Brian Mahoney
AUTHOR AND SONGWRITER
Published Work
A software/web producer turned textbook and historical fiction writer? Strange, but very true. Go here to learn more about my historical fiction stories and my upcoming book, Woke Is a Joke.
Original Songwriting
I've written songs for fun, for therapy, and for the Chicago rock bands I fronted back in the day. They're "art for art's sake" and I'm shopping them out to new artists who need original compositions. Check out my demos here...
I've Published My Dad's Poetry
My father, Donal Mahoney, was a celebrated Irish American poet. My stepmother, Carol, edited the book and I designed the cover and produced and published the book itself on Amazon. I also did the website: donalmahoneypoetry.com
BOOKS AND SCRIBBLINGS
What I did:
In my previous career, I designed and produced products for publishing companies like Houghton Mifflin Hartcort, software for companies like Electronic Arts, and websites for businesses large and small.
I also wrote textbook content (mostly literature, history, and science), and I wrote original historical fiction stories. These stories aimed to get young readers to experience history in a more present way.
( See examples of my historical fiction stories below.)
What I'm doing regarding books now:
I'm back to writing whatever I like, and I've got an itch to write about Woke mythology. Huge subject, limited time to write about it but I endure...
Woke Is A Joke is due out in Spring, 2024.
Please join the pre-order/mailing list below. Thank you!
In the oven:
SPRING 2023 RELEASE: PRE-ORDER NOW!
Anticipated Review Sample:
MUSIC & LYRICS
WRITTEN IN WATER
TERRY - BRIAN - JIM
I like to write original music and lyrics. If I were to rank it, I'd say I'm first a songwriter, second a reluctant singer, and third an OK guitar player with no plans to improve. For years I wrote my own songs and played solo or fronted rock bands in Chicago.
Many of my songs were written as "art for art's sake" and not for display or attention - I'd write them for fun and move on to my next inclination. Not kidding :)
If at all curious, check out my music site with my bandmates Terry and Jim - remember, these are DEMOs, NOT full productions. My group is called Written In Water and our commercial songwriting effort is called Written In Water Songworks. Terry (Left above) plays lead guitar and writes some great melodies. Jim plays percussion instruments and plays covers in Band X for fun.
(Again note: these are demos, not full studio productions.)
SELECTED HISTORICAL FICTION STORIES, by BRIAN MAHONEY
What was it like to experience Martin Luther King's historic "I Have A Dream" speech? This story places young readers in the crowd with National Park Service Officer Bob Flanigan, a man bored on the job, and Brenda Johnson, aka "The Polka-Dot Lady" a woman on a mission. When Brenda discovers that Bob isn't listening to MLK's vision of a colorblind America, she leaps into action...
Read more here.
In the War of Independence, the British army routinely defeated the under-supplied and overwhelmed Continental Army. In the fall of 1778, Washington's volunteers failed again to stop the Redcoats - this time from taking the city of Philadelphia. That winter, Washington was forced to drag his sick and starving troops to a barren place called Valley Forge. Once there, the haggard troops weathered disease, starvation, cold, injuries, and the like.
In my story, John Morris, a young doctor, leaves his comfortable Philadelphia home to join what's left of Washington's army at Valley Forge - a humbling and horrifying experience.
Read more here.
A 2021 study published in Nature Magazine confirmed that the Viking settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows (in Newfoundland, Canada) was founded about 1,000 years ago - centuries before Columbus arrived. They proved that this was the first European settlement in the Americas by using a 992 AD solar storm event. The storm left evidence in tree rings in Erik The Red's son Thorstein's settlement, proving that the Vikings arrived first in the Americas around 1021 AD.
This was GREAT news for me because I'd already written a story about the Vikings in Vinland (with the help of the 13th century Icelandic Sagas and other sources). I used scraps of information to create the most realistic version of what it may have been like there.
Read more here.
The Chrisholm Trail is a story about a famous cattle drive trail that ran from Texas up to the Kansas City railroad depot. In my story, we join an ex-slave turned gambler and gunfighter, his friend a "tenderfoot" cowpuncher, and a variety of hard men who drive longhorn cattle for two months up the trail. Our trusty narrator "rides drag" on the herd to earn his spurs, and young readers get to ride along.
Read more here.