Greetings! I began my writing career in 2015 following the death of my beloved mother. The lessons and world views she instilled during my life as I grew and developed maintain a strong thematic presence throughout much of what I write. Her emphasis on the importance of love, kindness, and concern for all is the primary influence behind my material focusing on occasionally uncomfortable topics like emotional vulnerability, abuse, and existentialism. It isn't all mopey, though - I do like to let the hair down and writing about the fun things in life. Like owning an adorable dog that has enormous, "I just saw a ghost" eyes, for instance. While I use this website predominantly for hosting poetry and/or thought pieces, my primary commercially-marketed project is a sci-fi/fantasy series of novels which I originally self-published. The first is titled Continuity and was published in 2016. A sequel, Continuity: Coalescence, was released two years later. I'm thankful to say both were recently picked up by a traditional publisher, Wild Ink Publishing that will be releasing one, consolidated version of both in December 2024. Announcements on this moving forward will also be posted here. As far as the rest, I'm an ex-Vanderbilt baseball player (c/o '09) with a degree in Economics & Corporate Strategy who is ironically trying to forging a career that has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with either of those things. Before my scribbles began, I was an insurance agent for the better part of a decade. Other than that, I enjoy simple living along with my aforementioned co-author, Pip the Pekingese! Thank you for visiting the website. I hope you enjoy your stay, and I look forward to connecting with any and all. No matter who you are or what you believe, you are warmly welcome! M.E. Shao
Before you read this, please understand that I’m not an “anti-Obama” person. I’m a vehement advocate for anyone who displays leadership qualities and genuinely cares for humanity. Considering that, don’t interpret this as ignorant rhetoric aimed at hating on someone for no reason other than the fact that he’s Obama. On the contrary, I think … More President Obama
This whole situation sucks, big time. I think we can all at least agree on that. Basically, there are two points of view from what I’ve gathered. On one hand, we have people saying don’t let Syrian refugees in because it threatens the security of American citizens. On the other, we have people saying America … More The Refugee Dilemma
Epilogue In Moscow, things were going relatively well for Yuri and his legion of drugged up crazed engineers. His ship, which he was calling The Savior (as an intentional poke at the Salvation), was being constructed at a much faster pace than he ever could have imagined. Despite his ego-maniacal motivations of becoming a dictator, … More Continuity – Epilogue
All this stuff I’ve written lately about humanity keeps making me think of more and more to expound upon. One of these days I’ll shut up about it, I promise. But yesterday I was editing the chapter about the (fictional) origins of humankind, and somehow came up with a particular paragraph that I really ended … More Collective Reasoning
After getting a refreshing night’s sleep, Carson, Brody and Jennifer wake up early after their first night in the new underground residence they’d been granted. Their bunker rooms were comfortable, and had all the essentials. The only downfall was the community shower room, which ended up becoming more like a locker room shower after Carson … More C2 – Chapter 4
So I just stumbled over an article on my news feed about a school system near Chicago that’s being given an ultimatum – allow x-gender-identifying students access to whichever locker room they choose or risk losing federal funds. For the sake of not deviating from my main focus on this entry, I’ll just say this: … More Human Nature and its Exploits
I posted a status today that made me decide to write this. I want to take a moment to talk about something that can’t be measured, but is rather a general motif that’s swept through our nation over the past few years and political administrations (yes, that’s plural). The motif I’m referring to is that … More Division and Unity – When Will We Wake Up?
As humanity tiptoes further and further into the second millennium, I find myself frequently asking: what’s in store for us, the millennials? What are the next generation-defining discoveries we’re going to make? We’re rapidly approaching that age where we get over the initial growing pains of entering adulthood and settle into our true purposes. So … More Technology – What’s Next?
At the end of this I’m going to ask you to do something. Prepare yourself! Today, I went to an Indian Pow Wow with my sister. Sounds sort of funny, but it was actually a lot of fun. It was on the grounds of Long Hunter State Park, and there were tons of people, tents, … More The Real Natives
I’m not sure what exactly made me think to write this, but regardless, it’s an important issue. Let’s talk about legislation here in America. This won’t be as boring as it sounds, I promise. Well I hope not at least. First of all, as always, I want to get outside the box a little. What … More Law & Order
How the World Should Work 