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C.E. McGill

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Born

in The United Kingdom

Website

https://cemcgill.com/

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C_E_McGill

Genre

Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction

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January 2017

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C. E. McGill is a writer of fantasy, sci-fi, historical fiction, and — ideally — all three at once. McGill's short fiction has appeared in Fantasy Magazine and Strange Constellations, and they are a two-time finalist for the Dell Magazines Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing. Born in Scotland and raised in North Carolina, they now live back in Scotland with their family, two cats, and a growing number of fake succulents (the real ones keep dying). ...more

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I just finished Our Hideous Progeny, I adored it! Do you think you'll write a sequel? P.S. I also loved your informative and amusing bio on your website!

C.E. McGill Awww, thanks very much! 😊 I'll never say never, but in all likelihood, I don't see myself writing a sequel to OHP - I had a wonderful time with Mary e…moreAwww, thanks very much! 😊 I'll never say never, but in all likelihood, I don't see myself writing a sequel to OHP - I had a wonderful time with Mary exploring the tumultuous world of 19th century science and dissecting my favourite (and least favourite!) themes of Frankenstein, but for the moment, I feel as though I've said all I set out to say with that particular story. Unless I think of an especially cracking idea, I think I'll leave Mary to her happy ending. I'm definitely not done with the 19th century in general, however, or with stories about queer expression and self-discovery, or elements of fantasy and scifi intertwined with real history and science... so I hope you can look forward to all of those in my future works :) (less)

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In the author's note of Our Hideous Progeny, you share that you originally felt the idea for the story was "ridiculous" and "the stupidest idea I'd ever had." My question is this: How do you push past the doubts about your ideas and write them anyway? And how do you manage to carry the spark of an idea into a finished, flowing plot, from beginning to end?

C.E. McGill Ha, great question! Even though it may feel a little bit like cheating, I find that one surefire way to push past my own doubts about a project and fi…moreHa, great question! Even though it may feel a little bit like cheating, I find that one surefire way to push past my own doubts about a project and find motivation to write is to talk about my ideas with others. As you point out, when I first came up with the idea for OHP, I thought it was ridiculous - but when I jokingly mentioned the idea at Thanksgiving dinner, my family loved it and demanded to see it played out. Given that little boost of self-confidence, I ended up considering the idea more seriously and realizing that there was actually far more depth and possibility in this "Frankenstein with dinosaurs" concept than I'd initially given it credit for. I find that having a trusted friend or family member or classmate or critique group to brainstorm with (and to demand to see that first chapter written out!) helps me realize, through their reaction to it, what actually drew me to the idea in the first place and why it's worth pursuing. In other words: if you haven't got any self-confidence at home yet, store bought is fine.

As to carrying that spark through to a finished plot, that's a process that I've still yet to master, and I doubt I ever will! Gene Wolfe apparently once said to Neil Gaiman, "You never learn how to write a novel. You just learn how to write the novel you're on." At the beginning, every one of my novels is simply a collection of Vibes and pivotal scenes stuck in my head, which I then spend several months trying to wrangle into some sort of structure. As much as I love things like the Hero's Journey or the 3-act structure or the MICE quotient in theory, I tend to write in a much more character-based fashion - make a character who Needs Something (whether that be money, love, respect, revenge, or a swift kick in the pants) and then set them loose upon the world and see what they do. In the end, of course, the most important thing is getting that messy, imperfect first draft on paper - because then, with each cycle of editing, you can start bringing it closer and closer to what you always imagined that first spark of a story to be.

Hope that helps - and best of luck! :)(less)

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Average rating: 3.89 · 9,717 ratings · 1,789 reviews · 3 distinct works • Similar authors

	Our Hideous Progeny 3.89 avg rating — 9,711 ratings — published 2023 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Fantasy Magazine, Issue 63, January 2021 by Arley Sorg (Editor), Christie Yant (Goodreads Author) (Editor), C.E. McGill (Goodreads Author) 2.50 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2020	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Our Hideous Progeny 3.50 avg rating — 2 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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C.E. is Currently Reading

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The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories

by Ken Liu (Goodreads Author)

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The Red Winter

by Cameron Sullivan

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光が死んだ夏 7 [Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu 7]

by Mokumokuren

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Nov 05, 2025 02:39AM

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Quotes by C.E. McGill (?)

“There is something romantic about feeding a predator from the palm of your hand, I think- a creature which might bite you if it chooses, but chooses not to. But how does one turn such awful beauty to lead and ink on a page?”
― C.E. McGill, Our Hideous Progeny

tags: beauty

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“Perhaps I am meant to drown after all. But if I do, then at least it will have been by my own hand.”
― C.E. McGill, Our Hideous Progeny

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“Do little boys ever grow out of being fools, I wonder? Or do they simply grow into something worse?”
― C.E. McGill, Our Hideous Progeny

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