 Mystery: May 25, 2022 Issue [#11376] |
This week: Mystery Newsletter - John D. MacDonald Edited by: Sleigh Bells Adore ♥  
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| This newsletter is for this month of May and will discuss the works of this renowned mystery writer, John D. MacDonald. |
| ASIN: B07NPKP5BF |
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John D. MacDonald was born 1916 in Sharon, Pennsylvania, where his father, worked at Savage Arms Corporation for several years. Then, they relocated to Utica, NY in 1926 where his father became treasurer of the Utica division of Savage Arms Corporation. This continued for several years until 1934, MacDonald was sent to Europe for several weeks which began his desire for photography and travel.
John D. MacDonald graduated from high school and then enrolled in the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he dropped out in sophomore year. He worked a few menial jobs but was later admitted into Syracuse University where he met his future wife, Dorothy Prentiss and then graduated the next year. In 1939, he graduated with his MBA from Harvard University and used this education in business and economics in crafting his fiction writing.
By 1940, he accepted a direct commission as first lieutenant of the Amy Ordinance Corps. In World War II he served in the Office of Strategic Services in China-Burma-India Theater of Operations; this was featured in many of his early short stories and novels. While he was overseas in the military, he sent stories he wrote to his wife, filled with tales of he had written for her entertainment in his absence. Unbeknownst to him, his wife submitted one of the stories to a magazine aptly called, "Story". His story was accepted by the publication and thus began his writing career. He was discharged in 1945 as a lieutenant colonel and by 1949 he settled with his family in Sarasota FL.
John D. MacDonald was a prolific writer who authored more than 78 books in his career and sold more than 70 million copies. Many of his works were published in the 1950s and they were mostly set in Florida, as were his 450 short stories and the well known Travis McGee series. This character, Travis McGee was a different type of character as he was known as a “Salvage consultant” or a person who defends a beautiful woman against a large and powerful corporation.
Going beyond the usual formula of sex and violence, he investigated the social and moral concerns through McGee and his erudite sidekick, Travis. The twist he brought to this character was that the character, though investigating crime or shady deals, he was NOT a licensed investigator, which made this all the more difficult. Several of his novels are set in either the business world or in the financial sector involving shady real estate deals. In his stories, he uses his main protagonist Travis McGee to consult the advice from his friend Meyer, a renowned economist. In 1972, the Mystery Writers of America bestowed upon MacDonald its highest honor, the Grand Master Award for lifetime achievement and consistent quality in writing. In 1980, the McGee novel The Green Ripper won a National Book award for a single Mystery category.
The Travis McGee series was the first of his mystery series and was set in Southern Florida. He died after complications from heart surgery in St. Johns Hospital. John D. MacDonald and he is wife only had one child and five grandchildren. His work continues on as he made an impact for future mystery writers to follow.
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These are some of the best and brightest mystery work from our very own Writing.com writers...hope you enjoy these selections this month.
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#2273264 by Not Available. |
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| | The riddle (E)
Mystery concerning a will, a beneficiary and a riddle
#2177935 by Sumojo  |
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| John D. MacDonald was an amazing man and an outstanding writer of more than 78 books that sold more than 70 million copies. For this month's newsletter question, we ask, who submitted his mystery story to a magazine and what was the magazine's name? The first five readers to submit this information for revealing in the June Mystery newsletter will receive their choice of MB. Two mystery newsletter readers are owed MBs from the last issue I posted (which was last year some time, but I will contact them and get your MB sent before June issue. Thanks again for reading and keep your eyes on the mysteries of life! |
| ASIN: 1945043032 |
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