Tom MacDonald

Tom MacDonald has Boston in his blood. Born in Dorchester and raised in Braintree, Massachusetts, he now works in Charlestown for St. Mary–St. Catherine of Siena Parish as Director of Social Ministries. MacDonald attended Stonehill College, earning a B.A. in Sociology. Fifteen years into a career as a computer programmer, he went back to school and received a Masters in Business Administration from Boston College’s Carroll School of Management. There he learned that he had the talent to write, which he later pursued at the University of Southern Maine’s Stonecoast MFA program in creative writing, completing a Masters of Fine Arts degree with a concentration in fiction. Tom’s writing has been influenced by his work in the Catholic church, serving the largest federal housing project in New England, Charlestown’s Bunker Hill Housing Development. Tom’s main goal in storytelling is to depict urban life in a believable yet interesting way, keeping clear of clichés and stereotypes. To accomplish this, he focuses on street dialogue, value systems and norms, reactions to the events of daily life, and the things left unsaid. His hope is that an image of inner city-living, shown through an un-tinted lens, renders a story worth reading. He currently resides in Braintree, Massachusetts with his wife Maribeth.