Ross McMeekin is author of the upcoming novel, Pepperleaf, out in 2026 from Thirty West Publishing House, as well as a story collection, Below the Falls (Thirty West, 2024), and a novel, The Hummingbirds (Skyhorse, 2018). His short fiction has appeared in publications such as Virginia Quarterly Review, X-R-A-Y, Vol.1 Brooklyn, and Shenandoah. More can be found at www.rossmcmeekin.com.
1 - How did your first book change your life? How does your most recent work compare to your previous? How does it feel different?
My first book, a neo-noir novel called The Hummingbirds, changed my life in that it helped me to see and accept myself as a writer, more so than I had before. It was also gratifying to get the chance to hear people respond to the project I’d been working on for so long in relative solitude.
That first novel, though told from multiple perspectives, had the same overriding tone and style throughout it, where my story collection, Below the Falls, is more of a crowd of different voices, and the styles vary. Another difference is that the stories were written over a much longer period of time than the novel. For me, stories conjure up memories from the time and place I wrote them, so the story collection brings forth a lot of different times and places, where the novel is less disparate in the memories it brings up.
2 - How did you come to fiction first, as opposed to, say, poetry or non-fiction?
In a high school English class, I was introduced to stories from James Baldwin and Franz Kafka, among others. Through those two writers in particular, the teacher opened my eyes to how complex, nuanced, and powerful fiction could be, and that’s when I started to read a lot of literary fiction—and why I was drawn to write it, too.
3 - How long does it take to start any particular writing project? Does your writing initially come quickly, or is it a slow process? Do first drafts appear looking close to their final shape, or does your work come out of copious notes?
My process is one of fits and spurts. I write every day and have now for years, but for me that’s no guarantee I’ll be inspired. I’ve come to see the daily ritual as part of the process, even the times where it’s dry. Sometimes it’s more important to spend time pacing and thinking about a piece before tapping the keys. At some point, the ideas come, and I write them out.
I think because I move slowly through the first draft, it tends to resemble a final draft more than some other writers I’ve known, who fly through their first drafts knowing they might throw it all away and not just revise but rewrite the project altogether.
4 - Where does a work of prose usually begin for you? Are you an author of short pieces that end up combining into a larger project, or are you working on a "book" from the very beginning?
I’ve found that a work of prose begins with an image in my mind of a place. That sparks the wider story. Another way of saying that is place comes first, setting. From there the characters emerge and the scene is set into motion.
I have a novel, Pepperleaf, coming out with Thirty West Publishing House in Spring of 2026, and that book started as a short story and then the seeds of it spread out like roots into the ground. I’m becoming better at getting a sense of how long a story will be early on, but it’s still kind of mysterious. Once I start writing, and the inspiration comes, there’s no knowing what it might turn into. That’s part of the fun of it, I think.
5 - Are public readings part of or counter to your creative process? Are you the sort of writer who enjoys doing readings?
I’m a pretty quiet, solitary person by nature, so public readings can feel overwhelming, especially the time leading up to them. But once I’m there, I tend to relax a bit enjoy them. I think reading one’s work in front of others can be a help in the revision process, because there’s a live audience and you get a sense of what they respond to and what they don’t, in real time. But for me, I have a few trusted readers whose feedback is most important, and that’s usually the crowd I rely on.
6 - Do you have any theoretical concerns behind your writing? What kinds of questions are you trying to answer with your work? What do you even think the current questions are?
I tend to be interested in character psychology, more specifically how human beings contradict themselves. If examined, our contradictions can tell us a lot about ourselves, and our world. In that way, I’m also interested in honesty, and how it reveals complexity. The more honest I can be in writing, the better. I don’t start with questions I’m trying to answer, and often I can finish a draft or two of a piece before understanding what questions the story is grappling with.
7 – What do you see the current role of the writer being in larger culture? Do they even have one? What do you think the role of the writer should be?
I can only speak as a fiction writer, but I think our role can—maybe should—be honesty. Through fiction, writers have a chance to illuminate the nature of humanity and what isn’t being said, or realities that people are afraid to say for various reasons. The cloak of fiction allows writers to illuminate aspects of humanity and culture that might otherwise remain unsaid.
8 - Do you find the process of working with an outside editor difficult or essential (or both)?
I think having an outside editor has been helpful to me over the years. It requires me to re-examine my work and make changes when appropriate. Though I tend to be very perfectionistic, I’m also deeply aware that there will be parts I’ve missed or haven’t thought through. Editors force me to look at my work more dispassionately, which in the later stages can spur me toward a fuller realization of what I’d expressed in a less effective way. So you could say it leads me toward greater specificity in my work.
9 - What is the best piece of advice you've heard (not necessarily given to you directly)?
Show up to write every day. I’ve heard it from a lot of places, and while it’s not true for everyone, it’s true for me. It helps me see the process as one of seasons. Through experiencing the ebb and flow of it, I’ve been able to be less anxious when I’m less “productive”—in terms of actual word count, page count, etc.—and feel more enjoyment when I’m writing profusely. I’m at a point in life where my schedule varies a lot each day, so having a solid writing time that won’t change has helped me be more creative and have a more enjoyable time through all aspects of the process.
10 - How easy has it been for you to move between genres (short stories to the novel)? What do you see as the appeal?
I’m always writing short stories, even when I’m focusing on a novel. Stories are the primary tenants of my apartment building. I think rather than distracting from larger projects, they come alongside them and, in some cases, help move them forward. Both short stories and novels have a lot to teach each other, and often intersect. For me, for whatever reason, going back and forth between them feels natural.
11 - What kind of writing routine do you tend to keep, or do you even have one? How does a typical day (for you) begin?
I wake up around one in the morning, work until four-thirty when my wife gets up, then rush through the day of responsibilities from there. I wake up without an alarm. It’s not rushed. My most creative times are in the late night/early morning.
12 - When your writing gets stalled, where do you turn or return for (for lack of a better word) inspiration?
A professor from grad school told me he reads poetry before he sits down to write fiction. I don’t always do that, but when I’m feeling stuck, I do, and it helps. I also have found that researching helps get me inspired. But most often I pace around, and that seems to help, too.
13 - What fragrance reminds you of home?
Evergreens, wet soil, rotting branches and leaves. I’m fortunate to live in a place where I’m surrounded by trees, which I love, save the cloud of pollen hovering over us every spring. Small cost, though. I wish I smelled it more often, the smell of home…it’s funny how a person gets used to a smell and ceases to smell it, then leaves and comes back a few days later to discover that smell again.
14 - David W. McFadden once said that books come from books, but are there any other forms that influence your work, whether nature, music, science or visual art?
Music influences my writing, for sure. Language is music. I studied jazz as an undergrad, and I know its rhythms are a part of my writing, as are many other forms of music. A sentence is a melody and often also a harmony.
15 - What other writers or writings are important for your work, or simply your life outside of your work?
So many! Flannery O’Connor, Tom Drury, Pinckney Benedict, Elizabeth Strout, Charles Portis, Graham Greene…these are just a few on my all-time list of writers who’ve inspired me.
16 - What would you like to do that you haven't yet done?
What I’ve been doing over the last couple of months: writing a True Grit-esque novel taking place in the late 1800s in the Pacific Northwest. I’m drawn to that period because it was a time of great societal change, and I’m drawn to the place because I’m surrounded by the land and its history.
17 - If you could pick any other occupation to attempt, what would it be? Or, alternately, what do you think you would have ended up doing had you not been a writer?
I’d love to teach fiction writing again someday. I’ve always harbored the fantasy of being a fly-fishing guide, though I don’t think I’m anywhere near talented enough to do it. Overall, I would say someplace where I could help people learn and get joy from an artistic pursuit (which fly-fishing can be, too).
18 - What made you write, as opposed to doing something else?
I think because it’s what I enjoy most. I love to write…even the difficult parts, in the end, I enjoy. Before my grandmother passed, she told my father that she thought there was going to be a writer in the family. That stuck with me, and I’ve become that, and I feel a satisfaction that I’m doing good by her. But in the end, I do it because it’s what I love.
To go a bit further, I think there is something to the way that I experience the world that lends itself towards creative expression. Writing is a way of thinking, and something like a story or novel is the expression of a long, intense period of thought, strung out (usually) over weeks or months or years. I read that once the poet Robert Lowell was described as, “thinking in metaphor.” I think that’s true of a lot of fiction writers, too, but maybe more so that we think in story.
19 - What was the last great book you read? What was the last great film?
The last great book I read was Suttree by Cormac McCarthy, which I’d read years ago and then returned to. I remembered it as a dark, serious book—which it is—but was surprised by how funny parts of it are. I think the comedic elements of his writing are sometimes overlooked. The last great film I watched was another revisit: the original Rocky. The character development and rising action are superb, and the quieter parts of the film can be gentle and sad in a very satisfying way. And no one does a montage scene like Sylvester Stallone.
20 - What are you currently working on?
I’m drafting that PNW period novel I mentioned, and I also have a short story without an ending, or at least a satisfying one. I’m also beginning to think through minor changes to Pepperleaf in anticipation of the editing process before publication.
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