Award-Winning Author

David Macinnis Gill

Families outrunning volcanos. Demon-chasing pizza drivers. Teen soldiers on a terraformed Mars. Hockey playing witches in Boston. Zombies trains. Characters that refuse to behave. Stories that refuse to be put in a box.

David Macinnis Gill

The Books

Standalone Novels

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Three Sisters

Greenwillow / HarperCollins · YA Survival

Three months after losing their mother in a flash flood, Harper, Ryker, and Jentry follow their grieving father to the Three Sisters Wilderness in Oregon to scatter Mom’s ashes on a favorite trail. Then the volcano erupts. A survival story about grief, sibling rivalry, and the bonds that hold under pressure. For fans of Gary Paulsen and Mindy McGinnis.

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Zombie Train

HarperCollins · Middle Grade

Wyatt has been riding out the zombie apocalypse on a cobbled-together train for what feels like forever, running the same loop across the western U.S. with no end in sight. When a mysterious girl arrives with stories of a place called Nirvana and a possible cure for the zombie parasite, Wyatt has to choose: keep running the loop, or risk everything on a long shot.

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Uncanny

HarperCollins · YA Gothic Horror

On her sixteenth birthday, Willow Jane discovers she can stop time. Then her sister disappears. An ancient witch called the Shadowless has escaped from her crypt and is hunting Willow Jane’s family. Gothic Boston. Time powers. Old revenge. This one does not go gently.

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Soul Enchilada

HarperCollins / Greenwillow · YA Fiction

Bug Smoot is broke, just fired, and about to lose her apartment. Her only lifeline is her dead grandfather’s 1958 Cadillac Biarritz. Then a demon named Mr. Beals shows up in the passenger seat and demands the car back. Turns out, her grandfather financed it with his soul. Bug has 48 hours to save herself, the car, and the soul she didn’t know was on the line.

The Black Hole Sun Series

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Black Hole Sun

HarperCollins / Greenwillow · Black Hole Sun #1 · Booklist Starred Review

Mars stinks. Teen regulator Jake Durango leads a crew of fighters hired to protect a mining colony from the Drau, ferocious pig-like creatures that eat humans and answer to a queen. Fast, funny, and brutal. The ALA called it a Best Book for Young Adults. Booklist gave it a starred review. They were right.

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Invisible Sun

HarperCollins · Black Hole Sun #2

Durango and Vienne are back on a postapocalyptic Mars trashed by Earth emigrants. Vienne gets captured by an enemy corporation and turned into a killing machine. Durango is the son of a corrupt politician trying to escape his father’s shadow. Two renegade mercenaries on a planet that wants them dead.

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Shadow on the Sun

HarperCollins · Black Hole Sun #3

Durango learns his father heads the enemy forces that captured him. Now he has to escape, reunite with Vienne, and decide what to do about the man who raised him. The final book in the Black Hole Sun series delivers the payoff the first two earned.

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Rising Sun

HarperCollins · Black Hole Sun Novella · eBook

A companion novella set in the Black Hole Sun universe. More Mars. More Durango. For readers who finished Shadow on the Sun and weren’t ready to leave.

Anthologies

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Rural Voices

Candlewick · Anthology · NPR Best Book of 2020

Fifteen authors challenge assumptions about small-town America, with stories set from the New Mexico mountains to the Alaskan tundra. David's contribution: "Praise the Lord and Pass the Little Debbies."

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Spinning Toward the Sun

Burlwood Books · Anthology · Essays on Writing, Resilience, & the Creative Life

Essays from more than thirty authors, written to benefit the recovery of western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene.

Praise for David Macinnis Gill

“David Macinnis Gill rockets readers to new frontiers in this imaginative, action-packed tale.”
Suzanne CollinsAuthor of The Hunger Games · on Black Hole Sun
“Black Hole Sun grabbed me by the throat and didn’t let go until the last page. In the best tradition of Heinlein and Firefly, Black Hole Sun is for readers who like their books fast-paced, intense, and relentless. Buy it, read it, pass it on!”
Laurie Halse AndersonAuthor of Speak · on Black Hole Sun
“In this fun spin on the age-old danger of deals with the devil, readers will cheer and worry as sassy Eunice ‘Bug’ Smoot fights both the literal and metaphorical demons that plague her. Wonderful and unexpectedly touching, this is a book meant for re-reading. Good stuff!”
Melissa MarrNew York Times bestselling author of Wicked Lovely · on Soul Enchilada
“For years David Gill has been a powerful voice for Young Adult literature; now he is a powerful voice of Young Adult literature… You’re gonna love Bug.”
Chris CrutcherAuthor of Deadline · on Soul Enchilada
“Gill scores big in this action-packed, power-punch of a debut… All readers can do is buckle their seatbelts, close their eyes, and take the plunge.”
Kirkus ReviewsStarred Review · on Soul Enchilada
“The sisters’ relationship is well-developed and realistic — their continuous bickering highlights a lived-in history, emphasizing the unbreakable bonds forged by their combined strength. The tension escalates believably as the perils stack upon one another. A gripping survival story unfolding under the shadow of profound loss.”
Kirkus ReviewsOn Three Sisters
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The Sticky Note Plot

A Step-By-Step Guide to Plotting Novels That Sell

This innovative approach transforms the daunting task of plotting into an engaging, dynamic process, perfect for new writers and published authors alike. Whether you’re plotting your first novel or your next bestseller, this method will help you craft stories that captivate and endure. Discover how to:

  • Visualize Your Plot: Use sticky notes to map out your narrative, ensuring every twist and turn is perfectly placed!
  • Organize Effortlessly: Rearrange scenes with ease, allowing for creative flexibility and structural clarity.
  • Develop Complex Characters: Craft multi-dimensional characters with depth and authenticity. Track character arcs and relationships, ensuring every character’s journey is compelling and cohesive.
  • Identify Key Scenes: Pinpoint crucial moments in your story, from inciting events to the Turn, and the satisfying ending, ensuring your plot is both gripping and well-paced.
  • Weave B-Stories Seamlessly: Integrate subplots and secondary storylines that enrich your narrative and add layers of intrigue--without overshadowing the main plot.
  • Revise to Perfection: Streamline the revision process, making whole novel revisions faster and more efficient with a clear, visual roadmap.
  • Speed Up Your Process: No more wasting months writing drafts that go nowhere! Slash your writing time and unleash your creativity. Turn chaos into a completed manuscript faster than you ever thought possible!

David Macinnis Gill

David Macinnis Gill is the award-winning author of THREE SISTERS, ZOMBIE TRAIN, BLACK HOLE SUN, INVISIBLE SUN, SHADOW ON THE SUN, UNCANNY, and SOUL ENCHILADA from HarperCollins/Greenwillow.

David’s books have been named ALA Best Book for Young Adults, a Kirkus Best Book, a Bank Street College Best Books of the Year, and an NYPL Stuff for the Teen Age as well as nominated for a variety of state and regional lists and awards. His short stories, essays, and poetry have appeared in journals, magazines, and anthologies.

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