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 (451)
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Hidden Stream
Riding her horse is what Anne enjoyed more than school, playing sports, or even chatting with her friends online. It gave her a feeling of freedom that nothing else could match. Anne and her chestnut mare, Explorer, spent endless hours crisscrossing the fields and hills surrounding her family’s farm. They spent so much time together that, to anyone watching, it looked like they could read each other’s minds. Anne only had to place a minimum amount of pressure on the reins and Explorer would react immediately. The horse seemed to enjoy Anne’s company as much as Anne did hers.
By Mark Gagnon3 years ago in Fiction
Misdirection
How would you like to live in a world where everyone who chooses to can read your mind and you theirs? Now, just to make it more interesting, what if you have lost the ability to read everyone else’s mind? Every thought, every emotion, every subconscious urge you have is laid bare for the world to ogle at while you have no idea what’s really behind their smile or friendly nod. Is your imagination vivid enough to grasp what such an existence would be like? I don’t have to imagine because it’s my reality.
By Mark Gagnon3 years ago in Fiction
Hummingbird
The Hummingbird symbolizes happiness and joy. It appears out of nowhere and briefly, spreads happiness and joy into the lives of those it passes. It carries messages from those who have passed on to their living relatives, according to ancient Native American lore.
By Mark Gagnon3 years ago in Fiction
Generational Disconnect
The official-looking sign posted on the door read, “Safe Driving for Seniors.” In many states, the term seniors could apply to high school seniors, but not in Florida. The attendees in this room were all past retirement age and had one thing in common besides age — they had all received a ticket for unsafe driving. The instructor was in his early twenties and displayed the confidence of youth. He was given this assignment because no one more senior than him wanted to do it.
By Mark Gagnon3 years ago in Humans
Earthbound
In late Spring of 1997, I was assigned a 3-day local tour of the Washington metro area. This job was perfect because first, I was very familiar with the locale, and second; I could go home each night instead of staying in a hotel. The only downside was the location of the pickup hotel, Georgetown. If any of you have ever visited this part of Washington, you’ll understand why no driver enjoys navigating a 45-foot bus through its narrow streets and gnarled traffic. Sometimes one has to take the bad with the good.
By Mark Gagnon3 years ago in Interview
A Good Deed
It was well after midnight; it was snowing, and my flight was the last to arrive. By the time my luggage came to me, delivered on a clunking conveyor belt, there were only five passengers left in this wannabe airport. To add insult to injury, I had to schlep my bag with the freshly damaged wheel through the snow from the terminal to the rental car center on the opposite side of the parking lot because the shuttle service had stopped for the night. At real airports, shuttles ran until the last flight arrived, but not here in Hicksville.
By Mark Gagnon3 years ago in Fiction
Angie’s Cave
Peter was born in the mountains of rural Virginia, where he spent his childhood days exploring the tree-covered hills and grassy valleys surrounding his home. As he reached his pre-teen years, he became fascinated with the multitude of caves tucked away all around the area. Peter’s parents supported his newfound interest, placing only one restriction on his explorations. He must never, under any circumstance, enter Angie’s Cave.
By Mark Gagnon3 years ago in Horror
Continuum
We have brought you, the members of Earth’s Ruling Council, here to tell you the truth about the origin of your species. We hope you will help us in a struggle that will involve your race soon. Humanity is not what you perceive it to be, as you will come to appreciate.
By Mark Gagnon3 years ago in Fiction
Cloud Walker
Some people call me a cloud walker, and from a layperson’s perspective, that makes perfect sense. People will look out an airplane window and see me, or others like me, bounding from cloud to cloud like a water bug dancing from lily pad to lily pad. What the casual observer cannot see is that I never make contact with the clouds or anything else. People like me have the unique ability to solve extremely complex equations in our heads at such a rate that we can negate the effects of gravity by locating where the gaps in the gravitational field are occurring. Cloud walking isn’t my unique talent, though. My specialty is the ability to cancel other people’s cloud walking ability.
By Mark Gagnon3 years ago in Fiction
