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A photograph can tell the truth. It can also get you killed.
Ethan McGuire’s relentless pursuit of explosive stories has cost him his family, his integrity, and now–possibly–his life. While documenting the rise of white supremacist movements in Western New York, Ethan encounters a world of neo-Nazis, heavily armed survivalists, rogue FBI agents, and violent criminals, all with something to hide. But when a crew of ruthless bank robbers starts hunting him for photos he doesn’t even know he has, the stakes turn deadly.
As his enemies close in and his family becomes a target, Ethan must expose the truth–before it buries him. Shooting at Shadows is a relentless thriller and chilling cautionary tale, inspired by the author’s real-life experiences as a photojournalist. It exposes the darkness lurking beneath the surface of American extremism–and the cost of bringing it to light.
"One hopes that McMullin has further adventures planned for his unlikely hero." –Kirkus Reviews
"...a provocative thriller exploring highly pertinent themes in American culture today..." –Fredrick Soukup, author of Blood up North
I had a fairly unusual method for completing Shooting at Shadows. Most people don’t know that about three quarters of it was written in two-week blitzes once a year over almost a decade.
I started writing about 1999 when I learned that a group of racist skinheads I had done a story on five years earlier had been convicted of robbing twenty-two banks across the Midwest. Adding to my astonishment was my suspicion that they had started their spree while I was spending weekends at their rundown compound in Macungie, Pennsylvania.
Although my photography agent had success syndicating those pictures internationally, I felt this new information deserved revisiting the subject. I decided I wasn’t interested in spending the time necessary to create new photographs with these people, so I began experimenting with writing about them. I soon realized a non-fiction treatment of my story wasn’t as exciting as I had hoped it would me. A literary agent friend of mine suggested turning it into a novel. He told me my research was done–now I just had to use my imagination to make it a thriller. I loved the idea.
Fast forward ten years. I had shut my photography business down, moved from Rochester, New York to Atlanta, Georgia and started teaching photography full time at an art school. Major changes! I tried working on my manuscript a few times over those intervening years, but had stalled out at less than a hundred pages. With a fulltime job, I just couldn’t find the time or energy to write.
About 2012 I was awarded a fellowship at the Hambidge Center, an artist residency program in the north Georgia mountains. It was a remarkable experience. Each of the fellows was given a cabin in the woods and told the only requirement was to have dinner with the others four nights a week. Dancers, poets, painters, photographers, potters, composers, writers, artists of all kinds–those meals where always lively and inspirational.
That first year I worked on a project photographing portraits of vendors and customers at rural flea markets. I was lucky enough to be invited back the next year and a number of the subsequent years. The second time I was there I didn’t have a specific photo project to work on so, almost on a whim, I pulled out Shadows to see if I could get back to it. And surprise! I found that with no cell phone coverage, no TV, and no internet–no distractions of any kind– I was able to write again!
When I was home again, the same paralysis set in. But as soon as I drove on to the grounds of Hambidge, the ideas and the need to express them became imperative. Over the next six or so years I finished my novel in two week bursts and went through several drafts until I was confident it could be published.
I’ve since retired from teaching and I’m happy to report that without the energy drain of students and the daily grind, I can write at home. And I know that the follow-up to Shooting at Shadows won’t take nearly as long to complete! (Watch for Framing the Mist, the second book in The Ethan McGuire Series coming soon.)
Read an Excerpt
Someone outside began pounding on the truck in time to the chant and within moments it sounded like everyone who could reach the sides was pounding too:
“BOOM BOOM BOOM! BOOM BOOM BOOM!
“KKK! GO AWAY! KKK! GO AWAY!”
It was deafening, like being inside a giant bass drum. The thin metal walls of the truck amplified the beating and Ethan could feel the horrible reverberation in his chest. Everyone moved toward the center of the bed as if the walls could come crashing in on them at any second. The two holding the rear gate down were fighting the door as people outside tried to raise it.
Suddenly the pounding stopped and Ethan felt the truck moving. The crowd was so loud he hadn’t heard the engine start. But how could they get through that mob without running anyone over? Maybe if Kevin went slowly enough, they’d let the truck pass. Surely the police would be able to get there and see to their safety. Then he realized it wasn’t forward motion he felt. The truck was swaying side to side. The chanting changed too. “O-VER! O-VER! O-VER!” They were trying to turn the truck on its side. Ethan didn’t think it could be done, but with this many people it was impossible to know for sure.
Everyone inside moved away from the center and put their hands against the sides to steady themselves. It was like trying to stand in a boat on choppy seas. Back and forth, back and forth the truck rocked, gaining momentum every time. Ethan saw the men holding the door down lose their balance and fall. The door rose and blinded them with brilliant sunlight.
About the Author:
Forest McMullin is a writer based in Atlanta, Georgia. Earlier in his career, he was a photojournalist who specialized in photographing fringe social groups. Today he writes both long and short form fiction, Shooting at Shadows is his first novel.
Website: http://forest-mcmullin.com
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/forestmcm
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/forest.mcmullin
Substack: https://substack.com/forestmcmullin
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/forestmcm.bsky.social
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Shooting-Shadows-Crime-Thriller-McGuire/dp/B0FC2VR1KS/ref=sr_1_1
We appreciate you featuring SHOOTING AT SHADOWS.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the shout out to SHOOTING AT SHADOWS. I'm grateful.
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