A former media producer and director has no regrets after leaving Vancouver to return home to the Cariboo to take up writing full-time.
L.G.A. (Linda) McIntyre hopes to release her fifth and final book in the medieval fantasy series Lies of Lesser Gods, The King, by next Christmas.
“Quesnel has been the best place to launch this career because the people here have been so incredibly supportive,” she said at Cariboo Keepsakes, where she signed copies Saturday, Dec. 4.
McIntyre launched the series in 2013, the same year she moved back to Quesnel.
Before making that life-changing decision, she described going through a desk drawer that was littered with half-finished projects.
“I’ve always been compelled to write, but I never had up to that point actively pursued it,” she said.
“It was kind of eye-opening to see that I put so much effort and time into all these stories that had never seen the light of day, and it seemed insane to me. So either I had to stop, or I had to pursue it.”
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McIntrye believes that as people grow older, they realize the things important to them are no longer necessarily a nine-to-five grind, but the things that speak to and fulfill their soul.
“If you don’t pursue them, then you’re selling your life short, so you have to make that decision eventually,” she added.
“Are you going to keep with your treadmill or are you going to stop and say to yourself what is it that I really want and how do I pursue this in a way that is actually going to support me and that was what I did.”
While McIntrye admitted it was scary to give up all the comforts and security that come with having a job, she would not be where she is today if she had not made that decision.
After the Lies of Lesser Gods series is complete, she plans to work on creating audiobooks consisting of a unique podcast format with different voices, music and sound effects.
She already has another contemporary fantasy book written that is waiting to be edited and another one that is about half-written.
Earlier that Saturday afternoon, she described a woman who told her how she had downsized her home, getting rid of all of her books except the ones by McIntrye that she constantly reads.
“As an author, that is the best thing in the world to hear,” McIntrye said.
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