter whether someone was looking for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, reservations were a necessity. Jacque, the establishment’s owner, ran his business with discipline, plus a great deal of empathy for his employees. He recalled working in a burger joint as a teenager for minimum wage. Now that he was a successful owner, Jacque would tolerate no one mistreating his staff.
By Mark Gagnon2 years ago in Journal
Let’s Talk
“Yes, sir, just as fat as you were yesterday. Just because you had a restless night tossing and turning in your dreams, did you think that is the same as working out? The pounds don’t melt off like that in real life? Time to face facts buddy, you’re still fat.”
By Mark Gagnon2 years ago in Fiction
Becoming a New Dad
While struggling to keep up with reading as many stories as possible and creating fresh stories of my own, I came across a recent posting by Shirley Belk titled “New Baby Love.” It was a touching article describing how a woman feels from the time she discovers she is pregnant until just after giving birth. In my comment to her, I said that I liked the story, but as it was written from a female point of view, I had a tough time relating to her emotions. Shirley responded by asking what the male point of view would be.
By Mark Gagnon2 years ago in Families
My Future Past
Wow, that was one hell of a New Year’s Eve party. At least, the parts I remember were. I don’t understand what made the room spin so erratically while the antique grandfather clock was ringing in its welcome to 2024. At least I think we were celebrating 2024. I seem to remember an old-fashioned TV broadcasting Dick Clark’s Rocking New Year’s Eve, and the banners read 1980. The other odd thing is everyone vanished from the party just as the final chime struck. Now that I think about it, I have no idea where that old clock came from, because I’ve never owned one. It just showed up, chimed twelve times, and poof, it’s gone again. Maybe what I need is a couple of aspirin and a cup of coffee.
By Mark Gagnon2 years ago in Fiction
Personal Contact
A note lay on my entryway floor. She must have slid it under my door after I had gone to bed. Some people might say communicating like this feels much more personal compared to how it happened back in the old days, say one or two years ago. Back then, if someone wanted to contact you for work or just to say hello all they did was pick up their cell phone and dial your number. Sure, it was faster, but it lacked the interpersonal feel that notes have. Who am I kidding? The only reason people are contacting each other with notes is to avoid losing their minds to The Coordinator.
By Mark Gagnon2 years ago in Fiction
