Local author set to release new book in fantasy adventure series

by Dan Holland

Broadview Heights writer Nick McPherson is eagerly anticipating the release of his second book – Fractured Sky – in late January. The book is the second in an ongoing fantasy-adventure series set in the fictional land of Endland. 

His first book, published in 2022, entitled, Chosen: The New Order, sets the stage for the continuing series, which is much in the vein of J.R.R. Tolkien’s books, including The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

“My first book was the introduction to this new fantasy world, and Fractured Sky picks up right where that book left off,” said McPherson, who grew up in Broadview Heights, where he currently lives with wife Katie and their three young children, ages 5, 4 and 2. “Having three little ones at home, and another one on the way, isn’t always conducive to sitting down and writing for long periods of time. So, it took a while to get this second book completed.”

McPherson said he has always been a fan of fantasy action-adventure series such as The Lord of The Rings and the Harry Potter book series.

“I re-read Tolkien’s books all the time, along with the Harry Potter series, and with those kinds of fantasy world adventures, it struck me that perhaps I could write something along those lines, and it all stemmed from that,” he explained. “The first book stemmed out of boredom – my wife was in grad school on the weekends, and I was home by myself, and I could only play so many video games. As I was playing a video game, it struck me that here was this whole new world with all of these characters.”

McPherson, who is employed as an engineer, said he has always liked writing and even took additional creative writing courses in high school and college.

“It’s Just the creative aspect of it; you get into a writer’s flow and lose sense of time, and you look up and realize that it’s 2 a.m.,” he said. “There’s something about that creative outlet that is very rewarding. And at the other end, to see other people enjoying something you created is a very rewarding feeling.”

The book series is geared toward teens and young adults, but should appeal to readers of all ages who enjoy fantasy-adventure, said McPherson.

“It’s a fun fantasy adventure,” he said. “Since Harry Potter, there hasn’t really been another big action-adventure type series. Everything these days seems to lean toward spicy romance themes and all that.”

“This is more of an ode to Tolkien as a fun action-adventure series with magic,” he continued. “If you have a teenager or grandchild; they will probably like it. It has some funny teenage banter between a couple of the main characters, so it’s made for younger people to escape the world for a minute or two and have some fun.”McPherson, who is self-published, is currently working on a third manuscript unrelated to the first two. For information, visit McPhersonwrites.com. 

photo caption: Nick McPherson, photo submitted