Author Chat: James D. McEwan, Writer of “The Kalleron Series”

This is B.C. Johnson, your machine-washable indie author, and today we’re sitting down with a fellow wordslinger.

Let’s begin with this week’s guest, James D. McEwan, author of the Kalleron Series.

About the Author

I’m James D. McEwan, an indie author living in Scotland. After graduating from the University of Glasgow in the 90s, I stumbled into the fitness industry, where I remained for nearly three decades. I wrapped up that career to focus on writing.

I released the first of my four fantasy books in November 2022. In January 2023, I published a lit-fiction dealing with mental illness. In Early in 2025, I hope to release my 6^th book, a sci-fi.

The Questions

1. Do you have a writer you idolize?

I’m wary of idols, but I admire the works of H.G. Wells, especially THE TIME MACHINE, for his vision and imagination. WAR OF THE WORLDS is also an excellent sci-fi. To think, a book written in 1898 dealing with biological science and Martian invaders—stunning stuff!

2. What are you reading right now, and how is it?

Nothing. I’ve just finished the 6^th or 7^th edit of my current project. The last book I picked up was THE PSYCHOLOGY OF STUPIDITY (Jean-Francois Marmion). It’s a non-fiction collection of Q&As with various authors, regarding behaviour and intelligence (or lack thereof.)

It’s pertinent to our current world. I tend to read short, factual articles these days. I’m strange that way.

3. I see you’re a fellow tabletop RPG player. What’s your favorite setting, and why?

Those days are long gone, just like my long heavy-metal hair and plaid shirts. I dabbled in my teens. Some friends and I played Warhammer 40K, but I was always more interested in painting the miniatures.

I think I licked one too many double-zero paintbrushes laced with cadmium.

4. Do you prefer “hard” or “soft” magic in a fantasy setting?

I’m a stickler for logic, so magic needs defined limits and resources. Unchained magic is just lazy writing. I don’t use any in my fantasy tetralogy. The elemental gods have their power, but humans use ingenuity and science to create elemental weapons.

#SayNotoWands.

5. Has your writing process changed over time?

Absolutely. I submitted three manuscripts before paying for an editorial critique. It helped explain the 100s of rejections. Since then, I’ve become hyper-critical of my writing and force myself to ‘be the reader.’

I’m now taking more time to scrutinise what I put down, and in edits, often ask myself, ‘why the hell did I write that?’

6. Why do you write?

I have stories inside my mind that tumble around like restless children. They all want to come out.

When I quit the day job, aged 48, I had self-published one book. There were at least nine more (including the fantasy series) waiting in the wings. My mission is to make sure they all see the light of day. Ultimately, I want to make money from writing and move to the west coast of BC, Canada.

7. How do you approach marketing your books?

Lol. Badly.

I genuinely released my first two books with no social media presence. I’m still incompetent with social media, although I think my contributions are of good quality. Like all indies, I’ve sent books to followers, and I’ve done a small, unsuccessful, online book tour.

I’m only now starting with Amazon Ads, but with few reviews on my books, the algorithm is unforgiving.

8. I feel like every writer I’ve spoken to has created a random side character who ended up becoming one of their favorites. Which side character elbowed their way into your heart?

Shadow, Petra’s brawling and drinking buddy from my Kalleron series, would be a good fit. My books are smut-free, but his ethos is 100% hedonism. But his undying loyalty to Petra (and his grim backstory) makes him some sort of feminist alpha-male colossus. He’s also slightly stabby, but only with bad people. He’s a very broken good man.

9. How do you name your characters?

I think being older lets you relax with that sort of decision. The mind sometimes delivers names to you. Other times, I might look around the room and see what things can be hashed apart to make a name.

For my next project (sending out to agents), a signpost in BC, Canada, gave me inspiration. At the time, I literally said to my wife that I needed to use that name in a book.

Who Would Love Your Books?

My four-book epic fantasy series is available on Amazon.

The series sees Petra, a ship’s captain and free-spirited thrill seeker, fall under the spell of a mysterious cult. They have answers to her lover’s disappearance, but in return, they ask Petra and her crew to smuggle a deadly artifact. Blindly seeking the truth, she becomes a pawn in a plot against the immortal King of Kalleron and his powerful queen—the elemental Earth.

The Kalleron series is for people who love character-driven heroic fantasy that focuses on drama. It’s uniquely free of dragons and the rest of Tolkien’s bestiary. With a focus on elemental power and mechanical ingenuity, it is an original fantasy setting that takes the reader to a vividly imagined new world.

Read more at James D McEwan’s website.

Where to Find the Author

If you’re interested in what I do, or want to see more about the books I write, you can visit my website at jamesdmcewan.com

I’m also on Instagram and Threads: @fictionwriterjames

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Next Week: More Authors, More Chats

This is BC again, thanks for stopping by! Come back next week for more author chats every Tuesday and Thursday.

You can subscribe to my blog to get updates as they arrive, or follow me on Threads where I’ll be posting them as well.