"Shadow and Bone" actor comes home to Wisconsin with debut novel

Seymour, Wisconsin-raised Calahan Skogman had been out in L.A. for years, and the acting was going well. He'd just wrapped the first season of "Shadow and Bone" (a Netflix adaptation of a series of young adult fantasy novels), in which he played Matthias Helvar. Then the pandemic hit and the world shut down.

"It was during this time of so many unknowns that I decided I wanted to go home," Skogman says. "I wanted to get back to my roots, breathe clean air and have the time necessary to reflect on all the madness that was swirling."

It was there, he says, among the bonfires, rivers, country roads, family and best friends of his childhood that he dove back into literature. He read and re-read his heroes — Jack Kerouac, Ernest Hemingway, Cormac McCarthy, Patti Smith, Joni Mitchell, F. Scott Fitzgerald, J.D. Salinger and others — and "fell back in love with the part of America that raised me."

One morning as he sat drinking coffee at his family's wooden kitchen table, an image floated into his mind: A 29-year-old construction worker named Cash is bellied up to a bar in nowhere Wisconsin, drinking a beer, when across the room he spots a beautiful woman named Rose.

"The story," he says, "poured out of me from there."

That story is now " Blue Graffiti ," Skogman's debut novel, which follows Cash and his friends Prince and Leon in fictional Johnston, Wisconsin. "Blue Graffiti" was published by Unnamed Press (acquired by editor and Booker Prize finalist writer Brandon Taylor , another Wisconsin connection) on Aug. 13 and Kirkus Reviews called it "thoughtful, measured storytelling with moments of tremendous heart." Skogman took a break from his book tour to answer questions about the writing life, Hollywood vs. Wisconsin, the land and values that shape us, loyalty, friendship, nuance ... and even magic mushrooms.

When you're stuck in a small town, sometimes the idea of something or someone — say, a character like Rose, or the idea of a road trip escape — can bust a dream wide open. But that can also become dangerous when you're attaching so much meaning to something or someone you don't necessarily know. What were you most interested in exploring through these men and their small Wisconsin town? Were there questions you wanted to work out or themes you wanted to see through?

I was definitely interested in exploring that dynamic of longing. That juxtaposition of attachment, loving where you are but dreaming of the unknown, the potential of what's possible. That moment in a young man's life where he must step up to the plate and take some dominion over his future. Cash's roots in Johnston are deep, as are Prince and Leon's. I wanted to explore those roots, the beautiful nature of their lives and their history together in that town. When Rose enters the picture, she really serves as this perfectly timed catalyst in Cash's life, as he does for her in ways. They meet one another at a crossroads. A coming and going. From the start of the novel, Cash begins to travel to the source. His family, his parents, his heartbreaks, his tragedies, his faith, his joys and his friendships, his brothers. His passions. His curiosities. His love for the details, for the people of Johnston, and for the complex fabric of the town that has meant everything to him. He travels to the source, and must decide where to go from there.

You were raised in Seymour. What was that like, and what made you settle on the fictional world of Johnston? What more can you say about the "ceiling of small-town American reality," as Jodi Picoult put it in her blurb? Or the ways in which either men or small rural towns are portrayed to the rest of the world?

Seymour was a place that offered me everything I needed as a young man trying to grow up in the world. The time and freedom needed to dream and imagine. The space to roam. The community that taught me how to show up for people, to care deeply about your neighbor. About loyalty and faith. About the power of family. A belief in goodness and honor and doing what's right. Hard work and determination and togetherness. I think there's a misconception sometimes about middle of nowhere small town America that these places are simple. That's just not true. They're incredibly complex and beautiful and steeped in the essential elements that make us human. I look back on my time in Seymour with such gratitude. The pillars of who I am as a man were forged there and have kept my feet on the ground as the world continues to become a bit more chaotic and mercurial around me.

You are an MFA-trained actor — how long have you also considered yourself a writer? Where and how did you learn to write?

I suppose I considered myself a writer long before I ever would have considered myself an actor. Writing has always drawn me in and provided me with the vital process of sort of reconciling and dealing with my life, with my feelings, with my unknowns and confusions, with every wandering thought, the heartbreaks and euphorias, these highs and lows of it all. I began writing when I was very young. I would write obscure poems or letters to my parents or friends or the girls I liked. Before I could really understand this about myself, I had already figured out that I could express myself better if I wrote it all down. Once I fell in love with that process, I never stopped. Writing has always made me feel better. It helps me to breathe, to release, to wrestle with things that spin inside of me and need to be sorted. It allows me to give life to my dreams, and all these feelings I've been given, for better or worse. It's essential to me.

Was there anything about your acting experience that trained you for writing a novel, and, if so, did you realize it before you started the book or after?

When I was getting my MFA in Acting at USC, my professors spent a great deal of time helping me understand what it meant to be free as an artist. The biggest key to unlocking that path was, and is still, failure. Acting helped me face my fears of rejection, my tight grip on things such as perfection and success, winning and straight lined hard work. Acting was my conduit to falling in love with a different way of life. A way that is much more fluid, free, curious and creative. One that doesn't care so much about failure apart from its usefulness to learn and grow. A way of life that chases all emotions and doesn't label them necessarily as good or bad. All feeling is great, they're just the sensations of living. A way of life that is focused on expansion and depth and risk. My mentors at USC taught me that to be an artist, you must fall in love with your life in this way. I'm eternally grateful for them. It's the same sort of outlook that I bring to the table when I write. That creative exploration in my life is the source for my writing. As I grow as a man in the world, my acting or my writing can sort of follow, hand in hand.

You've been out in Hollywood for a while now — what does Wisconsin look like from the rear view? What does it look like through the lens of outsiders, and did you want to challenge that with this book?

It's rare that I meet someone in Hollywood that understands the part of America I'm from. Mostly I'd say it falls into the "unknown" category. I often find myself lighting up when someone mentions the Midwest, certainly when they mention Wisconsin. In the rearview, it always feels like my state sort of calls out to me. It's almost like it misses me and I, it, continually. It's a place I can return to and reset, breathe. I can get back in touch with what means the most to me. My family and the people and the land. The green hills and the rivers. With "Blue Graffiti," I wanted to paint that picture clearly. I wanted to capture the magic and the indelible nature of it all. I wanted to be witness to not only the place, but those that meant everything to me and helped guide me and shape me into the person I am today. People who aren't familiar with Wisconsin will hopefully see an alluring landscape and a tapestry of people and life that is nuanced, abundant and beautiful.

On the other hand, what do you bring of Wisconsin to your acting work?

I was taught that an actor or an artist brings the entirety of their person to their work. In that sense, I bring the entirety of my life in the Midwest to the table as an actor. All those years of dreaming, of running around in the woods with my friends creating our stories, our adventures. The elements of my life there are present in the bones of who I am and my perspective. When I create, I gather up all of it and I let it fuel my work.

This book was acquired by University of Wisconsin–Madison alum Brandon Taylor, who many know from his award-winning books, including 2020's "Real Life," which was set in a Midwestern college town that sounds an awfully lot like Madison. What can you tell us about the publishing process, how you ended up with Unnamed Press and what that experience has been like? What did Taylor connect with most in this story?

The publishing process with Unnamed has been special. Obviously it's my first time going through it all, so I didn't know what to expect. They've been kind, thorough and inspired. Their love for the book was obvious from our initial talks and continued to be so through it all. For that, I'm extremely grateful. Their belief has meant the world to me. Brandon and Allison were sensational editors and allowed me to bring "Blue Graffiti" to a place it simply never could have gotten to without them.

Without giving any spoilers, while Jimmy's Place and the tavern culture felt very, very familiar (IYKYK), do you want to say anything about shrooms, which may be ... less familiar?

This question just made me laugh out loud on the plane. Used in the right ways, I believe mushrooms can be special. The spirit of life really shines through them and a connectedness emerges. That's all I'll say for now.

What surprised you the most about writing this novel? Do you have some of the same sorts of loyal friends back home that Cash has? What do they make of this book?

I suppose the thing that continues to surprise me the most is that it exists. When I first wrote it, I truly only intended to give it to my family and closest friends. The way in which it has been embraced a few years later still feels so surreal. My friends mean everything to me. I have so many back home and all over the world that I feel blessed to do life with. I'm a very loyal person, and once someone has my love it's always going to be there. Friendship is so powerful. My best friends are family to me. They really feel like brothers and sisters. That connection, that agreement to show up for one another and to love one another through it all is spiritual and so meaningful. When my friends read "Blue Graffiti," I hope they see themselves and recognize my love for them.

You must have a pretty complicated life with a demanding career — when and how did you make the necessary space to write this novel?

While life continues to become more complicated, as you rightly point out, I think I do a solid job at continuing to embrace it. I'm someone who definitely gets turned on by that sort of thing. I have a wide variety of passions and pursuits and I'm much more in the sweet spot, "in the pocket" as Cash would say, when I'm on the move or on the hunt, throwing myself into the world as much as possible and seeing what happens. I love spontaneity. I love surprises. With all that being said, I wrote the first version of "Blue Graffiti" in four weeks. It's the same process I've had with my two other books that I've written since. That first version of these novels is just a pure immersion. I get the hyper analytical part of my process out of the way and just go. I try to be as free as possible. I trust myself and let it rip. Only later do I go back to the work and pray that there's something coherent or moving about it.

You will continue to write fiction, then? What's next for you?

I'm always going to be writing. As I mentioned, I have two more books that I've completed drafts of. I'd love to get those out to the world as well as a poetry book. I love screenplays and a goal of mine is to get one of mine produced as well. We'll see. I don't spend too much time waiting around. What comes, comes. I like being ready for whatever and wherever it all takes me. My dream is to be able to do what I'm doing right now. Acting, writing, adventuring. I'll always be in love with it all and I'm excited to see where it all goes. I filmed a movie earlier this year called "A Big Bold Beautiful Journey" and that comes out next May.

Do you have any Madison connections to mention?

I love the Madison area. I visited most every year growing up playing basketball and going to the state tournament there. My younger brother has made various parts of that city his home now for many years, as have some of my best friends. I love that I'll always have reasons to return to it.

What's the biggest compliment someone could give you about this book?

Someone recently wrote to me, "Every word in 'Blue Graffiti' is love." I think that's about as good as it gets.

Maggie Ginsberg is a senior editor at Madison Magazine and author of the novel "Still True," winner of the WLA Literary Award for Fiction.

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