Protagonist with cerebral palsy vs. a zombie apocalypse
The survivor might surprise you in local author’s first novel
by Mary Jo David
Worried about how you would ever survive a zombie apocalypse? Not me! I know exactly what I’d do. I would immediately seek out published author and Gregory resident Melissa McPherson. After all, she’s written and published a novel on the subject!
“The Lesser Remain” is McPherson’s third novel, but the first to be published. Between her best friend Charles and her twin sister Angela, she had no choice but to publish this novel. They both assured her it was a fantastic story and too good to keep to herself “locked away in a drawer somewhere.”
McPherson describes the “The Lesser Remain” as a survival story for those of us who would typically be left for dead. And according to the author, the story’s protagonist, Eric, is the last person anyone would expect to survive a zombie apocalypse.
She explains, “Born with cerebral palsy, Eric is used to fighting for a place in a world that doesn’t want him. Now, he faces the end of that world and an even bigger problem—the dead. With the help of his best friend Olivia, he is hoping to survive by making it to the one place he ever truly belonged.”
McPherson knows of what she writes—especially the cerebral palsy part. She was born with CP and recalls that, as a child, she never got to read books about people like herself.
“If a book did have a character or a focus on disability, that character was always what someone without a disability expected them to be—kind, inspiring, and innocent. I wanted to read about real disabled people put in situations I wouldn’t expect,” McPherson explained, and later she says, “Spoiler alert, my character evens swears in the book!”
McPherson and her husband, Tom, live in Gregory with their two children, ten-year-old John and Sam who is seven. Her parents, who also live in the area, are extremely proud of their daughter’s writing accomplishments. Years ago, after reading something McPherson wrote, her dad told her she writes like Stephen King. While he was simply making an observation and not necessarily paying a compliment, his daughter was over the moon. Turns out, King is McPherson’s favorite author!
The author laughs when she says that when her mom stops by the Stockbridge Library, she always make it a point to see if the library copy of her daughter’s book has been checked out.
Like so many personal accomplishments, “The Lesser Remain” owes its existence, in part, to the COVID pandemic. The author, who was in her 30s at the time, started writing the book in 2020, when, she says, “Everyone, including me, began doing the things we had avoided doing for so long.”
McPherson, who regularly participated in the annual NaNoWriMo writing challenge (see nanowrimo.org) used that basic premise—writing a minimum of 1,667 words a day for thirty days—to get this third novel off the ground. But instead of taking just one month, “The Lesser Remain” took almost four years, and multiple drafts, to get to the publishing stage.
McPherson undertook the publishing herself, and that was the easiest part. From beginning to end, her book was published and available on Amazon in three weeks’ time. Once again, her friend Charles came through for her by designing the cover art.
At this point, the book has sold over 100 copies, which in the world of self-publishing, is quite an accomplishment.
According to McPherson, “Less than one percent of self-published books sell 250 copies in the lifetime of the book. I have sold 110 copies in just five months. When I first hit the PUBLISH button, I figured I’d sell five copies, if I’m lucky. But now when I see my book reviews in Goodreads, it’s really exciting to know that people I’ve not even met have read my book and enjoyed it.”
After assuring McPherson that her novel is about to hit the big time when Stockbridge Community News readers buy their copies, McPherson is busy trying to decide who should play the leading role when Hollywood contacts her to write the screenplay!
Stop by during A Day in the Village in Stockbridge, where Melissa McPherson will be selling and signing copies of her book.
“The Lesser Remain” was published in December 2024 and is available through Amazon or on McPherson’s website at melissamcpherson.com. Except where indicated, all photos have been provided by Melissa McPherson.
