Pulp writer Noel Loomis was teaching a course on writing at San Diego State, and offered an automatic "A" to any student who sold a story.

Ace then signed a contract to publish original novels based on the NBC television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E.. Carr remembered McDaniel's The Weapons of XXX and knew McDaniel was a big fan of the television show, so he asked him to submit a novel for The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

McDaniel's first novel, The Weapons of XXX, eventually was published by Ace in 1967 under the title The Arsenal Out of Time.

He deleted a scene which did nothing to advance the plot but humorously depicted (Tuckerized) a personal friend of McDaniel's.

[5] However, McDaniel was several months late finishing the book, and by that time the series was no longer on TV and The Final Affair was never published, but it can be found online (see External links below).

At various times he served as "Director" (presiding officer) and as "Scribe" (secretary) of the LASFS,[7] and is remembered as a "Patron Saint" (substantial donor).

[8] He was Chairman of Westercon XX in 1967 (officially called "Shere-Con" because it was held at the Sheraton-West hotel in Los Angeles, but also referred to as "Double-Cross Con" because of internal fights within the operating committee.