James D. McCallister

author of the Edgewater County series

Workshopping LET THE GLORY PASS AWAY

Last night I attended the second meeting of a new writer’s support group here in Columbia, SC called ‘Write Club’—the first rule of Write Club is that there are no rules, and the second rule of Write Club is that there are some rules, if that’s at all edifying—and I came away from the experience […]

My Writing Journey — Part 4

The Movies. So we know from prior installments of this series that movies and TV, in particular genre material like Star Trek, had a huge impact on me during my adolescence. Star Wars (that’s the title in this context—no episodes #s or subtitles yet), it must now be acknowledged, also put the storytelling zap on my […]

Short Story Publication Alert!

On March 2, 2013, Fiction365 will feature my short story ‘Patterns of Recognition.’ Please be sure to click through tomorrow to check out this story, and to ‘like’ Fiction365 on Facebook!

UPDATED: DOGS OF PARSONS HOLLOW Screenplay Progress

UPDATED 2/27/13 11:20am EST All right! The first draft of DOGS OF PARSONS HOLLOW, the screenplay, is in the can. Thank goodness. At 131 pages I feel that it’s too long, but a revision will sort out problems of pacing and length. In any case, it’s a wonderful feeling to yet again realize a long-held […]

THE LIMELIGHT Radio Promo Appearance Today

Listen live today to WUSC, 90.5 FM, during the 2:30-2:45 slot on The Columbi-Arts and Music Show, hosted by Kyle Petersen. Along with a couple of the other contributors to Muddy Ford Press‘s THE LIMELIGHT: A Compendium of Contemporary Columbia Artists, I’ll be on the air live promoting the book and the launch event on Sunday. We’ll be discussing the […]

My Writing Journey — Part 3

As established in the first part of this ongoing series, my introduction to literature began with Poe, which stoked in me a taste for the macabre. In the mid- to late-70s, was there a more well publicized and successful go-to person for such material than Stephen King? Nope. And so, that’s where I went: Carrie, Salem’s […]

THE LIMELIGHT Drops This Sunday!

How exciting is this? We’re less than a week from the release of The Limelight—A Compendium of Contemporary Columbia Artists, Muddy Ford Press’s anthology of essays documenting some of the most vital members of our local arts community. I’m quite honored to be included with some thoughts about novelist Robert Lamb and his influence on […]

Edgewater County Map

Here’s something fun for Monday morning… a WIP sketch of the layout of my fictional Edgewater County, SC. Needs more detail and a couple of town names yet, but this is good enough for the moment. Looking forward to seeing this fully rendered. NOTE: The action in DOGS OF PARSONS HOLLOW takes place in the […]

FELLOW TRAVELER Review in Dead Studies Vol. 3

Among the reviews featured in the 2013 edition of Dead Studies, the third volume, is one of Fellow Traveler—a very strong and positive review. Here is a pull-quote. “The novel is to a large degree about not only how first- and second-generation Deadheads keep in touch with what they learned from the Dead but also […]

More DOGS Requests!

To balance out the minor setback of a pass earlier in the week from Bantam/RH, Friday brings three new requests for the manuscript of DOGS OF PARSONS HOLLOW, any of which could deliver results. Pitches by my agent at Inklings Literary, Michelle L. Johnson, have gone out to a few more editors as well, so these requests […]