Gordon MacKinney

I was pleased to be interviewed recently about FOLLOW ME DOWN. Check it out…

FOLLOW ME DOWN – GORDON MACKINNEY

For some folks like me, drive time is a fine time for reading—via audiobooks.

Follow Me Down is now available in audiobook format, read by Gregory Walston. Check it out here.

I’m pleased and grateful for the current 24 customer reviews, all quite supportive. If you contributed, double thanks from this newbie author.

If you can’t toot your own horn on your own website, where can you? I just received Honorable Mention for my short story, Echo Chamber, in the 44th New Millennium Writing Awards. Publication would have been nice, but I beat out 85% of the competition, so I will keep that tidbit in my back pocket for future encouragement.

New Millennium recognized me a few years back, so I’ve developed a fondness for the organization. Another short story of mine, Death of a Motor City Talk Jock, also received Honorable Mention.

The book-review website Literary Titan awarded Follow Me Down their Gold award for January 2018. Here is the link to the award posting.

My second book, FOLLOW ME DOWN, is now out there for the world to read, published by Black Rose Writing. I’m grateful for their invaluable help.

Urban explorer Lucas Tremaine should buckle down and complete his Masters in Architecture, but the past torments him. Six years earlier, Drax Enterprises’ negligence killed his father and left his mother strung out on Valium. Lucas longs to punish the corrupt behemoth of Cincinnati real estate development, but what can one man do?

“Plenty,” says old Mr. Blumenfeld, Lucas’s boss and a former photojournalist with too many secrets. Evidence to bury Drax exists, he claims, but to find it, Lucas must breach the city’s welded-shut subway system. Lucas takes the plunge, aided by his best friend and moral compass, Reuben Klein.

The deeper the duo infiltrates the dangerous underground, the further back they turn the clock. They learn that Drax’s corruption intertwined with fascism’s rise in Germany. That campfire tales of a subway crypt were true. That no one can be trusted, not even Lucas’s boss.

Check it out on Amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and other online outlets. The book is available in print and electronic versions.

Hello friends – my second novel, Follow Me Down, is finished. Clearly categorized as suspense/thriller, this journey into the world of urban explorers is looking for readers. But as my friend reminds me, this is a soul-sucking business, so fingers crossed!

While not every aspect of this try-to-get-published adventure is pleasant, I’m learning a ton and am glad to be part of the process.

One never stops editing. My manuscript has been through many revisions, largely based on excellent inputs from my awesome critique group. Trimming is tough, but the book gets stronger. My latest trimming pass brought the book to just over 93,000 words. All meat, no fat.

I’m learning so much about genre. I originally considered my manuscript to be historical fiction because it took place 25 years ago. But the definition of the genre is hotly debated. Then, is it literary fiction? Is it commercial fiction? Actually neither. Huh?

I learned about New Adult fiction, an emerging genre. Not necessarily by design, but my book fits well. My protagonist starts the story at age 18, and ends the story at age 22. Instead of facing the challenges of a typical “young adult” — zits, dating and social identity — Chris Jamison must decide what to do with his life (and his dad) while facing big damn problems.

I am actively querying literary agents. Two agents have requested the full manuscript and I look forward to their reactions.