Virginia McClain

Goodreads Author


Born
in The United States
Twitter

Genre

Member Since
April 2014


Virginia McClain is an author who recently stopped daylighting as a Spanish teacher in Arizona and switched to writing full time in Winnipeg, Manitoba. When she's not writing she can often be found climbing to the top of large rocks, running on trails, backpacking, and generally engaging in any excuse to go play outside. Now that she has moved to the Great White North she will probably add snowshoeing, cross country skiing, and ice skating to her list of outdoor adventures, but as it's still warm out she'll start with canoeing (something she hasn't done in years) and see how it goes from there. She lives with her husband and their furry, canine companion Artemis. ...more

To ask Virginia McClain questions, please sign up.

Popular Answered Questions

Virginia McClain The best thing about being a writer is having an outlet for all of the stories that play themselves out in your head.

When you tell strangers about wh…more
The best thing about being a writer is having an outlet for all of the stories that play themselves out in your head.

When you tell strangers about what all those crazy characters in your head are up to, you get locked up in the loony bin. When you write it down and sell it, you get called an author. (less)
Virginia McClain Oh, these are tough questions! One of my favorite parts of writing Blade’s Edge was that I wrote the majority of the first draft by hand while hanging…moreOh, these are tough questions! One of my favorite parts of writing Blade’s Edge was that I wrote the majority of the first draft by hand while hanging out in some of my favorite cafes and restaurants in Yamagata, Japan (where I was living at the time). And I also sometimes brought those notebooks with me to the tops of the same mountains that so heavily inspired the setting. And I could never pick a favorite character, all of my main characters are my favorites. That said, when it comes to secondary characters, I always enjoyed writing scenes with Tatsu in them so much because I adore dragons, and writing giant intimidating creatures that look like monsters but who act with more honor than most humans always puts a smile on my face. Then again, I also always adored writing Ryoshi in them because he loves Taka but also finds humans to be a bit tedious, and really SAME, Ryoshi. Same. Thank you for asking such fun questions! Sorry I can’t actually pick favorites. (less)
Average rating: 4.0 · 788 ratings · 326 reviews · 13 distinct worksSimilar authors
Blade's Edge (Chronicles of...

3.98 avg rating — 268 ratings — published 2015 — 8 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Traitor's Hope (Chronicles ...

4.03 avg rating — 79 ratings — published 2017 — 2 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Victoria Marmot and the Med...

3.71 avg rating — 84 ratings — published 2018 — 2 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Sairō's Claw (Gensokai Kaga...

4.26 avg rating — 62 ratings — published 2021 — 4 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Victoria Marmot and the Inc...

3.90 avg rating — 31 ratings — published 2018 — 2 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Victoria Marmot and the Sha...

3.80 avg rating — 25 ratings — published 2018 — 2 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Victoria Marmot and the Roa...

4.20 avg rating — 15 ratings — published 2019 — 2 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Victoria Marmot and the Dra...

4.13 avg rating — 15 ratings — published 2019 — 2 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Victoria Marmot: The Comple...

4.36 avg rating — 14 ratings3 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Rain on a Summer's Afternoo...

4.23 avg rating — 13 ratings — published 2014 — 4 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
More books by Virginia McClain…

Cover Reveal for The Alchemy of Sorrow!




Image description: The image shows a green textured paper torn diagonally across a book cover. Not much is visible beyond the text “of Sorrow” a portion of a person’s head, and what could be some broken glass, plants, and a bit of broken pottery.


So, if you've been following my social media at all over the past few months, you've probably seen me mention The Alchemy of Sorrow at least once (but more likely dozens of times). It's the big project that has been taking up all of my waking hours since January of this year (aside from a brief break for QuaranCon2022). What is it you ask? Well, it's an anthology of SFF short stories that are all Read more of this blog post »
 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on June 29, 2022 07:00
Blade's Edge Traitor's Hope
(2 books)
by
4.03 avg rating — 409 ratings

Victoria Marmot and the Med... Victoria Marmot and the Inc... Victoria Marmot and the Sha... Victoria Marmot and the Dra... Victoria Marmot and the Roa...
(5 books)
by
3.88 avg rating — 184 ratings

Sairō's Claw
(1 book)
by
4.26 avg rating — 62 ratings

Maggie for Hire
Virginia is currently reading
by Kate Danley (Goodreads Author)
bookshelves: currently-reading
Rate this book
Clear rating

 
The Priestess and...
Rate this book
Clear rating

 
The Keepers: Origins
Virginia is currently reading
bookshelves: currently-reading
Rate this book
Clear rating

 

Virginia’s Recent Updates

Virginia rated a book really liked it
The Dark Lord's Daughter by Patricia C. Wrede
Rate this book
Clear rating
Dungeons & Dragon Dating by Virginia McClain
"This was a charming little story and I'm very much looking forward to more!"
Virginia wants to read
Queen Demon by Martha Wells
Rate this book
Clear rating
Witch King by Martha Wells
"Martha Wells has a wonderful talent for creating loveable killers. Well, at least I love them, and I was totally enamored with the main character in this book, the titular Witch King, Kai. He's a body-jumping, life sucking demon who joins a small ban" Read more of this review »
Virginia rated a book it was amazing
Witch King by Martha Wells
Rate this book
Clear rating
I adored this book and I can't wait to read the next one! Kai is one of my new favorite characters and I adore this world building. ...more
Virginia has completed the 2024 Reading Challenge
11634
Virginia has completed her goal of reading 60 books in 2024!
 
Create your own 2024 Reading Challenge »
Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher
A Cup of Tea at the Mouth of Hell by Luke Tarzian
"Had some time to spare this afternoon between Thanksgivings so I wanted to finally give Luke the chance he has deserved for years, and for whatever reason, I’ve never given him.

Guys, this little novelette freaking wrecked me. I’m still picking up th" Read more of this review »
Virginia rated a book it was amazing
The Wonder Engine by T. Kingfisher
Rate this book
Clear rating
I laughed a lot. I cried a bit too. I love this duology.
Virginia rated a book it was amazing
Clockwork Boys by T. Kingfisher
Rate this book
Clear rating
More of Virginia's books…

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics posts views last activity  
Short Story Connect: * About Featured Author 26 123 Apr 06, 2016 05:55AM  
Support for Indie...: BLURBETTE CHALLENGE: How Low Can You Go? 48 76 Jun 28, 2016 08:08AM  
Romance Writers &...: This topic has been closed to new comments. LOVE INDIE ROMANCE 1.0 Promo Tactics & Follow-up Stats 11 22 Oct 11, 2016 09:50PM  
Our Shared Shelf: Female Fantasy Authors 63 3437 Apr 04, 2019 04:19PM  
Nothing But Readi...: March: Stacie's Marvelous March Challenge 183 1031 Apr 03, 2020 06:34AM  
Short Story Connect: * Goodreads friends 45 190 Feb 05, 2021 01:37AM  
Nothing But Readi...: Alysa's Reading Challenges 50 497 Oct 31, 2021 09:30AM  
SOS: Serious Over...: ladymurmur's 2022 literary shenanigans 71 62 Dec 28, 2022 01:07PM  
Edward Abbey
“May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.”
Edward Abbey

Ernest Hemingway
“The world breaks everyone, and afterward, many are strong at the broken places.”
Ernest Hemingway

Virginia Woolf
“I would venture to guess that Anon, who wrote so many poems without signing them, was often a woman.”
Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own

154447 Support for Indie Authors — 16350 members — last activity Dec 18, 2024 12:40PM
Officially 15k Members Strong & Climbing!! Building and supporting a community of self-published authors dedicated to both sharing experiences and le ...more
128221 Fringe Fiction Unlimited — 2228 members — last activity Dec 18, 2024 05:31AM
Publishing is rich with hidden gems and diamonds in the rough that belong to self-published, indie, and otherwise underappreciated authors. Our focu ...more
137259 Short Story Connect — 1450 members — last activity Dec 01, 2024 05:54PM
Short Stories: Small word count, BIG impact. Short Story authors and readers need a hub strong enough to support the power of the short story. Help us ...more
26989 Goodreads Authors/Readers — 53077 members — last activity 2 hours, 4 min ago
This group is dedicated to connecting readers with Goodreads authors. It is divided by genres, and includes folders for writing resources, book websit ...more
22783 Web Serial Fiction — 347 members — last activity Oct 17, 2024 11:38PM
For authors and fans of online fiction. Do you blog a story? Read web comics or online serial fiction? Let's explore the serial medium and discuss wha ...more
57886 NaNoWriMo — 834 members — last activity May 08, 2024 02:39AM
NaNoWriMo. National Novel Writing Month. The month where you write 50,000 words in thirty days. A whole novel. The month were you put blood, sweat, te ...more
75104 Japanophiles! — 350 members — last activity Nov 14, 2022 06:39AM
Do you love Japan? Want to learn about the culture and language? Then come join the Japanophiles! Here, we all love Japan and everything about it, and ...more
1865 SciFi and Fantasy Book Club — 39052 members — last activity 1 hour, 23 min ago
Hi there! SFFBC is a welcoming place for readers to share their love of speculative fiction through group reads, buddy reads, challenges, ...more
145571 Japanese Novel and Light Novel Book Club — 1552 members — last activity Dec 15, 2024 02:22AM
We are a book club for readers of light novels, novels from Japan, and novels about Japan. This includes books like Book Girl and the Suicidal Mime, B ...more
179584 Our Shared Shelf — 225644 members — last activity 9 hours, 43 min ago
OUR SHARED SHELF IS CURRENTLY DORMANT AND NOT MANAGED BY EMMA AND HER TEAM. Dear Readers, As part of my work with UN Women, I have started reading ...more
More of Virginia’s groups…



Comments (showing 1-6)    post a comment »
dateUp arrow    newest »

Virginia Kerry wrote: "It seems you can't officially recommend books on goodreads anymore (boo!), but I think you would love Soulless (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...)."

You're right! I read a few years ago and loved it! I've read almost all of Gail Carriger's books, (there are some newer ones I hope to catch up on soon).


message 5: by Kerry

Kerry Gibbons It seems you can't officially recommend books on goodreads anymore (boo!), but I think you would love Soulless (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...).


Virginia Kevin wrote: "Hi Virginia,

Thanks for accepting! Anyone who can fess up to being an a-hole in their youth should be saluted :-D"


Thanks, Kevin! Everything is clearer in hindsight. :-) Of course, it's still difficult to tell. I'd like to think I wasn't always an a-hole in my youth. Only some of the time. Still, I know I was too judgmental by far, and that essay was like I giant spew of judgmental, superior, look at me, bull crap. Like I said, cringeworthy.

Anyway, what is life if not an opportunity to continuously improve ourselves?


message 3: by Kevin

Kevin Cole Hi Virginia,

Thanks for accepting! Anyone who can fess up to being an a-hole in their youth should be saluted :-D


Virginia Robert wrote: "Virginia, thank you for your friendship and check out my FREE short stories at http://robertsnovels.com
Welcome to the Short Story Connect group and happy reading!"


Thanks, Robert! I have some free short stories available on my site as well: http://virginiamcclain.blogspot.com and if you have amazon prime or kindle unlimited you can get my new collection of short stories "Rain on a Summer's Afternoon" for free as well. Otherwise it's $0.99. :-)


Robert Roberts Virginia, thank you for your friendship and check out my FREE short stories at http://robertsnovels.com
Welcome to the Short Story Connect group and happy reading!


back to top