That's where you will find McCallum Morgan, whose book A Hole in the Ice, was just published a couple of weeks ago. When he is not busy at work at Idaho Log Finishers and Chinking, you may well find Mr. Morgan at the keyboard, writing.
Wait a minute, we need to re-phrase that.
When he is not busy at the keyboard writing, you may find Mr. Morgan at his regular job at Idaho Log Finishers and Chinking. There. That's probably more realistic.
McCallum is a lifelong Boundary County resident, who lives a few miles north of Bonners Ferry. He graduated from a home school program in 2013, but in addition to his regular schooling, has had additional writing training with the Institute of Children's Literature in West Redding, Connecticut. He has been writing since childhood, putting together many stories and some comedic plays. And, like many who dream of being a published author, his authoring past is strewn with many scrapped starts on writing books.
His just-published book, A Hole in the Ice, was about five years in the making. The book is a science fiction/fantasy volume of 21 chapters, 476 pages. It was published by Little Bird Publishing House, an English publishing firm, and is available right now at Bonners Books in Bonners Ferry, or on Amazon (for our readers who don't live in Boundary County).
His summary of the book: "Sixteen-year-old Parsifal comes into possession of a powerful object that two political factions are hunting. He sets off across Europe on a 'scientific' expedition with his uncle, Lady Vasille, and Balder Balfra, who all have secrets of their own. As they travel toward distant Siberia, the purpose of the expedition and the intentions of the travelers become more and more foggy, more and more dangerous."
The idea for the story was born from several experiences and influences in McCallum's life, beginning with an engaging scene from a painting that has long hung in his home. "It sparked an idea that I promptly wrote down," said McCallum. Other influences include books and programs in the science fiction/fantasy genre that impacted him, including Star Wars, the Hobbit, the Chronicles of Narnia, and others. And a big part of the mix was actually inside of Mr. Morgan himself: "I've got a wild imagination."
For all those hidden and forthcoming authors among us, Mr. Morgan shares his story of getting his book put together and published. A preliminary draft of the book had already been completed when he took one of his courses from the Institute of Children's Literature. That particular course was on writing and selling children's books, and during that course he re-wrote his book into a second draft. "The writing itself was went pretty smoothly, it's the revision that gets me. I'm terrible at revision," he said.
He felt fortunate that he had an already-published author at the Institute who helped guide him in the preparation of his book, Clara Gillow Clark. [McCallum notes that Ms. Clark has two published books available in our own Boundary County Library, Hill Hawk Hattie and Hattie on Her Way].
As he wrote further into the A Hole in the Ice story, the tale in a way began to take on its own life as he wrote. "Once I was so deep into the story, it came pretty naturally, the characters felt alive and real, reacting to the situations I threw at them on their own. It was really--I don't know how to describe being in a story like that--'Beautiful' works, I guess."
Once the story is written, the next challenge is finding a publisher. "Amazingly, it took me only about eight tries, which is pretty good. I only got six rejections from other publishers and there were a few more I never heard from."
At times, there were some unfamiliarities in communication with his British publisher (even though Mr. Morgan and his publisher were both presumably speaking English). "They once used the word 'twee.' I had to ask what that meant. Apparently it's 'overly cute, bordering on cliche."
Other Boundary County authors-to-be, many working long into the night at their own keyboards, are looking for any tips or guidance on getting their own works published. "I have the same advice that I have frequently heard from many sources: persistence," said Mr. Morgan. "I think it also helps to only write what you really care about. I'd suggest the Institute of Children's Literature, they're amazing and enjoyable, and their courses aren't very expensive. They also sell some great market directories through their Writers Bookstore. Getting published is very dependent on finding the right publisher for you and your work."
He also has another important tip that is a must-know for authors in today's world. "I'd kind of heard of how social media was coming in as a tool for writers, but wow, I was unprepared. Since my publisher is a relatively small one, I have to use social media extensively to build an audience and get my book out there. It would be one thing if I liked social media, but I find Twitter and Facebook to be more of a chore than anything else."
And, like many other published authors, McCallum reports on one of his biggest rewards: "The craziest thing is that I'm actually getting published. I finally held the printed book in my hand the other day, and it's hardly real because this is my dream, and it just came true like that. Oh yeah, I've always heard about writers saying they heard the characters in their head. That happened to me just once. I was thrilled, I was like 'Yay, I must be a real author!' It felt like the story was alive and wanted to be told."
McCallum Morgan will be traveling this Saturday for a book promotional and signing tour----to Bonners Books! The event will be this Saturday, September 20, at Bonners Books in downtown Bonners Ferry, beginning at 11:00 a.m. and running until 2:00 p.m. He will be there in person to answer any questions about his book, and could probably be cajoled into signing a copy for those who want a personalized edition.
Links for more information about Mr. Morgan and his book, A Hole in the Ice:
http://mccallumjmorgan.weebly.com/
and:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22939370-a-hole-in-the-ice