Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Let me just say that I have been at this a very, very long time. I’ve worked in publishing for over thirty years. I’ve been an author for twenty years and a publisher for six, with various related responsibilities sprinkled in between.
I have six published novels, Yesterday’s Dreams, Tomorrow’s Memories, Today’s Promise, The Halfling’s Court, The Redcaps’ Queen, and Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn (cowritten with Day Al-Mohamed). My newest, Daire’s Devils, is scheduled to release next year. I also have eight short story collections, Eternal Wanderings, A Legacy of Stars, Consigned to the Sea, Flash in the Can, Transcendence, Between Darkness and Light, The Fox’s Fire, and The Kindly One, and three non-fiction writers’ guides: The Literary Handyman, More Tips from the Handyman, and LH: Build-A-Book Workshop. I am also the senior editor of the Bad-Ass Faeries anthology series, Gaslight & Grimm, Side of Good/Side of Evil, After Punk, and Footprints in the Stars.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My upcoming novel, Daire’s Devils, is a military science fiction adventure set in a universe originally created for my husband’s role-playing system, the Alliance Archives Martial Role-Playing Game. The novel started as a series of short stories I wrote for various themed anthology projects. The first story was called Carbon Copy and it was for the anthology Space Pirates, edited by David Lee Summers. I had so much fun with the premise and the characters that I kept bringing them out to play whenever another anthology opportunity came up. Each story linked to the next until soon I already had half a novel’s worth of words. It took some effort to weave everything together and flesh it out, but it was well worth the effort. This is the most action-packed novel I have ever written.
In short, the novel revolves around a special forces unit assigned to an advanced flagship prototype that various corporate and military forces want to secure the tech specifications for. It is soon discovered that the crew has been infiltrated and Daire’s Devils come up hard against those trying to steal the high-tech designs.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I wear earplugs so I’m not distracted by background noise. Because I have tinnitus it is almost like having a built-in white noise machine.
Also… I am a non-linear pantser, so not only do I not outline my work in advance, but I also don’t write in sequential order. And yet, in the end, everything comes out tightly woven and consistent throughout. I can’t explain it and hardly anyone believes it (except for my co-author) but it’s true!
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love to read and have done so voraciously since I was very, very young. I can’t really point to any one author or book that has had a specific impact on me as an author. I would have to say every book I have ever read. See, I can’t quote grammar rules at you or even particularly realize when I’ve broken one of them not on purpose, but I have a very instinctual grasp on writing just from years and years and years of immersion. Now, that doesn’t mean I am perfect. I am the first to admit I very much need an editor, but I have a very good inate sense of pacing, flow, and structure. All of that is thanks to the many authors that entertained me over the years.
What are you working on now?
My current project is a novella for the cryptid series Systema Paradoxa. I can’t tell you what it is about because the series is featured quarterly in the subscription box Cryptid Crate, so the details of the book and the specific cryptid feature are carefully guarded until the crates ship. However, for those who are not familiar with the term cryptid, they are creatures suspected to exist or have existed, but for which there is no scientific proof. Examples would be Bigfoot, the Jersey Devil, Nessie, and other such creatures where they are reported sitings and lore and legend, but no evidence.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use the scatter effect. I sign up for every author’s page site that comes up and I maintain an active presence on social media. I also do three things for every book: 1) submit to Publisher’s Weekly for review, 2) schedule one month on NetGalley for review, 3) send copies to Locus Magazine. I also use Itsy Bitsy Book Tours when I have a little extra cash.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Consider this a dedicated hobby and be prepared to put in a lot of work and time before you get anywhere, if you get anywhere. There is no predicting what book will take off and there is no magic combination for making that happen. Publishing is as much luck as it is skill and opportunity.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never respond to reviews, or any other kind of opinion or critique, good or bad. Whatever the context, it can only reflect poorly on you if things go wrong and that can damage your literary career.
What are you reading now?
I am in between books at the moment.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Next verse, same as the first! LOL I always have projects in the works and random opportunities present themselves at every turn. I don’t know what I will be up to once I complete the cryptid novella. I have plenty of things I should be writing, but who knows which one will start ticking first.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
A boy scout or survival manual, a blank journal with pen, anything by Patricia Briggs or Anne McCaffrey.
Author Websites and Profiles
Danielle Ackley-McPhail Website
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