Please tell us your author origin story.
My mind immediately jumps to the quote by Antoine de Saint-Exupery: “A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.” Even from a young age, I was always compelled by a sense of fascination and awe with the world around me—that there was something I was meant to accomplish, a task to complete, a duty to fulfill, a feeling of beyond, that there was so much more. Even though I didn’t know it at the time, I think those moments were the early seeds of stories being birthed inside of me.
Though I dabbled with poetry throughout my teen and college years, it wasn’t until I was 25 that I wrote my first children’s picture book and 27 when I completed my first novel. Two published novels, a children’s book, and a non-fiction collaboration later, and I still feel like I’m new to the game. I can’t shake the feeling that I got a much later start than I could have otherwise, but looking back, I can see how each experience encountered and piece of knowledge gained were laying the foundation for the stories I would later write (as well as the stories still inside of me). I consider it the beauty and complexity of God’s sovereignty.
What inspires you to write?
When author and pastor Erwin McManus published yet another masterpiece years ago, his wife complimented his work and accomplishments, specifically the number of books he had written. McManus was dissatisfied and downplayed her comments. When she asked him why he felt that way, he responded that his focus wasn’t on how many books he had written but on how many books were still inside of him.
That is perhaps the best way to summarize my passion for writing. It’s beyond a feeling of simple inspiration; it’s the notion that there are unwritten stories inside of me that are destined to come out. That there are parallel universes, alternate realities that exist within my conscious and subconscious that have the potential to change the course of human history. These thoughts don’t just motivate me; they compel me. What inspires me to write is the awareness that there are too many lives at stake not to pursue the purposes my words were meant to fulfill.
Please tell us about your latest work.
My first young adult contemporary novel, The Space Between Fire and Ashes, was released on August 15th of this year. It chronicles the journey of two teenagers who inadvertently foil each other’s plans to take their own lives and together attempt to find healing from their pain and freedom from their past. The story is written from a dual perspective and delves into the deepest recesses of the adolescent mind to explore the power of human connection and the essence of what wills our spirits to endure against all odds.
What is your message for young/student authors?
A humbling piece of advice I would offer is to write from a place of deep conviction. There is nothing more beautiful than reading a story that is raw, real, and void of any inauthentic sentiments. After all, the stories that revolutionize generations are not the ones that sound the best but the ones that resonate with our souls the most.
Where can we find out more information about your work?
For more information about the books I’ve published and the vision behind my writing, you can visit my website or follow my journey on my social media platforms:
-Website: www.stephenmcclellanbooks.com
-Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smcclellanbooks
-Instagram: @stephenmcclellanbooks
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