A · Novel · Friend

(picture stolen from www.sidhenadaire.com)

Danielle has the (questionably dubious?) honor of being the first editor to publish fiction I wrote – or, co-wrote anyway. J She is the driving force behind the Bad-Ass Faeries anthologies. In addition, she opened up her hotel room to share with my friend & parter-in-writing-crime, Christy, for the big release of Bad-Ass Faeries 2: Just Plain Bad at Balticon!

A wonderful writer and genius at marketing, I was very happy that Danielle let me pick her brain and gave a donation for such brain-picking to boot! I hope you enjoy the following interview as much as I do!

(Now, go buy more books! Especially Bad-Ass Faeries 1 & 2!)

(The picture saved that way - I did not purposefully make the book I'm in larger!)


(See, these are all different sizes, too!)

Full name: Danielle Ackley-McPhail

Preferred name/title:

Website: www.sidhenadaire.com

Other contact information: greenfirephoenix@aol.om

When you first envisioned your novel, Yesterday’s Dreams, did you envision Tomorrow’s Memories and the Eternal Cycle Series with it? Did you plan it ahead of time, or did it organically grow as such? What were some of your inspirations as you wrote?

No, I didn’t even know Yesterday’s Dreams was going to be a novel, until suddenly it was. It stemmed out of an idea inspired by an idle chat with a fellow writing site volunteer. It only grew to what it was because of first, interest on the writer’s site, and then a chance encounter with an “agent” that was interested. I did know early in (once I realized I was writing a novel) that there had to be three books, minimum, because one of the Irish myths I discovered in my research and incorporated into the story was a myth about three minor deities and their mother who terrorized Ireland until they were destroyed by the Sidhe. I clued to this myth because I had named my antagonist Olcas because it is Irish for Evil…well…the myth in question was about Calma, Dubh, and…Olcas. Figured at that point it was meant to be, so the story developed very organically from there with each planned book introducing one of the sons. Yesterday’s Dreams was Olcas, Tomorrow’s Memories brings Dubh (or Black) into the picture, and book three, tentatively titled Today’s Vision, will wrap things up with Calma. Now, the brothers don’t go away once their book ends…it a cumulative effect. In book three our heroine will have to face all three…and likely their mama, too. While I was writing I researched Irish myth and legend, and, as always, listened to Celtic Folk music. I like it very much because it speaks to me without distracting, and has a very magical feel, making it apropos for both the writing of fantasy in general and Irish-based fantasy in specific.

Tomorrow’s Memories is your newest novel. What were some of the difficulties in writing this particular piece? What were some of the highlights? How do have these difficulties/highlights affected your plan for the whole series?

Tomorrow’s Memories was written some time after Yesterday’s Dreams. That made it a little difficult to immerse myself again in the story. Also, since I had to wrap up loose ends from book one, in addition to following new threads, the scope of the book was much longer. It was a challenge to keep track of all the details. I also made the unpopular choice of using dialect in my story…not too bad in book one where you only had three Irish characters…TM has considerably more, especially since the action moves to Ireland quite early in the book! Then there is the fact that I myself moved in the middle of writing it, so that didn’t make things any easier. What encompassed only about six months of actual writing time took a year and a half because of the move. One of the problems I ran into is that a character I was starting to plan things for in the third book up and died on me in the second! Very inconvenient…Of course…book three will be much harder…it’s been seven years since I finished Tomorrow’s Memories, and I’ve barely touched book three at all.

The anthology Bad-Ass Faeries 2: Just Plain Bad also has recently come out, following the success of Bad-Ass Faeries. What draws you to the dark side of Faerie? What is it you want to share with this anthology? What warnings or advice can you offer anyone else looking to tread among dark faerie?

Well…you know, it isn’t really a specific attraction to the dark side of Faerie, it’s being frustrated with the fact that faeries are so popular, but also so overdone. In addition to that, popular culture has moved them away from their more traditional dark and doubtful roots and to a certain extend gelded them. I wanted to revitalize the Fae. In the myths and legends even the most unprepossessing member of their ranks was respected and treated with caution. There was a power there, fierce and dark. Not all faeries were bad, but they did have a warrior tradition much overlooked in the light of Disney and others that have pacified them in literature and the media. We wanted to turn preconceptions of faeries on their ear, return to them their dignity and power. Faeries are bad-ass, so we wanted to find the most unconventional, bad-ass endeavors to engage our fae. As we like to say, everything you never suspected a faerie would be, but should have… As for what advise to give those that want to explore the fae…by all means explore, delve into the legends and the myths, pick apart the folklore…and not just in the Euro-Western traditions…every culture has its own take on the faeries. Really dig in and find something the world has all but forgotten, rediscover the magic that only slumbers.

Your novels also deal with Faerie mythology. What about advice you can offer writers as they explore worlds of Faerie in their work? How do you handle or differentiate your faerie characters from humans? There are so many different, and often contradictory, myths about the fae. How do you decide how your Faerie realm works?

Since I was dealing with a Celtic tradition, I researched the myth and the legends for clues to my Sidhe…whatever tradition you want to explore, read the myth and the folklore, on focuses on the what/who, the other focuses on the how and why, for the most part. Myth tells you the tales of the otherworldly beings, mostly from their perspective, their history, folklore are the tales of those mortals that encounter the fae and how they protect or conduct themselves. Both are vital tools in how to build an accurate and realistic story around that particular tradition. For my own work, the Sidhe are larger-than-life…Technicolor… they are not restricted to the basic shades most of humanity must bear without chemical intervention…the difference is more in their presence and essence, than in any true physical characteristic, though, because Irish myth does not portray them as pointy eared or unnaturally tall/short, those traits are for the lesser fae, which I also introduce in the books.

You don’t limit yourself to simply writing and editing, either; you make a serious effort in the realm of marketing and publicity for the books you create. How important is that in today’s publishing world and what advice can you offer writers who may not expect to do this?

Oh…in this day and age, every author must be a bit of all the above. Those just starting just don’t garner the effort or attention that secure any significant share of the marketing and promotions budget at larger publishing houses, and at smaller publishing houses M&P barely even exist…sad, but true. Not to insult small press, but they just don’t have the man-power or the budget for it. That means a lot falls on the author, if they want or expect their work to succeed they have to put in the effort and footwork on their own. I’ve been doing this for seven years. I’ve only just started gaining any amount of acclaim/notoriety ;) It is a long, hard process that never ends. It can be disheartening and exhausting, but you have to either decide if you want to make a name for yourself, or decide to pursue some other interest, because otherwise, if you just sit back and expect it to happen around you, you will become disillusioned and cynical…you will also, in 99.95% of the cases, be disappointed. Family and friends can only take you so far…it’s up to you to engage everyone else…My advise, don’t give up, and don’t pay more than you have to. There are so many free opportunities for press and exposure, particularly thanks to the internet…get reviews, get interviews, and post your bio and bibliography on every database site you can find. The easier you make it for them to hear about you, the more likely you will stick in their memory and eventually their curiosity will get the better of them. Whatever you do, leave people with a positive impression of you…don’t be pushy…don’t be arrogant…don’t disregard sound advise…don’t be close-minded to constructive feedback, no one’s work is perfect…don’t pout…don’t whine…don’t give up…

Lastly, as this is a blog supporting rescue horses, can you share any stories about how horses – or equine creatures – have affected your life or your writing? J

Horses have always been a source of magic and wonder to me. When I was younger, I read whatever I could find that either had a horse in it or was about them. One of the books I re-read the most—and dearly wish I could find a copy that didn’t cost a small fortune—was Comanche of the Seventh an historic account of the only survivor of Little Big Horn…a horse, a medicine paint that the Indians didn’t slaughter because they thought it was magical, though they slaughtered everything else of the US forces, man and beast. As a young girl, I was always drawn to them…I had one step on my foot…and another offer me the only real opportunity I had to be a hero, all because of my own foolishness. I had a friend with a horse and a blind Shetland pony that I used to go visit…one day I brought my five year old neighbor with me (I was 10). Now my friend with horse also boarded horses, at the time there was only one…I think his name was Winston. She was leading her horse and pony out of the paddock and I reached out to pat the pony, my little neighbor was behind me. Anyway, all of a sudden Winston screamed and started to charge, pawing the air with his forelegs. Well, I had turned to face him and realized he was charging so I spun my back toward him and placed myself in front of my neighbor. The horse’s hooves came down close enough to scrap me down both sides before the horse wheeled and took off. My friend that owned the place later said that Winston was very protective of Sunny, the Shetland, and thought I was threatening it. I was very lucky that day…and even now respect horses, but don’t avoid them. In fact, offer me the chance to climb up on the back of one this second, and you’ll wonder where I went the next second…until you look up ;)

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