{"id":8694,"date":"2022-05-04T12:58:58","date_gmt":"2022-05-04T16:58:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/experienceparkland.com\/?p=8694"},"modified":"2023-09-25T14:14:55","modified_gmt":"2023-09-25T18:14:55","slug":"gordon-mckay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/experienceparkland.com\/en\/blog\/2022\/05\/04\/gordon-mckay\/","title":{"rendered":"Gordon McKay: First Time Author"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Parkland in the Valley resident Gordon McKay recently published his first novel, \u201cWhen Fire Strikes,\u201d which chronicles his 40-year firefighting career in Saint John, New Brunswick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Gordon says that the novel highlights his most memorable moments on the frontlines. \u201cThese were stories of my own,\u201d says Gordon. \u201cOnce I started writing, it just started flowing. It was all tucked away in the back of my mind,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He started writing the book in 2020 after his family encouraged him to do so. \u201cMy grandson and granddaughter wanted me to write this book so they would have something to remember me by,\u201d says Gordon. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t have thought about it if my family had not pushed me to write it.\u201d But once he got going, it only took him a couple of months to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Gordon says that most people heard of his book through social media and word of mouth from his family and friends. In February, <a href=\"https:\/\/atlantic.ctvnews.ca\/retired-n-b-firefighter-writes-book-outlining-his-experience-on-the-frontlines-1.5776721\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CTV Atlantic News interviewed Gordon<\/a> about his book, which created an even bigger demand. So far, Gordon has sold 210 copies. \u201cThe response has been amazing,\u201d says Gordon with a smile. \u201cEven strangers came by to purchase a book!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And if you\u2019re wondering what\u2019s next for Gordon \u2013 it\u2019s another book! \u201cI started a new novel on March 7, 2022,\u201d he says. \u201cThis book is based on fiction about a cruise ship on fire in the Bay of Fundy.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If anyone in retirement is thinking of writing a novel, the now published author has one piece of advice: \u201cJust do it!\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can pick up your copy of \u201cWhen Fire Strikes\u201d by Gordon McKay at Concorde Hall, <a href=\"https:\/\/experienceparkland.com\/locations\/parkland-in-the-valley\/\">Parkland in the Valley in Quispamsis, N.B<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Parkland in the Valley resident Gordon McKay recently published his first novel, \u201cWhen Fire Strikes,\u201d which chronicles his 40-year firefighting career in Saint John, New Brunswick. Gordon says that the novel highlights his most memorable moments on the frontlines. \u201cThese were stories of my own,\u201d says Gordon. \u201cOnce I started writing, it just started flowing&#8230;. <a class=\"read_more\" title=\"Gordon McKay: First Time Author\" href=\"https:\/\/experienceparkland.com\/en\/blog\/2022\/05\/04\/gordon-mckay\/\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":8695,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"table_tags":[],"class_list":["post-8694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-beginnings"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/experienceparkland.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Gordon_Mckay.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Wynne Van\u00a0Thielen","author_link":"https:\/\/experienceparkland.com\/en\/blog\/author\/wynne_van_thielen\/"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Gordon McKay: First Time Author - Parkland Retirement Living<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Parkland in the Valley resident Gordon McKay published his first novel at Parkland, \u201cWhen Fire Strikes\u201d. 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