Interview with Mi Ackland
Published 2019-02-19.
What do you read for pleasure?
Mostly factual historical works. I'm particularly interested in the Wars of the Roses. If I read fiction is will certainly be a detective novel.
What is your e-reading device of choice?
Must admit that I always read hard copy books! Love looking at my favourites - stains on the pages will remind me of past phases of my life.
What book marketing techniques have been most effective for you?
I'm new to this, so I'll tell you when I've found a good marketing technique - hope that's soon.
Describe your desk
It's an old kitchen table. Lot's of space.
Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I grew up in the Worcestershire countryside. Some of the short stories which I've sold have had a rural setting.
What motivated you to become an indie author?
I've sold some stories to High Street magazines, but it's so difficult to get published that I thought it would be a fun venture to try publishing myself. I'm lucky enough to live near the foot of the Cotswold Hills, which means that I'm a handy drive to Sue Johnson's excellent writing workshops in Pershore. Sue encouraged me to try publishing by this route.
When did you first start writing?
I wrote short stories as a child.
What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
I love it when a story just writes itself! That happened with the very first short story I ever sold.
What's the story behind your latest book?
I visited a beautiful moated farmhouse called Lower Brockhampton near Bromyard, Herefordshire, in the summer of 1997. (It's actually the picture in my profile and called Honeywells in my story.) Instantly characters began to stir in my mind, but it wasn't till 2001, when I was back working in the UK, that The Sea Above Me the Sky Below germinated. I ran into a person called Harry Mace-Hartley, and the name instantly made those characters who I had first imagined crystalize. Strangely, Harry withered away and it was his cousin, James Mace who took centre stage. Life got in the way and I worked abroad again, hence the story took a long time finishing...
I can never visit Lower Brockhampton without imagining Kas Eton and James Mace; at the corners of my vision they are always there. The old property looked very gloomy in early December this year, but when I walked round the moat, I pictured the couple's summer kiss on the back lawn, the night they were engaged...
If you would like to see pictures of 'Honeywells' or the house where I imagine Kas living when she has married Geoff Clifford, visit me on Facebook.
How has Smashwords contributed to your success?
It's got my novel out there! I could have been hawking the text round publishers for years without it ever seeing the light of day.
What are you working on next?
I will probably write a sequel to the Sea Above Me the Sky Below.
Who are your favorite authors?
Anne Bronte and Agatha Christie.
When you're not writing, how do you spend your time?
Love long country walks with the dog.
What are your five favorite books, and why?
I love the Tenant of Wildfell Hall. It's an incredibly vivid book and psychologically very real.
Smashwords Interviews are created by the profiled author or publisher.
Books by This Author
The Sea Above Me the Sky Below
by Mi Ackland
(4.83 from 12 reviews)
James Mace is heir to a wealthy farmer and engaged to the girl of his choice. But an appetite for adventure leads him into the army of the Duke of Marlborough and a destiny beyond Europe on the slave plantations of the West Indies. There he will face personal and moral choices which threaten his very life.
