Local writer publishes fictional book with nature settings
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ARLEE – A deer walks across the highway, a car swerves, and the deer is suddenly walking upside down.
“It really happened,” said author Jerry McGahan of the incident he witnessed where a deer looked like it was still walking with its legs up after being hit by a car. The story continues with more horrific moments that included a dull knife.
McGahan turned the incident with the deer into a short fictional story that was recently published into a book called “The Deer Walking Upside Down.” The book also includes 11 other short stories set in the rural landscapes of Montana.
“There is always some way that nature gets into my stories,” he said.
Although, the names of the towns are often fictitious in an effort to protect rural life. “I don’t use the word Montana,” he said of the stories in the book.
McGahan wrote the stories in a cabin in the woods, surrounded by pine trees and wildlife, and within walking distance of the Arlee post office. He still lives in the cabin where he raised his children with his wife. He was once a bee farmer there, but the bees are in small numbers now, so he spends much of his time writing.
He started writing the recently published collection of short stories about 20 years ago. The collection was also separately published in various literary journals.
Forty years ago, McGahan picked up the writing habit. He worked on several book-length stories and published one called “A Condor Brings the Sun.” He wrote short stories between novel writing projects. The material for his stories often came from nature.
“I wouldn’t go out to collect ideas,” he said. “I would be outside and something would happen, and I would pick it up in my mind, sometimes without knowing.”
Sitting at his desk, those ideas would occur to him.
“In my mind, I would strip away the clutter of an image and end up with something more concentrated,” he explained.
Another story in the collection is about a man putting a new roof on his house. That, too, actually happened. McGahan put a character with a similar experience to his own on a roof in the story. The character reflects about his life, current events, and mortality. The characters he creates tend to reflect his own life.
“As I get older, I have older characters with older people problems,” he said. “Whatever is in my life, I write about.”
He likes to write about the conflicts between people.
“Relationships fascinate me,” he said. “I like to write about how relationships change over time.”
McGahan doesn’t spend a lot of time studying how well his book his selling. He did take time to do a book signing in Missoula, but he thinks it’s more important to focus on the process of writing.
“It’s important not to get tempted by the siren of fame and stay tied to the mast,” he said.
He also spends a few hours each day painting. His subjects have included people, travel destinations, and wildlife. He sold a few of his paintings, but like writing, he enjoys the process more than selling his work.
“Creating art is its own reward,” he said adding that he will continue to write and paint for as long as he can. He said the word retirement doesn’t apply to artists.
