Local Author Launches New Fantasy Fiction Series
The youngest of six kids, Brian McClellan cultivated his love of reading and literary imagination wandering the shelves of Chardon Public Library, where his mom volunteered every week.
Now a highly acclaimed fantasy author, the West Geauga High School alumnus continues to intrigue readers with his own brands of magic and action.
“I write to entertain and I hope when my readers finish my books that they come away with a sense of wonder and satisfaction, just as they would from seeing the latest blockbuster movie,” Brian said. “I want to give them somewhere else to live for 15 or 20 hours, where they can experience the highs and lows of lives very unlike their own.”
“Sins of the Empire,” the first book in the new Powder Mage Series, is set for release on March 17, and can be pre-ordered along with signed copies on Brian’s website.
“My new series takes place in my acclaimed Powder Mage Universe,” he said. “It’s both an introduction to the world for new readers and a familiar place for old fans.”
He added, “It occurs in a world not unlike our own early, post-colonial United States, but that contains elements of the fantastic like sorcerers, gods and magic.”
The author’s other books include “Promise of Blood,” “Crimson Campaign,” “The Autumn Republic,” “Forsworn,” “Servant of the Crown,” “Murder at the Kinnen Hotel,” “In the Field Marshal’s Shadow” and “Ghosts of the Tristan Basin.”
Brian grew up on several acres in Chester Township, surrounded by big maple trees and a sledding hill leading down into a big ravine and a creek for exploring.
His parents encouraged his writing and after graduating in 2004 from West Geauga High School, he went on to major in English with an emphasis on creative writing at Brigham Young University, where he met his wife, Michele, in an English class.
The couple lives on the side of a mountain in Pleasant Grove, Utah, close to his in-laws, where he writes full time.
Brian said he writes because he’s able to make a great living for himself and his family doing something he enjoys.
“This new trilogy is placed in the same ‘universe’ as the previous trilogy, but at a slightly different time, on a different continent, with some overlap of characters,” said Rich McClellan, Brian’s father. “This is a page-turner on many levels. I couldn’t put it down either time I read it.”
Brian’s mom, Cheryl McClelland, is Chardon Public Library’s genealogist.
“Since Richard and I both love to read, research and write about historical and genealogical topics, Brian grew up in the library and visiting historical sites like Gettysburg,” Cheryl said. “As a baby, he played on the floor of the Allyn Room while I helped Teeter Grosvenor with correspondence and research. I read him to sleep every night until he became an avid reader himself.”
Kirtland’s Brian Packer, president of the Friends of Kirtland Public Library for more than a decade, became quick friends of the family years ago through his association with the Church of Latter-Day Saints.
“We love the McClelland family … wonderful people and very community spirited,” Packer said, who attended Brian’s first book signing a couple years ago at a Barnes and Noble. “It is great to see a local writer and friend become so successful.”
Brian said he has many influences.
“Writers like Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson and Joe Abercrombie, to more traditional adventure authors like Alexander Dumax,” he said, adding Dumax’s trilogy is not historical fantasy, but is inspired by the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Era.
“One teacher in particular who encouraged my creativity was Marlene Napalo, who read some of my earliest attempts at fiction when I was a senior at West G,” Brian said.
He dedicated his second trilogy to his former Latin teacher, Bill Prueter, and Napalo, his former English teacher — both were honored.
Now retired, Napalo said she remembered Brian as an exceptional young man.
“Brian was most definitely interested in writing,” she said, adding she noticed his talents and dedication early on.
“I think the interesting characters and the lively imaginative plots that Brian has constructed guarantee him a well-deserved following,” Napolo said. “He has been extensively praised by discerning critics of the fantasy genre for this originality and inventiveness.”
Cheryl added her son’s all-time favorite books are “Les Miserables” and “Count of Monte Cristo.”
“I felt he had the talent and drive to become a successful novelist, and I’m delighted that he’s fulfilled that portion of his destiny,” Napalo said.
Brian’s books are published in several languages and he is number six on the Goodreads list of “Can’t Wait Sci-Fi/Fiction” books for his upcoming “Sins of Empire.”
