Stephen McClellan

What initially sparked your inspiration for writing your novel, To Dance?

I was intrigued by the concept of articulating complex and intricate issues through the innocence and naivety of a child. To Dance was originally intended to be a children’s picture book about a boy’s inner thoughts on pain, racial injustice, and how he interpreted the world around him. The idea quickly morphed into a short story, however, which then transitioned into a full-length novel over time. 

If you could sit down and chat with one of your characters, who would it be and why?

It would definitely be intriguing to talk with the main character, Royce. Similar to Laurie in the book (without giving away any spoilers!), I also have had painful experiences in my past that I would be curious to see if Royce could provide any wisdom, guidance, clarification, or vision on concerning how the “butterfly effect” was orchestrated through them to impact lives in the future.

The topics of grief and faith can be found interweaved throughout the entirety of your novel. Would you care to explain to your readers why these topics were so important?

My faith is the backbone of who I am as a person, so I’ve found it is nearly impossible to write without themes of faith manifesting themselves in some shape or form. With faith comes hope, and hope is often what drives us to continue living, to endure through tragedies and trial, and to believe in a better tomorrow. 

Concerning grief, I believe that one of the main reasons people walk away from their faith or refuse to believe in God all together is because of their struggle to cope with pain, make sense of tragedy, or find any kind of significance in suffering. I too have wrestled with these notions in the past, so they have always been topics I have resonated with. Everyone experiences pain, and therefore, everyone is in need of a reason to believe that hope exists and can change their life for the better. 

How long did you work on writing To Dance?

It took two and a half months to write the initial first draft of the novel, then editing and rewriting for months after to get it in publishing condition.

Laurie is one of those characters that can be found in all of us it seems as times. Why do you feel that it was so important to tell her story?

Interesting enough, her story wasn’t originally part of the novel. There was only a 13,000-word short story called “Colorblind.” Then my wife read it and commented, “I just want to know what happens to the boy’s mother.” I had never considered this because, frankly, that wasn’t what the story was about. But once I reread what I had written, I realized there was a lot of pain and unanswered questions from Laurie’s past that I could explore and bring to light. 

One could argue that the entire concept of pain is the one factor that binds all humans together (at least in an earthly sense). At some point, we will all experience moments of tragedy, heartache, regret, guilt or shame. They are unavoidable. And thus begs the question, “How do you find hope, peace, joy, and purpose within the pain and despite your circumstances?” I wanted to investigate and offer at least some type of hope that things can be different; that they can be better. I always tell people, “Does To Dance have all the answers? No. But can it help? I think so.”

What did you find to be the most difficult aspect of writing To Dance?

Sometimes I found it extremely difficult to convey particular truths without sounding “preachy.” There are times where I felt that was unavoidable, but I still didn’t want readers to walk away feeling like they had just read a sermon. I wanted the struggles introduced to be practical and realistic, ones that everyone might relate to in some capacity. But likewise, I also wanted the advice on how to cope with those struggles to be practical and realistic as well (with of course, faith always being the backbone.)

Were you ever faced with writer’s block while writing To Dance, and if so, how did you overcome it?

I don’t remember ever hitting a wall or struggling to move forward with the story. I did, however, completely rewrite the second part of the book (“The World of White”) to make the world the characters found themselves in much more dynamic and real. This took quite a bit more time, energy, and focus to write than the original narrative.

Do you have any inspirational authors? Who?

Even though To Dance is a Christian Fiction book, I actually don’t have any Christian Fiction authors that I read. Stephen King’s books originally inspired me to fall in love with reading, and since then, John Green has become my favorite author.

What do you hope to be the key takeaway for your readers once finished with reading your novel?

For me, it’s pretty straightforward: I want people to walk away with a sense that there is hope—hope that you can heal, hope that you can change, hope that you can move on, hope that things can be better, hope that your past will not define your future, hope that peace does exist, hope that there is purpose in your pain, hope that there is significance in your suffering, hope that there is a God and that He is absolutely crazy about you.

Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years on your writing journey?

This year, I plan to publish my second novel (a companion novel to To Dance) as well as my debut children’s picture book, so in the next few years I want to establish my platform that allows my influence to span age groups. On a bigger scale, however, I am praying for the impact of my books to reach a global scale that I haven’t seen before. (It would be beautiful if God would allow a NYT best-seller to be thrown in there, but sometimes He prefers to work in more obscure arenas. So we will see!)

Is there anything that you would like to share about yourself that your readers may not know about you?

I actually played basketball at three different colleges, and then my focus turned to becoming a middle and high school educator. It wasn’t until my mid-twenties that I sought a writing career. I say that because I found that 1) my visions were constantly changing, which meant that 2) I had to develop the ability to reinvent myself. 

What you’re doing in this phase of your life may not be what God has for you in the next phase of your life. And that’s okay. Never stop developing your potential or pursuing the vision of who you believe you were created to be, because God will never stop pursuing you. He finishes what He starts, and He has beautiful things in store for your future if you allow Him to take you there.

To learn more about Stephen McClellan and his inspiring work, please visit his website by clicking this link, or visiting his social links here: Facebook. Instagram. To buy a copy of To Dance or to leave a review, please follow these links: Amazon Goodreads