Letters to C.S. Lewis Created an Author

Adrianne M. Murchison - Atlanta Journal-Constitution

It seems fitting that a child who corresponds with C.S. Lewis for more than three years would one day become a successful novelist.

But author Mitchell Graham established a career in trial law and then neuropsychology long before he decided to try writing fiction. Perhaps his exchange of letters with the late author in the 1960s planted the seed.

Graham, now 58, has finished his fourth novel, a mystery thriller titled "Majestic Descending".

"I had no great desire to become a writer," says Graham, a New York City native. "I was only trying to write a book to amuse the kids."

In 2000, Graham penned his first novel, "The Fifth Ring," which introduced a fantasy trilogy. He says he was inspired by his son, age 20 at the time. who had a hearty appetite for fantasy books.

It was another, earlier family nudge that had led Graham to contact Lewis.

The longtime Mariettan says that at age 9 his father encouraged him to write Lewis after he read "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."

"It was the best book I ever read," Graham recalls.

Lewis wrote him back, and their correspondence continued for more than three years, Graham says, until he learned in a 1963 letter from writer J.R.R. Tolkien that Lewis had died.

Tolkien picked up where Lewis left off and corresponded with Graham for four more years, Graham says.

The Novel: "Majestic Descending"

Plot: While vacationing aboard a cruise liner, Atlanta attorney Katherine Adams witnesses a murder and narrowly escapes when the boat sinks in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. She and a new love interest, John Delaney, an ex-cop from New York City, survive. Soon after, Adams realizes someone is now trying to kill her.

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Copyright 2012 by Atlanta Journal-Constitution