By Sharon McIntireNever let the truth be allowed to get in the way of a good story.This is the philosophy of the Irish. No St. Patrick’s Day celebration is complete without some tale of the exploits of a mischievous leprechaun passed down through the ages –embroidered a bit with each telling. So why wouldn’t their mythology benefit from the same treatment?Admitting that one of his dreams is to visit the country of his heritage, author Jacob McGuire has had a lifelong fascination with Ireland and itsmythology. As a youth, he devoured stories by J.K. Rowling, Percy Jackson and Rick Riordan. Then he stumbled across the Iron Druid Chronicles, a fictional Irish mythology series by Kevin Hearne about an ancient Irish druid. “That was the first Irish representation in fiction that I’d read,” he recounts. “That kind of fascinated me, so I started diving into that more.”With Irish blood in his veins and Irish storytelling in his nature, this 24-year-old native of Carlsbad has explored Irish mythology most of his life, culminating in his first book, Son of a God: Abandoned.According to the author, the 465-page book tells the mythical story of a young deity who has been “technically abandoned after his father’s questionable death, and has spent many years looking for answers. His world gets flipped upside down when his mother mysteriously returns into his life just before his 18th birthday.” The answers this young god uncovers reveal family secrets as well, including a family rival who is trying to kill him. “He knew someone was after him, but he didn’t know exactly who. He more or less has to stop a war between two gods before it begins.”The tale was birthed from a dream he had one night about the main character. “I woke up the next day,” he relates, “and just had the urge to start writing down the ideas, and the story just started flowing.”McGuire was a freshman at Carlsbad High School when the family moved to Arizona. A continuing fascination with mythology culminated in his book, which he wrote following his graduation from Sunrise Mountain High School in Peoria in 2015. He has many fond memories of his life in Carlsbad where his sister, Courtney, still lives. “I remember field trips to the Carlsbad Caverns when I was at Riverside School, and swimming lessons at the Natatorium. Carlsbad is a great place to call home.”At one point, he considered moving back to Carlsbad, but chose instead to stay with his father in Arizona. It has worked out well for him. He met and courted Danielle there, and about a year ago, they were married.
He hasn’t lost his focus. “I’ve been writing the book since high school,” he says. “I more or less had the story fully written after a year, and the rest of the time I spent editing it and working –trying to find a publisher to get it published.”An artist as well as an author, McGuire also created the cover design for his book. And he’s not finished. “Since day one of my first idea, the ideas have just kept flowing, and they’ve never stopped. Even at my jobs I would keep a little notepad in my back pocket for when I had an idea. I have about 20 different books in the works now.” Most of his books are about mythology, Greek and Norse as well as Irish, but he also has a horror/mystery book in the works.His one non-fiction book is his first attempt at self-help. “It’s almost an autobiography about the chronic migraines that I grew up with,” he says. “The book is for other people who have had chronic migraines as well: it’s going to have some of my tips and tricks that I’ve learnedto help alleviate the pains of migraines and explain my journey along the way.“I still go through them almost on a daily basis, but I’m finding ways to make a living even with the migraines, so I’m hoping it will show other people with migraines that there are outlets to earn an income other than just a regular 9-5 job.”Jacob and Danielle now live in Kingman, AZ where they moved to be closer to her family. Jacob works when he can, delivering meals for Post Meats. “I spend time with the dogs here at home. I draw, I read, and I mostly continue to write. I have more books in the works.”Looking to the future, he hopes to become a successful author, so he and Danielle can own “a piece of land with lots of animals on it.”“Danielle grew up on a ranch,” he explains, adding proudly, “I like to say she converted me from a city boy to a cowboy.” There are also children in the future, though the number is still in debate. My number is two,” he states, “but she likes to joke with me and say a million.”Let's hope this young author continues to publish a lot of books.Son of a God: Abandoned is published by Alpha Books and is available from Barnes and Noble, Google Books and Google Play