Markus McDowell

more photos (1)

year in books

Markus McDowell’s Followers (26)

member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
Stephen...
452 books | 65 friends

J.E. Grace
3,771 books | 1,479 friends

Swantje
709 books | 17 friends

Cheri C...
861 books | 2,781 friends

James C...
561 books | 1,757 friends

Stephan...
25,001 books | 1,434 friends

James G...
7 books | 500 friends

Lynn
322 books | 46 friends

More friends…

Markus McDowell

Goodreads Author


Born
in Chattanooga, The United States
Website

Twitter

Genre

Member Since
June 2007

URL


Markus McDowell is a multigenre author who lives on a yacht writing thought-provoking novels and short stories, with themes of chaos and the human response. He is overeducated and has a serious case of wanderlust.

To ask Markus McDowell questions, please sign up.

Popular Answered Questions

Markus McDowell Middle earth. I would visit all the pubs mentioned, especially the ones in the Shire and in Bree.
Markus McDowell I’m currently working on a historical fiction novel about a man in the early early 1900s who founded a town in the middle of Desert. Here is the curre…moreI’m currently working on a historical fiction novel about a man in the early early 1900s who founded a town in the middle of Desert. Here is the current blurb:

Desert. Sun. Sand. And no roads or human settlements within 50 miles in any direction. The perfect place to found a town?

That's what Steve Ragsdale believed. So he and his wife bundled up their four kids in their 1915 Ford Model T, bought a local prospector’s shack and a well, and built a fuel station (a 50-gallon drum), a repair garage, and café. He advertised “Free food on days the sun doesn't shine" and “No drunks, no dogs—we prefer dogs.” He was the mayor, sheriff, rockhound, author, naturalist, desert guide, and Santa Claus at Christmastime. He became one of the local “Desert Rats” and earned the moniker “Desert Steve.” Along the way, he became part of history: the construction of the first State and National highways, the invention of prepaid healthcare, General Patton and World War II, the largest iron mine in the United States, flying saucer sightings, and much more.

Based on a true story, this is the tale of a quirky, clever, and bold man who pursued a dream, wrote bad poetry, and found ways to survive when many would have perished or packed it in.(less)
Average rating: 4.32 · 31 ratings · 12 reviews · 15 distinct worksSimilar authors
Onesimus: A Novel of Christ...

4.22 avg rating — 9 ratings3 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
To and Fro Upon the Earth: ...

3.86 avg rating — 7 ratings3 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Nuff Sed: A Novel of Desert...

it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2024 — 3 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Prayer in the Ancient Stoic...

3.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2014 — 4 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Prayers of Jewish Women: St...

it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2006 — 2 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
The Sky Over Chaos: Short S...

it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2019 — 3 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
As a Mere Breath: Short Sto...

it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating
Rate this book
Clear rating
So Deep in Shadow: Short St...

really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2022 — 3 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
As a Mere Breath: Short Sto...

really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating
Rate this book
Clear rating
Praying Through the Bible, ...

0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
More books by Markus McDowell…

Review: A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold

First published in 1999, A Civil Campaign is the twelfth novel (by internal chronology the fourteenth) in Lois McMaster Bujold’s celebrated Vorkosigan Saga. Subtitled “A Comedy of Biology and Manners,” it stands as a tonal shift from the preceding volumes in the series. Bujold switches gears, and delivers a full-dress Regency comedy set on the feudal, sword-wielding planet of Barrayar, including p

Read more of this blog post »
 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on November 24, 2025 17:35
Winterfair Gifts
Rate this book
Clear rating

 
TWO IN ONE: Conce...
Markus McDowell is currently reading
bookshelves: currently-reading
Rate this book
Clear rating

 

Markus’s Recent Updates

Markus McDowell rated a book really liked it
The Shattering Peace by John Scalzi
Rate this book
Clear rating
Markus McDowell is currently reading
Winterfair Gifts by Lois McMaster Bujold
Rate this book
Clear rating
Markus McDowell finished reading
The Shattering Peace by John Scalzi
Rate this book
Clear rating
Markus McDowell is currently reading
The Shattering Peace by John Scalzi
Rate this book
Clear rating
Markus McDowell rated a book liked it
A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold
Rate this book
Clear rating
Markus McDowell rated a book really liked it
Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson
Elon Musk
by Walter Isaacson (Goodreads Author)
Rate this book
Clear rating
Markus McDowell rated a book liked it
System Collapse by Martha Wells
Rate this book
Clear rating
Markus McDowell finished reading
System Collapse by Martha Wells
Rate this book
Clear rating
Markus McDowell is currently reading
A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold
Rate this book
Clear rating
Markus McDowell is currently reading
System Collapse by Martha Wells
Rate this book
Clear rating
More of Markus's books…
Quotes by Markus McDowell  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“Exitus acta probat.

“Where did you get the idea that fairness is readily available in the world?”

“Because we strive for it, as humans.”

“No, we don’t. We strive for control of our lives and the world around us.”
Markus McDowell, The Celestial Life

“Wait, one question, Director. Some short guy in there said something about your ‘interest in non-verifiable influences.’ What was he talking about?”

She actually laughed. “Paul. Yeah. He does not believe that there is anything more to life than just what we see, measure, and catalog. I believe life and the universe are more complex than that.”

“What? Magic? God? Pantheism?”

“None of your business.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, I prefer controlling my destiny.”

“And how has that worked out for you so far?” With that, she turned and left.”
Markus McDowell, The Celestial Life

“The universe doesn't deserve any playfulness at the moment.”
Markus McDowell, To and Fro Upon the Earth: A Novel

“I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.”
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

“We read books to find out who we are. What other people, real or imaginary, do and think and feel... is an essential guide to our understanding of what we ourselves are and may become.”
Ursula K. LeGuin

“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. From the desperate city you go into the desperate country, and have to console yourself with the bravery of minks and muskrats. A stereotyped but unconscious despair is concealed even under what are called the games and amusements of mankind. There is no play in them, for this comes after work. But it is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things..”
Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience and Other Essays

“You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”
Jack London

“A bit of narcissism here, a bit of sociopathy there. Not enough to keep him from being successful; enough to make everyone around him miserable.”
Markus McDowell, To and Fro Upon the Earth: A Novel

No comments have been added yet.