Mary Smith

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live in a very beautiful part of Scotland, down in the south west, not far from Gretna Green, one of the most popular and romantic wedding venues in the world.

I have written two books (three if we count the one languishing in a drawer, which I think of as my practice piece!): one is a novel and one, Drunk Chickens and Burnt Macaroni: Real Stories of Afghan Women is a narrative non-fiction account of time I spent working in Afghanistan.

The novel, No More Mulberries, is also set mainly in Afghanistan.

I had the privilege of working for several years on health projects in Afghanistan, which was an amazing experience. I wanted to people back home to meet the women I met and to share my experiences and so I wrote about them.

I have also had a collection of poetry published called Thousands Pass Here Every Day, which includes some poems about Afghanistan (it’s a country which gets under the skin!) as well as poems of memory and family.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Drunk Chickens and Burnt Macaroni: Real Stories of Afghan Women is the latest book – although it was also the first. It was originally published some years ago under a different title then I made a return trip to Afghanistan after the end of the Taliban regime and added some chapters to bring it more up to date ad it was re-published.

The inspiration for writing it came from the women of Afghanistan who were shocked when they learned my collection of books about Afghanistan nearly all focussed on the fighting, the mujahideen, the men. When they asked me what the books saif about the women they were not pleased to find they were more or less dismissed as ghostly shadows with no voice and urged me to write a book to show the west that they hadn’t got the right idea about women’s lives. So, I did. I think the women of Afghanistan deserve much more than to be depicted as downtrodden victims. yes, life is tough – soetimes unbearably – but most of the women I met are like women everywhere – strong, fesity, funny and human.

I wrote the novel No More Mulberries in between the two editions of the non-fiction book for much the same reasons as I write the non-fiction account – hoping to show what life, particularly rural life, is like for Afghan women. I added a British woman married to an Afghan, threw in some problems in their marriage and let them decide if and how they were going to solve them.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think so though I am a terrible procrastinator – many writers are. I can find any excuse not to sit down and get on with the job: feeding the washing machine, watering the houseplants, replying to emails, playing just one more game of solitaire.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I hate this question! It’s so difficult to answer. If we are looking at whose books influenced me to want to write than I’d have to say Enid Blyton and her Famous Five books and The Secret Seven. I so loved being transported to the world those children inhabited and the adventures they had that I wanted to be able to do it.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on a variety of projects right now incuding a commission with a photographer to do a book on one of our local towns showing in words and pictures the past and present. Dumfries Through Time will be available in the summer of 2015.

I am researching for a biography of a woman who was a pioneer in many way – engineering, car racing, business – but whose achievements have been forgotten.

I’m also thinking about how to use the material in the book languishing in a drawer. It is about Afghanistan but much of it was not included in either of my other books so I’m thinking of something along the lines of ‘The Bits That Were Left Over’.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The importance of word of mouth can’t be underestimated. If people enjoy a book they will recommend it to their friends (best if their friends BUY rather than borrowyour book). I believe reviews on Amazon also help.

I have only just realised there are sites like awesomegang.com which help authors promote their books. I have American writer Jackie Weger to thank for nudging me in the right direction.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read. Read lots and read widely. I’m astounded when I hear writers say they don’t have time to read or make an excuse they don’t want to be influenced by or inadvertently plagiarise other writers. Nonsense – writers need to read.

Be persistent, be open to criticism and be as generous towards other writers as yould wish them to be towards you.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
To look on the first draft as a rough draft. Get the story written from beginning to end without worrying if the bit in the middle sags or some characters aren’t doing what you want them to do. Get it written and then you have the raw material on which to work re-writing and cutting and polishng.

What are you reading now?
Charlotte Gray by Sebastian Faulks. A novel about a Scottish woman in Occupied France in 1942. She has been sent on a mission by a British special operations group but styas on after her task is completed to try to find her lover who is ‘missing in action’.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Keep on writing.

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?
The Enemy of the Good by Michaeil Arditti.

Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra. It’s slightly under 1000 pages so on a desert island it would keep me going for a while.

Voyageurs by Margaret Elphinstone. I read it a while ago and would like to re-read it as it is so beautifully written and incredibly well researched.

Author Websites and Profiles
Mary Smith Website
Mary Smith Amazon Profile

Mary Smith’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account