Today we’d like to introduce you to Elye McGrath.
Hi Elye, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
It all started with my love of movies. Growing up, my mother suffered from agoraphobia, so we didn’t go out much. Movies were an escape for me. Back in the day, when you could go to your local video store and rent seven movies for seven dollars, movies were how I experienced the world. As I grew older, I fell in love with storytelling, and I remember reading somewhere that writers write what they know, so I wrote silly little stories about my cats.
We owned twenty-three cats at the time, so I had a lot of characters to choose from. I was fifteen when I decided to really buckle down and try and turn these short stories into something meaningful, but I’d never been a reader and didn’t know the first this about writing a book.
But I tried anyway. I wrote the first draft of my story in a sixty-four-page schoolbook. It was terrible, but I believed the foundations were there, so I wrote it again. And again. And again. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve rewritten it, but, over time, my writing matured, and the story did too.
I think I was twenty-one when I decided to step away from my cat books and focus on a new idea -the story which would eventually become the basis for my graphic novel, ‘Scavenger’. It would take me two and a half years to complete the three-hundred-page comic series, and, by the time I finally returned to my cat world, I knew I had to start from scratch. I was determined to make this the final time I rewrote it and spent four years getting it right. The choice to self-publish was a difficult one; I hated the idea of it and felt I wasn’t truly a published author if I did it myself.
I didn’t feel this way about other self-published artists, however, just myself. I guess, I felt I needed the approval and validation of a publishing house before I could consider my work ‘real’ – and in many ways, I still feel that. But the response from the community has been positive and it encourages me to continue writing. I’m very grateful for that.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Growing up with a parent who suffers from mental illness is always challenging, and my own mental health has suffered as a result – and my writing reflects that. Writing is very therapeutic for me; it provides me with a safe space where I can explore my emotions without affecting those around me. In my stories all my characters are me, I identify with some more than others, but providing them with closure somehow gives me closure too.
It makes sense, I guess, I’ve lived with these characters so long now, they feel like family to me. Plus, they’re all based on cats I used to own. Education was always an obstacle. I hated school and found it difficult to learn. I left school at fourteen, thinking the system had nothing to offer me, but with the benefit of hindsight, I now know it was a foolish decision – and it stunted me in life. I hope that my writing inspires others to write and read – and stay in school because it’s important.
While developing my writing style, I tried to imagine myself at fifteen. What kind of book would’ve I read? I knew I had to keep the story simple yet engaging. I had to almost trick the reader into reading ten pages without even realizing it. I had to make the reader love these characters the same way I loved them, and that was also challenging.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am an Australian-based Author. I’ve only completed one book in my ‘Cat Kingdom’ series so far, but I’m busily working on the sequel. I’ve also written a graphic novel, titled ‘Scavenger’. It’s a gritty story about an android bounty hunter in a post-apocalyptic future.
I’m most proud of my cat book because the story has been with me for as long as I can remember. It’s evolved so much over the years, but it’s still the same story I started as a kid. What sets me apart from the most would be my emotional, and deliberately simplistic writing style – I wasn’t big on school or reading when I was younger, and I want kids like me – the ones that don’t enjoy reading – to be able to pick up my book and really get into it.
I want them to feel connected to the characters and the story the way I am. I want to be able to reach those kids and give them something to read that I didn’t have.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I think risk-taking is very important. I have the kind of personality where I take risks without even realizing it. Leaving school so young was a huge risk, but I did it without even batting an eyelid.
I guess you could say I’m not super aware of the consequences – one of my favorite sayings is ‘that’s Future-Elye’s problem’ when thinking about how things will work out. I didn’t even realize this was a strange way to live until I met my now-wife, Rachael.
She’s very averse to risks and spontaneity – but we balance each other out.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://au.blurb.com/b/9581742
- Instagram: elye.mcgrath
Image Credits
Cover Art by Laura Gray
