Born in Limerick, raised in Dublin, and later based in Manchester, McDonnell is a former stand-up comedian and TV writer.
He attended Dublin City University graduating with a degree in Electronic Engineering, and started his career assembling computer servers.
He has written twenty novels while his TV writing credits include Have I Got News for You, Mock the Week, A League of Their Own, The Sarah Millican Television Programme and the BAFTA nominated-children's CBBC animated series Pet Squad which he created.
[6][7] His Stranger Times series, which melds urban fantasy, paranormal and humour with crime, is written under the pen name of C.K McDonnell.
[13][14] McDonnell lives in Manchester and is married to Elaine, who runs a publishing company.