C.M. O’Brien shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
C.M., it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What’s more important to you—intelligence, energy, or integrity?
Integrity, hands down. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for intelligence. The world we currently live in could use a lot more of it. But intelligence and energy mean nothing if you don’t have integrity as your foundation. It’s what builds and maintains trust; it’s what produces real, unwavering respect and ultimately connects one person to another, or a group of people to each other. Integrity is consistent and comes from the heart. And as much as I admire intelligence and energy, I would take a heartfelt fool over a cruel genius any day.
And integrity is, unfortunately, yet another thing we could use a lot more of in this world.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Caley (she / they), but most of my professional work is done under the name C.M. O’Brien. I am first and foremost a writer, but my true passion is telling stories in any form or medium that feels right. I am also the founder and creator of Nocturnal Mind, my own little corner of the internet dedicated to my books and my thoughts on storytelling. As part of my goal for building and inspiring a community of fellow artists, my website also provides storytelling and writing tips for beginners as well as creative writing prompts, and asks questions that will hopefully spark debate and deeper conversations about stories and the ways we tell them.
I am the author of children’s picture books such as “Don’t Bully Buster,” a story about friendship and empathy in the face of bullying, as well as a young adult epic fantasy novel titled, “The Wishtalker.” A sequel to the novel is currently in progress, as well as a line of other children’s books and stories for young adult and adult audiences.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
That I was going to be a hero. I was so set on this grandiose vision of myself: that I was going to become this powerful, infallible figure and save the world in one way or another and that I was going to be important to a lot of people.
Granted, no longer believing it doesn’t mean I’m NOT important, and not being a hero doesn’t automatically make me a villain: it just makes me human. And that, honestly, has been a hard lesson for me to learn—and one that actually helped inspire the coming-of-age theme of my young adult fantasy, “The Wishtalker.” Although, truthfully, at the time I was writing it I still held some of those delusions of grandeur. However, the fact that these two aspects of my life have overlapped lends me the opportunity to explore it more fully with the sequel that is in the works: this longing to be a “hero,” and learning the hard lesson that you are, in fact, just beautifully human.
Is there something you miss that no one else knows about?
When I was around ten years old, I practically lived in my backyard—especially over the summers. Part of this was because my parents built us this wonderful clubhouse complete with rings and a sandbox and a climbing rope. Depending on the day, or the time of year, it often served as either a pirate ship or a castle.
But only I knew that if you waited until you were alone, and—like the children in “Bridge to Terabithia,” by Katherine Paterson—you swung on the climbing rope from one side of the clubhouse to the other, you entered a magical realm full of dragons and ogres and faeries and other fantastical creatures. It was a game I played sparingly, but took very seriously, based on a world I created a long time ago in a book that has yet to be published. In a way, I was a spinoff of one of my own characters, ruling my magical kingdom with grace and dignity; strategizing with my faithful councilor over battle plans one moment, and the next, donning armor and sneaking out of the castle to help protect my people from dark forces.
It’s honestly a part of my life I don’t think about much anymore: in a way, I’m still living it—I just live it through words and ink, now. But when I do think about it, I miss it.
It was a lot of fun being a queen.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. Whom do you admire for their character, not their power?
I think everyone I admire, I admire for their character. In a similar vein to my thoughts on integrity: power means nothing (in terms of admiration, at least) if you don’t have character as a foundation.
That being said, I also have to remember that even the people we call our heroes, and look up to as heroes, are human, too. What I try to focus on is their intent, even if the execution doesn’t always live up to the expectations.
My ultimate hero is Jim Henson, and he always has been (except when it was Kermit the Frog—but “six of one, half a dozen,” etc.). I admire him for the worlds and characters he created, sure, but I also admire him for his intent to teach children meaningful lessons through those worlds and characters, and to spread joy and curiosity instead of hatred and fear. Was he a perfect human? No. From the sound of things, there were a few areas in his life outside of his creations where he stumbled. But as far as I can tell, he never had the intention to hurt people, which is more than I can say for some “heroes” in our current social and political climates. And that tells me all I really need to know about his character.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. Could you give everything your best, even if no one ever praised you for it?
I think that’s just the way of the artist. So many people I know have created beautiful things that only their closest family and friends will ever see. Maybe it’s because they don’t have the money or the skill set for marketing themselves; maybe it’s because they don’t have the kind of natural charisma it takes to get people to notice them, no matter how hard they try; maybe they simply don’t care if they get praised. It’s PASSION that drives true artists to create, not recognition.
So, yes: I ALWAYS give everything I create my best, whether I receive praise for it or not. Because someone out there will see it eventually. And even if absolutely no one else sees it, I know my mom will…
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.nocturnalmind.net/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/c.m._obrien/
Image Credits
Portrait Photos by Kyle Asher
Classroom Photos by Carolyn O’Brien
Illustrations “Don’t Bully Buster” by Corey O’Brien
Illustrations “The Wishtalker” by Cassie Levy
Graphics Designed by CM O’Brien
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
