Charles O’Donnell Shares the High-Tech Thrills and Human Stories Behind His Gripping Novels
PHOTO: Author Charles O’Donnell, creator of the Matt Bugatti series and Shredded trilogy, explores the fine line between reality and technology.
Technology, Privacy, and The Price of Progress in Fiction
Charles O’Donnell discusses his passion for technology, the erosion of privacy, crafting authentic global settings, and creating emotionally resonant characters caught between reality and virtual worlds in his thrilling novels.
Charles O’Donnell has carved out a distinctive place in contemporary thriller and science fiction writing, blending a deep love of technology with a sharp eye for the human costs of progress. His novels—ranging from the globe-trotting Matt Bugatti espionage thrillers to the thought-provoking Shredded trilogy—grip readers not only with fast-paced plots, but also with layered, timely reflections on surveillance, privacy, and virtual reality.
O’Donnell’s background in engineering and leadership of international teams brings an unmistakable authenticity to his high-tech settings and complex characters, making his work both immersive and unsettlingly plausible. His protagonists—flawed, resilient, and achingly human—navigate worlds where freedom, loyalty, and truth are constantly under threat. Through masterful storytelling, O’Donnell invites us to ask urgent questions about the price of technological advancement and the meaning of reality itself.
It was a true pleasure to sit down with Charles O’Donnell to discuss his inspirations, his characters, and his vision for a future that feels closer with every passing day.
Charles O’Donnell masterfully blends high-stakes action, emotional depth, and timely themes, delivering novels that captivate, challenge, and inspire readers worldwide.
Your background is in engineering and leading international teams — how has that experience shaped the high-tech and global settings in your thrillers?
I love technology, so tech figures prominently in my writing, but in a supporting role, rather than taking center stage.
I led teams in China and Italy and traveled there often. The scenes in The Girlfriend Experience and Moment of Conception are based on personal experience.
In your Shredded series, you explore the erosion of privacy and the dangers of virtual reality — what inspired you to focus on these particular themes?
These days, everything gets shared online, and nobody reads the terms and conditions. As every action, word, and thought end up in the Cloud, privacy is destined for extinction. Welcome to the world of Shredded.
“I love technology, so tech figures prominently in my writing, but in a supporting role, rather than taking center stage.” — Charles O’Donnell
In Univirtual, small communities resist assimilation into the Worldstream. What do these outlier groups represent to you, especially in today’s world?
Have you ever heard someone say they’re swearing off social media? How long did that last? The citizens of Orwell have decided that the only barrier to a permanent virtual existence is an air gap between them and the Worldstream. It’s a mix of VR sobriety, independence, and love for things real.
Your character Matt Bugatti in The Girlfriend Experience is a young prodigy caught between loyalty and survival. How did you approach creating his story, especially with its ties to surveillance and international intrigue?
My stories are partly autobiographical. Not to compare myself with the gifted Matteo Bugatti, but I am familiar with his struggle to reconcile conflicting goals.
Matt is buffeted by forces outside his control. We all can sympathize, though most of us aren’t under surveillance by the FBI and Chinese spies, and most aren’t getting shot at.
Dystopian futures feature heavily in your work. What draws you to write about societies on the brink, and what do you hope readers take away from these settings?
In Shredded, we see the world as it could be, with whole populations living their lives in an artificial world, indistinguishable from reality. The prospect is tempting—unlimited variety, freedom from physical limitations, perfect convenience—a world of infinite wonder. Is freedom too great a price to pay?
“As every action, word, and thought end up in the Cloud, privacy is destined for extinction.” — Charles O’Donnell
The bond between Grace and Dylan is at the heart of the Shade books. What were some of the emotional challenges or rewards in writing their relationship across the series?
Grace’s goal is to rehabilitate herself and reunite with her son Dylan. When Grace discovers that her life has been hacked, the thought that Dylan might stumble upon her pornographic lifestream drives her to shred her life, an act of virtual suicide, ending any possibility of reuniting with Dylan. It’s the ultimate sacrifice, to shield her son from the shame of her sordid past.
Your novels often blur the lines between real life and virtual existence. What are your own feelings about how technology is reshaping reality today?
When I wrote Shredded, the ability of AI to generate text and images was primitive compared with today. We’ve all seen photos or videos and wondered if they were real or fake. Imagine facing that same ambiguity everywhere, all the time. You’re now living in the world of Shredded.
“The citizens of Orwell have decided that the only barrier to a permanent virtual existence is an air gap between them and the Worldstream.” — Charles O’Donnell
Outside of writing, you have a lot of hands-on hobbies like woodworking and grapevine-tending. Do these personal passions ever find their way into your characters or stories?
Woodworking, tending vines, and writing have something in common: they present problems to be solved. It’s the engineer in me that draws me to these hobbies. My characters face problems on every page, only their problems have life-or-death consequences.
