Michael J. McCann

Michael J. McCann
Born	Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Author
Nationality	Canadian
Alma mater	Queen's University
Genres	crime fiction, supernatural fiction
mjmccann.com

Michael J. McCann is a Canadian author of crime fiction and supernatural fiction. His Donaghue and Stainer Crime Novel series is set in the fictional city of Glendale, Maryland, while his supernatural fiction is set in eastern Ontario. He is a member of the Crime Writers of Canada^[1].

Biography

McCann was born and raised in Peterborough, Ontario where he attended Trent University and earned a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) with a major in English literature. He then attended Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario with an Ontario Graduate Scholarship where he earned a Master of Arts in English. His M.A. thesis was entitled Symbolic Imagery in the Fiction of Sherwood Anderson.^[2] He also attended the University of Ottawa to undertake his Ph.D. but withdrew after completing the first year.

McCann worked at the western office of Carswell Legal Publications in Calgary, Alberta where he was Production Editor of Criminal Reports (Third Series) and western Law Reports Coordinator. He later worked for Canada Customs, now known as the Canada Border Services Agency, as a training specialist, a project officer, and a manager of national customs programs.

The Ghost Man

McCann's first novel, The Ghost Man, is a supernatural thriller set in the fictional town of Coburn Falls on the Rideau Canal Waterway in eastern Ontario. A ghost story written on the suggestion of his son, Tim McCann, it tells the story of Simon Guthrie, a passive medium who unwillingly assists departed souls in their crossing to the next world. According to reviewer Clayton Bye, writing in The Deepening World of Fiction, "Michael McCann’s novel is uniquely his own. His ghosts, for example, don’t play. They can be seen, if they want to be; will damage your home if you don’t pay attention; and kill you if you get in the way. And his demon? McCann creates a truly scary adversary who isn’t going to lose what he’s after without leaving a slew of casualties as he passes through Simon Guthrie’s life."^[3]

Blood Passage

McCann's next novel, Blood Passage, marked his entry into the crime fiction genre and his first installment of The Donaghue and Stainer Crime Novel series. Inspired by the work of Dr. Jim B. Tucker of the University of Virginia, it tells the story of a four-year-old cold case into which homicide Lieutenant Hank Donaghue and Detective Karen Stainer are drawn when a three-and-a-half year old boy begins to recall alleged memories of his previous life as the murder victim, who was his mother's cousin. Set in the fictional city of Glendale, Maryland, this story features an unusual pairing in Hank Donaghue, the wealthy son of a retired State's Attorney, and Karen Stainer, the daughter of a Texas state trooper.

Short Stories

McCann has published a number of short stories in literary periodicals and in electronic format. In the late 1980s he concentrated on literary fiction, and his published stories included "Sandra," which appeared in Event, published by Douglas College, "The Levitator," published by The Fiddlehead, and "Pieces of Eight," which appeared in Quarry.

In 2011 he has published short stories in E-book format from the upcoming collection STORIES from the Donaghue and Stainer Crime Novel series. To date these stories include "The Tom Donaghue Story," "The Ambition of William Chow," "Knock and Talk," "Invisible Boy," and "The Long Snapper."

Bibliography

Novels

• The Ghost Man, 2009
• Blood Passage, 2011

Short stories

• "Sandra," Event, Fall 1987, Vol. 16, No. 3, 43-50.
• "The Levitator", The Fiddlehead, Summer 1988, No. 156, 73-79.
• "Pieces of Eight", Quarry, Summer 1989, Vol. 38, No. 3, 68-77.
• "The Tom Donaghue Story", Smashwords, 2011.
• "The Ambition of William Chow", Smashwords, 2011.
• "Knock and Talk", Smashwords, 2011.
• "The Invisible Boy", Smashwords, 2011.
• "The Long Snapper", Smashwords, 2011.

References

1. ^ "Crime Writers of Canada, McCann, MJ". http://www.crimewriterscanada.com/bios/members-lists/615-mccann-mj. Retrieved 2011-09-24. 
2. ^ McCann, Michael James (1981). "Symbolic Imagery in the Fiction of Sherwood Anderson". Queen's University Archives. https://qcat.library.queensu.ca/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=552994. Retrieved 2011-09-18. 
3. ^ Bye, Clayton (2009-11-05). "The Ghost Man by Michael J. McCann". The Deepening World of Fiction. http://www.thedeepening.com/horror/tag/author-michael-j-mccann/. Retrieved 2011-09-18. 

External links

• Official website

Persondata
Name	Mccann, Michael J.
Alternative names
Short description	Author
Date of birth
Place of birth	Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
Date of death
Place of death