A new book for youth is on the shelves from a former Foam Lake area author.
Unlimited, is the second book in the Milligan Creek series from Kevin Miller who grew up on a farm just outside of Foam Lake, SK.
Upon graduation Miller moved to Abbotsford, BC, and has since lived in Vancouver, Waterloo, ON, Meadow Lake, SK, and currently resides Kimberley, BC.
“I would love to move back to Saskatchewan, but at this point, my family is pretty established out here,” Miller told Yorkton This Week. “However, the good thing about writing this series is that is has allowed me to tour extensively across Saskatchewan, doing writing workshops at dozens of schools across the province.”
Writing is Miller’s career, extending well beyond the two Milligan Creek books.
“I’ve worked as a writer, editor, and filmmaker for the past 22 years,” he explained. “My career started with self-publishing my first book, ‘The Tree Planter’s Survival Guide,’ which was a book that showed people how to get a job tree planting and survive the summer. Tree planting is known as one of the most difficult summer jobs for college students. I did it for two summers before writing my book.
“My first official job as a writer was with Northern Pride newspaper in Meadow Lake, SK. I worked there for just under a year before I moved to BC and got a job with Lightwave Publishing. I quickly moved from editorial assistant to staff writer, where I was involved in numerous books.
“When that company folded, I became a freelance writer and editor. Altogether as a writer and editor, I’ve been involved in over 120 books.
“Then an opportunity came up to work in the film industry. I developed a script for a low-budget horror film called After ... with director David L. Cunningham, and the film was released in 2006. From there, I was involved in a series of feature-length documentaries and feature films, including Expelled with Ben Stein and Monumental with Kirk Cameron.
“I also wrote, produced, and directed my own feature-length documentary, Hellbound?, which was shown in theaters across North America. It also aired on Netflix and the Documentary Channel.”
It has been a varied career, with a path finally leading to the idea for his Milligan Creek books.
“Over the past few years, I’ve been more focused on writing, particularly my own projects,” said Miller. “My main focus is the Milligan Creek series, which is aimed at readers ages 9-12. It’s a fun series of adventure novels set in a fictional version of Foam Lake. Over the past year, I have also released a children’s picture book (The Moody Bee) and a companion book to Hellbound? called Hellrazed? I’m also about to release the first installment in a graphic novel project, Meth: The Immortal.”
Miller notes his long career has been largely a learn-on-the-go one.
“I like to joke that I don’t have any professional qualifications for anything I do for a living,” he said. “Everything I do, I learned by doing it and from studying or working alongside others.
“That said, I have two bachelor’s degrees -- one in social development studies and one in religious studies -- and I got halfway through my master’s degree (epistemology), but I’ve never taken any formal training in writing, editing, or filmmaking. I wish I had gone to film school, but the education I took, which focused on sociology, psychology, philosophy, political science, and philosophy, turned out to be a great background for a writer.”
In terms of the Milligan Creek series Miller said he drew inspiration from his old hometown of Foam Lake.
“The books are inspired by my own experiences growing up and my fondness for life in small-town Saskatchewan,” he said. “I’m currently working on the third book in the series, The Water War, which is due to come out this fall.”
As for his newest offering Miller is continuing the adventures of the same core characters.
“Unlimited is the second book in the Milligan Creek series,” he explained. “It’s about four friends who figure out how to hijack the radio signal being broadcast from the local marsh and use it to launch their own pirate radio station, which pits them in a cat-and-mouse game against the local authorities, who are trying to shut them down.
“The book was inspired by the Foam Lake Heritage Marsh, which used to broadcast a recorded message about the marsh.
“The first book in the series, Up the Creek!, is about the same group of a friends and a canoe trip during spring run-off season that goes terribly wrong.”
Miller said working with familiar characters within the series certainly aids in terms of the writing process.
“Writing is never easy, but once I established the characters, the writing process became a lot easier, especially in Unlimited, because by that point, the characters took on a life of their own,” he said. “Writers always have plans, but their characters almost always have better ideas. So, part of the art of writing fiction involves listening to your characters and then following them around and transcribing what they do. It’s a fascinating process, more akin to discovery than manufacturing.
“That said, prior to writing each book, I always develop a detailed outline. That usually takes a few months of writing and thinking.
“Then the first draft goes rather quickly. I wrote the first draft of Unlimited in about three weeks, banging out about a chapter a day.
“Then the novel went through several revisions over a period of about two months, although none of them substantially altered the overall shape of the story.”
Within the process there are always challenges which arise for an author.
“In this case, I had to learn a lot about prairie wetlands and broadcast signal interference,” said Miller. “Then I had to integrate that data into the novel in a way that was convincing and yet not so detailed that it felt like I was showing off what I had learned or trying too hard to educate the reader. As a writer, I always have to become a quasi-expert regarding whatever it is I’m writing about.”
So what does the author think is the best aspect of the book?
“The humorous elements,” said Miller. “This is a fun cast and situation, and I really enjoyed writing some of the more ridiculous antics.
“I also really like my antagonist, Henrietta Blunt. She’s the kind of character I like most – someone who is obsessed and will not compromise in her mission. You can mine a lot of humour out of a character like that. Also, I got to name her after a girl who knocked me out cold in Grade One, (she slammed my head against a brick wall after I called her a cow, so I guess I deserved it).”
In the end Miller is more than satisfied with Unlimited as a finished book.
“I feel like Unlimited is the best thing I’ve ever written,” he said. “I don’t say that in a prideful way. It just feels like it was the first time something turned out even better than what I had envisioned in my head. It’s a rare thing, and I attribute most of that to the characters, who, as I said, tend to take on a life of their own. I think the story is a lot of fun, and I’m really excited to get the book out into the world.”
And more tales from Milligan Creek are planned.
“I’m currently working on book three, The Water War, which was inspired by a story I read in the Yorkton Enterprise newspaper when I was in Grade Eight. In fact, I still have newspaper the clipping. It’s about an over-the-top game of “Assassin” that breaks out over the summer, all due to the sudden arrival of a beautiful girl.
You can find out more about the author and the book series at www.kevinmillerxi.com.
