Author’s journey from Boulder City to Ukraine

Twenty years ago, Bill McCormick made a decision and since then has never looked back as he’s turned what is a hobby for some into a full-time profession.

“I was living in Washington, D.C. as an executive recruiter (head hunter),” the 1988 BCHS grad said. “It was a good job but I was looking to do something more creative. I had previously been in the video game industry and that was creative. I had heard about this program in Manchester, England at the University of Manchester. They offered a master’s degree in novel writing.”

The selling point for him was that the directors of the program were all accomplished novelists in their own right.

“So, it wasn’t done by an academic who wished they were a novelist,” he said laughing.

In order to get in, McCormick had to submit three chapters of a book he intended to write. He sent them the beginning of a James Bond-like thriller set in Eastern Europe, specifically Latvia. He did his research on the country and was fascinated. So, he ended up writing a historical fiction novel and sent it in and was accepted in the program. He moved to England and was able to visit Latvia, which borders Russia and Belarus.

When the year-long course in England was over, he realized it was time to finish the novel. So, at the age of 34, he made a life-changing decision.

“I moved to Latvia,” the Brown University grad said. “I didn’t know the language, didn’t have a job, visa or apartment. Eventually I found an apartment and taught English on the side to pay the bills while writing my book. The more I learned (about Latvia), I ended up tearing up my silly James Bond-like thriller and instead wrote a serious historical novel about a family trying to survive during the 20th century in Latvia during Soviet and Nazi invasions.”

That book, originally titled “Red Shadows,” was eventually published by a small British publishing house who changed its title to “Lenin’s Harem” under his full name of William Burton McCormick.

The book did well enough that it caught the attention of the Latvian ambassador to the United States, who invited McCormick to speak about the book at the Latvian Embassy. That led to Latvia’s largest publishing company asking him if they could publish the book in Latvian. It proved to be a top 10 hit in that country.

“I was on TV, the radio, it was great,” he said. “It became the first book of fiction ever added to the Latvian War Museum’s library. I definitely had my 15 minutes of fame. People would recognize me on the street. I couldn’t believe it. Here I was, someone who came to their country, not speaking the language and then my book gets published by the country’s largest publisher. It was exciting. I definitely jumped into it with both feet.”

In total, he said it took about three years to write “Lenin’s Harem” from the first time he put words on a screen to holding the finished product in his hands. During that time, he lived in Russia for a little more than a year, learning its history. From there he moved to Ukraine, where off and on he’d spend the next 14 years.

Regarding the past two years of his second home following Russia’s invasion, McCormick said, “I left there about two weeks before the Russian invasion because you could see it was coming. I still have an apartment there full of my stuff. I have friends who have been dispersed all over the world. I have friends who have died. It’s extremely sad.”

Since the invasion, he’s gone back to Latvia and helped with an organization that assists Ukrainian refugees in Latvia’s capital of Riga. They ran caravans of vehicles from Latvia down into Ukraine full of supplies. They then donated the vehicles to the Ukrainian soldiers. McCormick said he may base a future novel on that experience.

While living in Ukraine he wrote “The Stranger from the Storm.” He would then go onto to pen “KGB Banker” with co-author John Christmas. While he has novels to his credit, McCormick said that outside of Latvia, he’s actually best known for his short stories (more than 100 in all), for which he has been nominated or won several awards for his work. They have appeared in a variety of magazines and publications such as Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.

His latest work, “Deeds of Darkness,” is his first collection of short stories. It comes out Oct. 29. He will be having a book signing on Nov. 29 from 6-8 pm. at the Boulder City Country Store’s new Speakeasy bar.

“Book signings never get old and I suppose there’s an ego boost that goes with it,” he said. “What’s rewarding for me is to write something that people want to read and to see how people react.”

When writing, McCormick said he often relies upon his two decades in Eastern Europe for inspiration. He said it could be a piece of architecture, a funny situation, something historical or simply the geography of the area he’s found himself in.

“When I find two or three ideas I somehow can fuse together, then I start drafting an outline of things that could happen,” McCormick said. “Often, I’ll have a great idea for the opening and I know how it ends but the middle part is often the most challenging. Some writers have writer’s block because they don’t have enough ideas. Mine is the opposite. I have found so many things that inspire me that I don’t think I will be able to get all the stories in my head out before I pass away.”

For more on McCormick’s work, visit williamburtonmccormick.com.