William McDonald

Biography (loose and brief...for which you can thank me later)

In the beginning... *roll dramatic symphony cue here*

I was born in 1964, in Shreveport, Louisiana, to William D. McDonald Sr. and Joetta M. McDonald. My father was in the Air Force, and I quickly adopted his love for aircraft, and his passion for the space program. He even got me into building scale models of many popular aircraft of that era (actually, HE did most of the building, but I was overjoyed to take part in any activity with my Dad). My mother was a data entry clerk, back when data was stored on computer punch cards. My mother loved science fiction and horror films, and before I started school in Houston, Texas, she had me watching all of the best films televised in that era.

I loved to draw and sculpt as a child, and my parents made sure I had oil 'paint-by-numbers' kits, and loads of plasticine clay (yes, I sculpted… dinosaurs!).

My mother and father parted company when I was ten, and Mom had us move back to Shreveport. She knew I had taken the whole issue very hard, so she encouraged me to take my mind off of things by reading. She also (as well as my Dad) encouraged me to continue drawing, for which I will always be eternally grateful. Several years earlier, she had purchased the "Reader's Digest Best Loved Stories" (the entire collection), and of course we had the obligatory collection of World Book Encyclopedias.

I was soon reading the classics by Joyce, Burroughs, Verne, Kipling, and more.

In the sixth grade, I was asked to participate in a creative writing class, and I believe that was my very first attempt at creating tales that I hopped would one day be as interesting as the classics I had been reading.

Once out of High School, I read (for the first time) Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" stories beginning with "The Hobbit". I also read Alan Dean Foster's "Splinter of the Mind's Eye". I read the whole "Dune" collection by Frank Herbert, and I also began collecting the "Conan" giant comics (AMAZING ART!!!). Later, I bought my first "Heavy Metal" magazine, and went nuts for both the art and the amazing writings.

The entertainment years…

I travelled to Las Vegas, worked several miscellaneous jobs, and started college at UNLV majoring in art. I was introduced to the theater world, and soon began my training in the stagehand's union, IATSE Local 720.

For a long time, I was moonlighting as a theater tech (techie). One of my scenic mentors encouraged me to work on creating stories. I've been doing both art and writing ever since, with the hopes of one day having my work be both seen and read.

I met Tim Searcy while he and I worked in a show called "The Masquerade Village's Show in the Sky". I was one of the lead prop techies, and he was a performer (singing, and dancing). He approached me with a project (musical) he was trying to promote, and he asked me to help him create a video. The musical was called "Cinetra".

After that, Tim & I have been working to adapt his original story in as many forms as possible.

We all push ahead, in spite of all obstacles, and use doubts from others as invitations to take action.

Cheers!

--- Mac