Advocating Through Art: H. A. Callum's Story of Writing and Family

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Living the Dream Podcast with Curveball. If you believe, you can achieve.

SPEAKER_01 0:15

Welcome to the Living the Dream with Curveball Podcast. A show where I interview guests that teach, motivate, and inspire. Today I am joined by writer and poet AJ. HA was a legal professional for 25 years, where he worked with world-renowned legal professionals on important events. And he was the editor at Paper Dragon. And we're going to be talking to HA about his writing and his career as a legal professional and the important things he'd done while he was a legal professional and what he's up to and gonna be up to as far as his writing career. So, HA, thank you for joining me.

SPEAKER_02 1:06

Paul, thanks for that intro. It's great to be here. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_01 1:09

Oh, thank you for coming on. Why don't you start off by telling everybody a little bit about yourself?

SPEAKER_02 1:15

Well, for most people, uh they know me as a writer. So that's what I am first and foremost. I um I'm a writer and author, and that's what I do from day to day, and that's kind of what defines me, other than you know, the bigger things in life that also define me, like being a parent. Um, but yeah, writer, storyteller, and also a teacher.

SPEAKER_01 1:37

I know that um you're an also you're also an advocate for updating uh child protection laws in the United States. So you're just uh a man of many talents. So talk about that.

SPEAKER_02 1:50

Well, sometimes uh life circumstances throw you into arenas that you don't expect to be in. So that's kind of like an unfortunate circumstance that I've found that I had to do. Sometimes when you have to protect your kids, you have to become an advocate, also, and that's that's what I've done. Yeah, you know, a lot of it's behind the scenes. There's plenty of people out there who are um more visual voices and faces for these matters, but I've learned to work closely with um you know representatives from Congress and my state legislature and also local policymakers. And I found that if you want something to happen, sometimes you just have to speak up. And you know, you you also learn that you think that certain things are in place to protect and defend people, but those things don't always function the way they're supposed to. So sometimes you have to make a little bit of noise, get some attention, and and cause and effect. You know, you get in there, you stir the pot, say, hey, this needs to change, and then that gets people's attention. And that's what I've had to do a few times, and you know, I'll continue to do it as long as I need to. Um, I'm pretty big about making sure people have what they need, and if there's something I can do to help them, whether it's someone, you know, in my life from day to day, my students, you know, I try to do that. I think I really believe in paying it forward and being there, being a good member of the community when you can. It's you know, we don't always know when we need to jump in, but sometimes it's pretty clear. And that was one of those circumstances I found myself in. And I'm glad I did it.

SPEAKER_01 3:42

Well, I'm definitely glad you did it too. So, as a legal professional, you you work with uh internationally renowned professionals on some of the biggest environmental pharmaceutical cases in the world. So, do you want to talk to the listeners about that? And um kind of let us know, you know, as much as you can about that aspect of your life and how did you get into that?

SPEAKER_02 4:10

Well, I was always a writer, always wanted to be a writer, but when I was younger, my parents said you had to have a career. So I I listened. And, you know, I kind of wish I'd I'd tell my students and and my kids now, follow your dreams. Because I know if I would have followed my dreams earlier, I would have had many more books out by now, but that's okay. Um, the legal profession gave me a lot of gifts, uh, a lot of great experiences. I met some amazing people, and some of those amazing people weren't just the lawyers and the judges and the experts, but the everyday people, you know, behind those cases. Um, I was involved in some significant litigation. And I used those experiences as a writer. Um, you know, there was a lot of tragedy in that. You see movies where these, you know, these legal thrillers and these big cases that, and when you're involved in it, you really get to see it's not just like a story. There's there's these are real lives. And when you get, I can't tell you how many funerals I've been to or invited to, or how many clients have passed away, and that's what keeps it real, and that's what keeps you motivated to keep going, because you know if you stop fighting for the clients, there's you know, it's it's hard to fight these big corporations, and it's not always big corporations, but there's just such a bureaucracy in the process, whether it's like environmental regulation or pharmaceutical regulation, financial regulation. So, like anything else, you have to jump in there and be the voice for people. And I was very lucky to work with attorneys who had that had that attitude. They were very vocal. They they believed in what they did. It wasn't just about winning, it wasn't just about dollars and making money, it was about change and making the world better, you know, one client at a time, one town at a time. Because I've been involved in some cases where entire towns uh were just ravaged by like environmental issues. I did a lot of work with asbestos litigation, and I'm using that in one of my stories now, kind of as inspiration. But it was just eye-opening to go to a town where every aspect of life, from the schools to the hospitals to the playgrounds, the baseball fields, people's gardens, was just contaminated with asbestos from a plant. And this happened in Libby, Montana, and this is going back over 20 years, but that was an experience I'll never forget, that level of its destruction. And that that kind of stays with you. And it was things like that that made me want to stay in the legal profession because I really felt like we were making change and helping people, and it didn't matter which side you were on sometimes either, because those that conflict between plaintiff lawyer and defense lawyers, it always opens up a conversation. And from that conversation, laws can change. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. You don't always get the outcome that you want, but you put the issue out there and you make it apparent and you let people see what is happening, and it's that uncovery, uncovering of past mistakes. Sometimes they're hidden, sometimes they're just forgotten. And kind of like writing, you know, as you move through a story, things become clearer to you as the writer. You know, you have a plan, you think you know where the story's going, but as you develop your characters and the plot, and you know, you add in things for uh drama and tension, it changes. And it's it's that act of discovery that you know the legal profession it was, you know, there's nothing like it. And you feel like you're on the forefront, and sometimes you are, and it's it's kind of weird being the first to know, if that makes sense. Um and then watching things unfold. It's kind of it is like a story. There's a narrative in the legal profession. You have to establish a narrative for your clients, for your case, and it's kind of like storytelling.

SPEAKER_01 8:41

Well, I know uh speaking of storytelling, you teach writing at uh Delaware Valley University. So talk about one lesson that you find yourself teaching aspiring writers over and over again.

SPEAKER_02 8:56

So one thing I'm always teaching my students is to not give up. And as a writer, I know that the reason why most writers don't find success is that this is a business built on rejection. You're gonna get a lot of no's. And if you just stop and give up, you're not gonna be discovered, you're not gonna have your chance. So I I make that clear to them, and I try to make it clear to them also that they can write, because I think a lot of us are taught to hate writing, and that's unfortunate because it becomes more of a chore than something that can be enjoyable. And look, it is work, I get it, but the way that it's taught is not enjoyable, it's painful, it's hard, it's something that's personal and subjective. And I have to teach my students how to overcome uh that fear of being criticized on what feels like a very personal level, and to separate the writing from the person and to find the people that would give you the feedback, the criticisms that you need that approaches your writing, not you. I think as people, we need to learn how to uh give good criticisms, right? Because you need to critique the work, but not the person. And I think that's a big failing in writing and in how writing is taught, and sometimes in the professional realm of writing, also, because it can feel very personal when you're rejected over and over and over again. Um, but you have to realize the other person that's writing those rejections, they may have to read through thousands of these in a month, and they also don't have the time to get very personal and very in-depth. So I teach that. Find the people who will give you quality feedback and listen. And then you can become a better writer. I know anyone can be taught to write and taught to write well and write at a level where they can become published. That is possible. The best writers are the ones that just don't give up.

SPEAKER_01 11:08

Well, I know you consider yourself a girl dad through and through, and family is your universe. So talk about how family influences the way you write, the stories you tell, and the legacy you hope to leave behind.

SPEAKER_02 11:23

Well, I mean, first and foremost, uh family comes first, right? So my writing schedule revolves around my family schedule. And I'm, you know, I'm lucky that I can work from home and do this and not have to juggle a commute with all the other responsibilities that come along with having a family. So my what I want them to see, my kids to see, is that I had a dream and I followed it, and I'm pursuing it. I will always pursue the dream of writing and being an author, no matter how many books I publish, because it is who I am, and I have a gift for it. And I want to show them if you're good at something and you have a gift for it, use that gift, use it to its full potential. That's really the legacy I want to leave behind. It's more, it's more the example of recognizing what's good in yourself and using it, and using it for good to make yourself better. As a writer, I'm lucky because I can bring some enjoyment to people when they read or make them think on something. I may pull them out of a bad day because my story may be a distraction they need, or it could help them work something out that they're going through. So that's you know, I want them to see that that I didn't give up on my dreams, no matter how hard things got. You know, we just went through it, wasn't that long ago, we were in the middle of a pandemic, and that that was challenging. And yeah, that impacted my writing because kids had to come first, and you know, it really slowed things down on the writing side, but that's picking up now. So it's okay to delay things when your priorities are where they need to be, and I want people to realize that. So for other writers out there, if you don't feel like you have the time to write, make the time. It doesn't matter if it's an hour a day, two hours, or just 15 minutes. If you set aside that time and you're consistent, you'll start producing. And that's I think that's that rhythm that you need to be in as a writer, that consistency, setting aside the time. It could be in the morning. My my writing times, they're always flexing depending on what's going on in life, you know. So you just have to work with life and roll with it.

SPEAKER_01 13:48

You know, talk to the uh audience about your writing, you know, tell us uh you know, uh what we can what we can expect when we read it and where we can get it at. Check it out.

SPEAKER_02 14:01

Sure. So you can always go to hacallum rights.com and there's links there to all the books, all my social media channels. And you know, I write primarily young adult fiction. But like books like Whispers and the Alders, they kind of speak to like the the older age range of that, and it's for adult readers too. Um but I like writing those stories that people could connect with when they're younger and really carry with them, just like the books that I've read when I was younger that made that impact and that they just stay with you throughout your life.

SPEAKER_01 14:40

Tell us about any upcoming projects that you're working on that people need to know about.

SPEAKER_02 14:45

Sure. So I've my next novel, Red, White, and Buttercup, that will be releasing later this summer, um, waiting on a specific date. And that's based in Philly. It's young adult, geared more towards the lower age range, um, because librarians and educators were telling me they were looking for books to fit that like that 12 to 15 year age range. But really, it's for anybody that enjoys young adult fiction, and there's magical realism. You know, some of the artwork and statues in Philly come to life. There's some historical characters, and it has, you know, some topical elements to it too. When I wrote the book, I finished it in 2022. Um, and there were some, you know, the book just it's been a while, but when I finished it, I didn't realize we'd be living in the world we are today. So it talks about some immigration raids and the erasure of history and being in Philadelphia. That's important because that was an issue this year with um the removal of all the displays about slavery at the president's house, the site of the former president's house at Independence Hall. So writing this book, I had no idea these things that the book talks about would be happening. So it's it's kind of timely. And you know, it's a celebration too of our freedoms and appreciating them and making sure they're extended to everyone like they should be.com. That's it.

SPEAKER_01 16:20

So close this out with some final thoughts, maybe if that was something I forgot to talk about that you would like to touch on, or any final thoughts you have for the listeners.

SPEAKER_02 16:28

Uh, my only final thoughts is I want to thank you, Curveball, for having me. And for all the writers out there, follow me on social media if you're feeling down, if you feel like you can't do this, and let's do this together, because writing doesn't have to be lonely. So jump on in and I'll give you a shout out.

SPEAKER_01 16:50

Absolutely, ladies and gentlemen. So if you yourself are a writer or you know of any writers out there, please follow Rate with you and share this episode to as many people as possible and get at HA on social media. Check out his writing and everything that he's up to and gonna be up to. And also to keep up with everything I'm gonna be up to as far as the podcast, visit www.curveball337.com and please share the website and the show to everybody you know. Thank you for listening and supporting the show. And HA, thank you for all that you do, and thank you for coming on.

SPEAKER_02 17:27

Thanks for having me, Curveball.

SPEAKER_00 17:29

For more information on the Living the Dream with Curveball Podcast, visit www.curveball337.com. Until next time, keep living the dream.