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Bestselling Author and Alumnus to Visit SLCC: An Exclusive Q&A with Marc Gregson

 


SLCC students meet New York Times bestselling author who once walked the same halls as you. Alumnus and author, Marc J. Gregson will be reading from his debut novel, Sky's End, followed by a Q&A session and book signing. Are you curious about what it takes to get a book published? A sci-fi, fantasy fan? Or just want to find out what happened at SLCC that motivated him to keep on writing? All are welcome.  

Details: Thursday, March 27, 4 p.m. on SLCC’s Taylorsville Redwood Campus. Academic and Advancement Building (AAB), rm. 135.


Q: Can you tell us a bit about your journey to becoming a bestselling author?

A: Writing and publishing a book was the toughest thing I ever tried to do. It took years, but I kept getting better. My first book was terrible. Sky's End was the sixth book I wrote and the first to get published. It was discouraging and frustrating at times. You have to remember, that book publishing is also a business, and sometimes it comes down to writing the right thing at the right time. You almost have to luck into that part. You can read about how I got my literary agent here.


Q: What inspired you to write young adult books?


A:  I enjoy writing young adult books because they're still adolescent literature, but I have more room to world build sci-fi and fantasy. The length is also freeing. When I was writing middle grade I felt like I had to cut my stories in half.  

My Above the Black trilogy includes Sky's EndAmong Serpents, and the third book will come out in 2026. Sky's End was published in January 2024 and is now available in six languages around the world. It's also being developed into a feature film! I’m working with a screenwriter and producer, who want to stay true to the spirit of the book, though some changes are inevitable since the audiobook is 14 hours long, and the movie will be about 2 hours.


Q: How do you balance writing with your other responsibilities?

A: While writing the first two books, I was teaching middle school full-time, and I'm also a dad and husband. This past year, I worked part-time as a teacher to balance both careers. I write early in the morning from 5:30 to 6:45 a.m., then again in the evening after work. I try to take care of any after-school work by arriving early to do it. 


Q: What was your experience like at SLCC?


A: I actually started at SLCC in 2006 and then stopped and took five years off from school in order to support my wife who was in law school. Then I returned and earned an AS in General Studies in 2015 before transferring to the University of Utah for an English teaching degree. 

I loved my time at SLCC. and the diversity of age among students made me feel comfortable, and the professors were awesome. It was an affordable way to get my generals done while also exploring what I wanted to pursue as a career. 

Initially, I thought I wanted to write stories for video games but I took an adolescent literacy course at SLCC and loved it, then I took another one at the U of U. The majority of students in these classes were planning on going into teaching. In the class at the U, the professor said, “you’ll make a really good teacher”—He didn’t know that was not my plan but then I lost interest in the video game path and switched to becoming an English teaching.


Q: Is there a class or professor at SLCC that made an impact on you? 

A: I took a creative writing class at SLCC and it was transformative. I had imposters syndrome, because here I was struggling with all of these rejections—there are just not many positive reinforcements when your pursuing publishing. I remember a short story assignment that the class had just read, and it was time for feedback. My hands were shaking. I expected the worse and had not seen it go well for the person before me. Then the professor started off by saying, “We can all learn from Marc’s dynamic characters and how to write a full character arc in a short story.” That moment fed me. The class ended up being confidence building—which you really need to have in yourself to be a good writer.

 


Q: When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?


A: I started wondering about being a writer in 8th grade after a Halloween assignment. Writing that spooky story was a lot more fun than writing essays. I dabbled with short stories in high school and started writing my first book, which took nine years to finish. Writing is like a muscle—you have to train it. Initially, when I would write for 45 minutes straight, I’d be gassed but increasingly I could do longer stretches. My first book was terrible, but I'm proud of it because it was a learning experience. Sky's End was the sixth book I wrote and the first to get published.



Q: Why did you keep writing books despite the challenges?

 

A: I just enjoyed writing. It gave me purpose and was a nice hobby. When I had to shelf my fifth book, my wife asked if I would still write if I knew I wouldn't get published. I love it so much that I would. The act of creating is cathartic, and seeing my growth as a writer was motivating. It is satisfying to see where I started and then look where I am in my writing abilities.

I really practice self-reflection after finishing a book and ask myself, what could I do better next time? I look at my weaknesses, tackle those and then they start becoming strengths.

For example, in my first book, I struggled with plotting. It was meandering, and I didn’t know how to build tension and character. My character was too perfect, making him boring and uninteresting. In my second book, I knew where I was going with it and had figured out how I was going to get there. I gave my character some flaws. In my third book, I started incorporating themes and intensifying conflict. And by my fifth book, I had side characters and sub plots going on at the same time, so my characters could exist off the page. 


Q: How do you come up with ideas for your books?


A: Sometimes the ideas come when I’m reading, watching or playing something.  Most often they come from listening to music, especially dramatic compositions from movie soundtracks. Being outdoors also increases my creativity, so I’ll go for a walk and listen to music. Sometimes a song sparks an idea, and then I'll brainstorm the idea with my wife. 

Throughout the writing process, I’ll continue to listen to music to match the tone of different scenes. For instance, I'll listen to some dramatic music in writing an action scene or more mellow music for moments of levity in the story. 


Q: How long did it take to write Sky's End?


A: It took six months to write Sky's End, followed by three months of revisions. After securing an agent, it took another five months of revisions, and then working with an editor took an additional five months. I'm faster at it now, and it takes about nine months of continuous writing to get a young adult book ready for a publisher. Middle grade books take about five months to write because they are shorter.

 

 

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