Meet J.g. Macleod

We recently connected with J.g. Macleod and have shared our conversation below.

J.G., we sincerely appreciate you joining us today and agreeing to talk about some very personal topics. So, to kick things off, let’s talk about a tough one – divorce. Can you talk to us about how you overcame divorce?

A colleague told me to ‘take the emotion out of it’ [meaning the divorce process] and invest that emotion into my children, my home, my healing, and my own aspirations. They were right. It is possible to heal from a divorce, but to do so, it’s necessary to separate the grief from who you are as a person. It’s easy to feel like a failure and adapt that persona, but instead, I took my co-worker’s advice and dealt with the divorce process logically, and reserved my dreams and emotions for healthier pursuits. Filing paperwork, navigating the meetings with lawyers, finalizing financial agreements all needed to be done, but I refused to view the drudgery as who I was. There were better things waiting for me – things I had either neglected or been told didn’t matter for many years. The divorce was a sort of rebirth for me and I emerged with a sense of self confidence I hadn’t had since my university days!

I also set a goal of travelling to Ireland once everything was finalized. I had always wanted to visit this country. The entire journey there and back was surreal. I felt empowered, grateful, validated, and motivated by every place I visited and every person I met. I will never forget the towns, the castles, the friendly people, and the moment when I reached the summit of Dun Aonghasa, tears in my eyes, the wind wrapping me in its embrace as I gazed out at the churning water. My problems suddenly felt small in the face of this grandeur. Something left me that day – pain, despair, humiliation, sadness – and hope blossomed in my chest, I felt it as distinctly as a hug. I vowed to never let fear stop me from achieving my goals, nor make me cower in another’s shadow again.

My writing journey took a new path in that moment, too. As we descended the ancient fort, and made our way to the small shops in the town below, a story was forming in my mind, based on everything and everyone I had met in Ireland. I walked a lonely road, surrounded on either side by stone walls, wild horses the only creatures I met for miles. When I walked as far as I wanted and was about to turn around and return, I saw a rainbow over the water, bright and distinct. With the help of my family, my friends, and my own courage, I would make the next part of my life worthy of my ancestors and the lessons I had been taught throughout my life. In Death of a Salesman, Linda tells Willy, “Well, dear, life is a casting off.” It is indeed. More importantly, it’s knowing what to cast off and what to hold onto. I think I’ve finally got it right.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I am an author of 9 books. The Once and Future Love is my most recent release and tells the thrilling journey of a medieval man who finds himself transported to the 21st century. Ferghus MacLeod arrives in Brigid MacDonald’s closet and, from there, discovers just how much has changed in almost 600 years! This work is part romance, part mystery, part sci fi, and part satire that concludes my time-travel rom com series with a bang.

I am currently writing 3 other books, ranging from historical fiction, to contemporary romance, and even a spicy erotic comedy! I am also an educator, so during the school year, I have much less time for these pursuits. I teach grade 12 English literature and writing, and have done so for 23 years!

I love helping new or struggling authors promote their work on X (formerly Twitter) through my book promotion and advertising gigs. My goal is to educate them on how to boost the impressions on their work, to value their craft and not give the product of it away for free, and eventually, be able to market their own work effectively.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Patience – Overcoming any type of loss takes time. Patience helped me understand that healing would not occur overnight, because the entire process of filing for divorce and seeing it through to the end would also not happen overnight. Some days, it can feel like trudging through heavy snow; other days, it feels like swimming in a crystal lake. In other words, patience teaches us that through small, deliberate choices and actions, we can move the heavy burdens and slowly realize the fruits of our labour. We can be lighter, happier, and healthier if we practice patience.

Resilience – Bruce Cockburn once said, “Nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight.” I don’t believe in giving up. I wasn’t taught to throw in the towel, either. My parents encouraged and supported me, but they also had high expectations of me. If I couldn’t understand a concept, my Dad would demonstrate it or sit with me into the wee hours and help me study. Algebra and carpentry are good examples. If my heart was broken or my world turned upside down from betrayal, my Mom would commiserate with me, hug me, and tell me it would be better tomorrow. Giving up was never an option. Turning my back on the gift of life wasn’t, either. And they were right. I worked hard, and I achieved great things. I got back up after each disappointment and modelled this to my children.

Creativity – It’s all well and good to carry out the mundane duties in life, but time must be carved out to fuel your passions and connect with your soul. After my divorce, not only did I take new university courses to elevate my qualifications as a teacher and counsellor, but I also took countless Master Classes from seasoned novelists and screenwriters to push myself in my own craft. I tried new techniques, never settling with one style if I hadn’t yet tried something. One example is writing a book in a dual POV, male and female main characters, because I had never done that before. Another is trying my hand at writing satire after publishing more serious fiction. This doesn’t mean the attempts were perfect or successful every time, but I don’t regret embracing the creative process and growing from the failures, as well as the triumphs. I allow myself to daydream about new worlds, characters, and story arcs. You should, too.

What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?

My biggest area of growth in the past year has been publishing the final book in a series, which took five years to finish. It was an accomplishment for me, because I had shifted into the role of caregiver to my aging mother, as well as trying to balance teaching and parenting my three daughters. To write, edit, and market a book (and series) on top of the other responsibilities is intense, but I think I managed to do this successfully. In order to make this happen, I established stronger boundaries – being able to say no to activities or committees that I knew would not help my personal growth or would hinder my mental health. This helped me heal from grief and loss, as well as freed up time to devote to writing, marketing, and editing. Another area of growth in the past year that has been a game changer is learning more about the importance of marketing, especially the use of paid advertising for authors. This has helped get my books in front of more readers, which has been a dream of mine for several years.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jgmacleod.com/
• Twitter: https://x.com/jgmacleodauthor
• Other: Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/J.-G.-MacLeod/author/B07F25Z73T?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

  Fiverr: https://www.fiverr.com/jgmacleod?public_mode=true

Image Credits

J.G. MacLeod