Featured Author Jeremy McLean

Featured Interview With Jeremy McLean

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Hello, I’m Jeremy McLean. I’m Canadian and live in New Brunswick. I’m kind of a geek and I love to play video games when I have the spare time. The novels I like to read are fantasy and sci-fi.

I’ve currently written three novels, two in a series and one a companion novella about one of the side characters. They are Blackbeard’s Freedom, Blackbeard’s Revenge, and Bartholomew Roberts’ Faith.

The first two are a mix of historical fiction and light fantasy elements (one reviewer likened it to Indiana Jones, so think Indiana Jones meets Pirates of the Caribbean). The third novella is closer to historical fiction and doesn’t have any fantasy elements in it.

I have a pet cat named Thor. He’s a little crazy, but we love him.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I didn’t actually read that much as a child. My parents taught me well, so it wasn’t a matter of comprehension, just attention span. I loved video games more as they always grabbed my attention more than books did.

When I grew up and became a bit more mature, I started reading more and more. The reason I love video games is the same as why I love books, I love a good story. I initially wanted to go into video game design, but found out that story was never really the focus, and that was what I wanted to be doing so I didn’t take any courses in it.

I dabbled in writing since then, but it was when I found out about Kindle and self-publishing with Amazon that I really got into it. Rejection was commonplace in the writing world, and I wanted the freedom to write what I wanted, and not have someone tell me that it wouldn’t work.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love fantasy and sci-fi novels. When I was younger, the Pendragon series really inspired me to write. It had such an open ended world where it felt like anything could happen, and I really wanted to create something like that myself.

I’ve always love pirates, which is the reason I’m writing a pirate series right now, and there is a manga called One Piece which is about pirates in a fantasy world. The characters, locations, and plot are all stellar and I’m constantly inspired by the ingenuity of the author.

Currently, I’m loving the Song of Ice and Fire series and find those books enthralling. George RR Martin knows how to build a world and make you care for characters, only to take them away. It’s realistic and at the same time fantastic. I love how he’s able to maintain that balance.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is called Bartholomew Roberts’ Faith. It’s about the pirate, Bartholomew Roberts, and how he went from working on a slave ship to becoming a pirate. The main reason I wanted to write it is because I love pirates and I always found Bartholomew Roberts an interesting person.

According to history he was a man of God and regularly held bible studies with his crew. He also instituted his own “pirate commandments” aboard his ship, no doubt inspired by the biblical commandments.

I wanted to take what we knew about him from history and fill in the gaps as to why he might have become a pirate despite believing in the bible, as the act of piracy is condemned by the bible.

It took me about a month to write, and then another to edit, and I feel that it is my best work yet. (Or at least I hope so.)

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Jeremy McLean’s Website

Jeremy McLean Twitter Account