ESTEVAN - Always writing as a child, Lisa McCullough realized she had a knack for it in Grade 6.
She attended elementary school in Wawota, and completed her high school years in Prince George, B.C.
Eventually, McCullough returned to Saskatchewan and has lived in Estevan for the past five years.
Over the years, McCullough has enjoyed reading books on fantasy and magic, and even started to write a few books but struggled with focusing on them. She never completed one until now.
From Blood and Ruin took her a year to write. She is pleased with the outcome and will make it into a trilogy. The novel has 483 pages and over 184,000 words, and it is filled with excitement and power right until the end.
The woman in the novel discovers a hidden past and a dangerous power inside her. It is a story about identity, survival and what happens when you are forced to choose between who you are and what others expect of you.
McCullough gets right into the characters, almost like she is there when she is writing. At times she needed to walk away for a short time but then returned with a new light to continue with the fantasy tale.
“If one person sees themselves in a character or feels something real from a scene that I have written, that is everything,” said McCullough.
“Stories have always meant the world to me and now I get to share mine,” she said.
“Creating a fantasy world has no limits,” said McCullough. “The story just keeps growing.”
McCullough has done most of the work herself, from writing to editing, through programs that she has on her computer.
Her book was released on April 1 and McCullough will have a book launch on June 5 at the Estevan Public Library. She will also be donating a copy to the library.
McCullough continues to create other ideas and people should keep watching for more releases in the future.
Any libraries wishing to have a reading of her book can contact McCullough.
