Episode Details

EPISODE 735 - Alison McBain - Do something creative every day, The New Empire - A  journey of self-discovery has a steep price

In this episode of Living The Next Chapter, host Dave welcomes Alison McBain, a prolific Canadian author based near Edmonton, Alberta. With a dual American-Canadian heritage, Alison shares her journey from growing up in the States to returning home three years ago, embracing the region's chilly winters now softened by a rare heat wave. She dives into the golden age of publishing, where endless options overwhelm new authors, urging them to ignore the noise, write their stories relentlessly, and persevere through rejections—since that's the true divide between published and unpublished writers.

Alison reveals how she discovered her versatile voice by writing prolifically across genres, embracing failures publicly for accountability, and drawing from life's odd jobs and family chaos, like raising three kids. Writing is her passion, akin to breathing; she gets lost in it for hours, reads voraciously from history to fantasy, and rejects "write what you know" for "write what you love," crafting relatable characters in wild scenarios—from spaceships to dragons. She champions individual human experiences over AI's generic output, confident creativity remains our domain.

Highlights include her award-winning alternate history The New Empire, inspired by speculative Chinese voyages to 14th-century Americas, exploring a slave boy's coming-of-age amid empire-building. Other gems: a romance born from her nightmare house renovation (now a streaming e-book), the collaborative fantasy anthology Enchantress of Books, and a gender-flipped Beauty and the Beast YA tale challenging power dynamics and beauty standards. In 2024's bold "Author vs. AI" challenge, she penned 34 first drafts across genres like Western and horror—now polishing for release—proving genre-hopping builds loyal readers if stories resonate.

Media buzz from CBC and City News followed, fueled by her human-centric ethos. Alison battles imposter syndrome healthily, cherishes reader connections over unnoticed details, and crafts complex villains for narrative drive. Her motto: Do something creative daily, from writing to music.

Key Takeaway: Everyone has a story worth telling—shut out distractions, write with passion and perseverance, and let relatable characters connect you to readers who'll cherish your unique voice.

https://www.alisonmcbain.com/

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