Writing from the Inside Out. . . One Writer's Beginnings

Dear Friends,

Please welcome Author McCallum Morgan, an extraordinary young writer, former student and friend. (Giveaway at the end of the blog!)

Author McCallum Morgan (He made the jacket!)

As a child, McCallum always wanted to write a book. He scribbled in notebooks, drew pictures, and lived largely in a world of make-believe. Into this fertile field a seed was planted. Notebooks began to fill and they didn’t stop. It was a soaring waltz with words among the silvery clouds and he loved it. He was thirteen.
     It became his first novel, A Hole in the Ice, published when he was nineteen. He is now twenty and working on the third book in the Weather Casters Saga.
     McCallum still draws and occasionally attacks an unfortunate piece of fabric with a sewing machine. He may be spotted around his home town of Bonners Ferry, Idaho, sporting his collection of bizarre clothing items, singing ‘Totale Finsternis’ or at the bakery near his home, drinking a caramel macchiato. His day job is log home finishing. He lives with his parents in a house perched on the hillside twenty miles south of the Canadian border and takes his tea with milk and sugar in a cup and saucer.
Website: www.mccallumjmorgan.weebly.com
Blog: www.mhablas.blogspot.com

A Hole in the Ice by McCallum Morgan

amzn.to/1NinJQX

A Hole in The Ice is an epic historical fantasy sweeping across time, myth and nineteenth-century Europe. A decadent cast of characters embark on a mysterious journey in pursuit of a mythical lost land said to be inhabited by beautiful but deadly mermaids. As the reader sweeps across the story under the glimmer of chandeliers and falling snow flakes, they are taken on a beautiful adventure to the very limits of the imagination. Each character in this extraordinary tale has their own personal treasure they are hunting and each one will pay a price higher than they ever anticipated.
Review from a reader: This story follows a young man named Parsifal and a strange cast of characters into the land of paranormal and strange inventions, machines, and powers which control man and beast. . . .This trip through the world of the 1800s is quite imaginative and also shows the author did his research. I enjoyed the author's ability to paint his worlds with words. . . . that made reading this book a pleasure. Brian P. Lane

 McCallum Morgan shares his writing journey:  

I hate to admit it, but A Hole in the Ice started as fan fiction. The original manuscript, which I started at age thirteen or thereabouts, had dæmons in it. In its defense, it was an attempt to diverge from the original inspiring work of fiction, an attempt to cater to my own personal tastes. Here’s how it all began:

I’d just started reading Phillip Pullman’s The Golden Compass and I was entranced. This was the book I had been looking for. This was brilliant. This was real magic. Except for one thing: I was confused about the time period of the setting. It was just a small thing, but there I was, imagining a more Victorian feel to Lyra’s Oxford, and BAM! This is what happened next:

The Author and his brother

My brother, a year and a half my junior, and I liked to play make believe. We would come up with characters and settings and what-not and play these imaginary adventures that could last a week or more. I was reading The Golden Compass. I said let’s do something like The Golden Compass but set in an earlier time, something like Pride and Prejudice (I had watched the BBC production with my mom and sister). The first imagined time period kind of fell through, since my story ended up with trains and zeppelins; back then, I had a vague understanding of historical time periods. It was all 1800s to me. Hence, the steampunk.

Most of the character names originated from the 19th-century. I constructed them in a matter of minutes. Vassilissa came from the Russian fairytale. Vasille was just the logical last name to go with that. Lord Keazund sprang into my head, fully formed (I pronounce it kay-zhund), and Parsifal came from Arthurian legends. Balder came along later. The character of Balder is all that remains of my brother’s characters and plot, but even Balder is in a new and changed form that my brother refuses to claim. My brother and I still bounce story ideas off each other. Often, we won’t really be listening to each other, but it still helps us develop our own ideas, and sometimes we do inspire each other.

Character sketch of Vassilissa

Drawing has always been a part of that. My brother and I always drew things, often related to these imaginary escapades. Often, if I’m inspired by something, I’ll draw related things before I ever get around to writing anything down because it’s so immediate and visual. The exception was my first book; I wrote a lot of it first and then drew pictures for it. However, I sketched scenes and characters from sequels in the series as I wrote the first one. Even though details may change when I finally begin the actual drafting of the next book, the sketches of settings, characters, and costumes I’ve made seem to keep my inspiration going, it helps me look forward to where the plot and story are going.

The plot of A Hole in the Ice just happened. It unfolded as if it were the only bridge across a very deep chasm. Of course, it changed over the years of writing and re- imagining. I dropped the dæmons before I’d finished the very first draft, because even then I entertained grand notions of someday publishing the thing. But the main, albeit vague direction of the plot stayed pretty much intact. It was the emotional story that developed over the years, growing from bare bones into something meatier than the original. (Thank you, Clara, for helping me with that.)

There are so many other factors of inspiration. Young authors like Christopher Paolini inspired me (or made me ambitiously jealous!)  Since the expedition in A Hole in the Ice crosses Europe, I had to drop into the Transylvanian Alps because I love Dracula. And then there are zeppelins and half-zeppelins, because I love zeppelins and read all about the first aerial circumnavigation of the globe by Dr. Eckener on the Graf Zeppelin. I owe my love of airships to Kenneth Oppel and his wonderful books in the Airborn series. Probably every book I’ve ever read has had some kind of influence on my work.

So it is fan fiction. Fan fiction of multiple books (and movies and old legends). But isn’t that the reason we all write? We write because something we read inspired us. We write not to improve on our favorite stories (because that can’t be done), but to make something new and fresh, something all our own. The expedition and The Compass remain in A Hole in the Ice, but I don’t think you could find another book in the same (sub)genre so completely different from The Golden Compass.
To be a writer, you first have to be a fan of reading and books.

Thank you, Mccallum, for giving us the inside view of your writing journey and inspirations! McCallum has generously donated a print copy of his first novel, A Hole in the Ice. As always, you don't have to tweet or share on fb or join the blog for a chance to win an autographed copy. All you have to do is leave a comment for us and random.org will pick the winner. We'd LOVE to hear from you. We are truly grateful for your encouragement and support! 

The winner will be announced next Thursday, January 28th, on the Book Birthday and the Giveaway for A Hole in the Sea.
 

Book trailer Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L1HAwoBAF8
(Mesmerizing!!!)
Purchase a copy of A Hole in the Ice: amzn.to/1NinJQX

The Book Birthday for, A Hole in the Sea is next week!!
Amazon Sequel Pre-order Link: amzn.to/1V4SKxB