{"id":710,"date":"2015-06-10T06:00:38","date_gmt":"2015-06-10T06:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jameschambersonline.com\/blog\/?p=710"},"modified":"2015-06-09T02:41:22","modified_gmt":"2015-06-09T02:41:22","slug":"an-interview-with-author-and-editor-danielle-ackley-mcphail-part-6-of-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.jameschambersonline.com\/blog\/2015\/06\/an-interview-with-author-and-editor-danielle-ackley-mcphail-part-6-of-6\/","title":{"rendered":"An Interview with Author and Editor, Danielle Ackley-McPhail \/ Part 6 of 6"},"content":{"rendered":"

The final part of my conversation with Danielle Ackley-McPhail, casting an eye on the nuts and bolts of creating\u00a0anthologies, finding an audience, making the most of the convention circuit, and Dani’s most recent projects and ventures. Thanks all for reading! (Read Part 1<\/a>, Part 2<\/a>, Part 3<\/a>, Part 4<\/a>, or\u00a0Part 5<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

You\u2019re known as one of the most successful anthology editors in the specialty press, having edited, co-edited, or worked on nearly a dozen anthologies in the past decade and helped to launch them. How does your role as editor shape your work as a writer?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Well\u2026thank you again. Editing anthologies came out of my love of creating books, something I have been doing for thirty-two years. I get ideas, I find the twist, and then I am driven to complete the project. Mostly they come about because I want to explore whatever concept has captured my mind. Consequently, of all of the anthologies I\u2019ve been involved with in an editorial capacity only two of them do not contain stories I\u2019ve written. So\u2026in that context my editorial work shaped my writing by enabling me to explore some fascinating concepts as I found my tale to fit the theme. Conversely, in most other ways my editorial work just gets in the way. I find I\u2019m so busy dealing with production and administrivia<\/em> (not my phrase, though I absolutely love it!) that my writing often comes in last minute as I scramble to get my story done before we have to go to press. That, in fact, is why I only have an introduction in Bad-Ass Faeries: It\u2019s Elemental<\/em>\u2026 I just couldn\u2019t draw my story together fast enough and we were out of time. This is the first volume in the series that doesn\u2019t have a Wild Hunt<\/em> tale. I\u2019ve started it, but I just haven\u2019t had time to find my way to the end. I\u2019ll likely post it on the Bad-Ass Faeries website (www.badassfaeries.com) as a bonus freebie once it\u2019s done.<\/p>\n

\"BAF4_Elemental\"<\/a>Looking at it first from a writer\u2019s perspective then from an editor\u2019s, what\u2019s do you think it takes to connect with science-fiction and fantasy readers today?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh\u2026 this is so hard to say\u2026 everyone has their own tastes when it comes to fiction. And I don\u2019t think you can really break it out by editor and writer because there is too much overlap. Good fiction, originality, excitement. And as a writer I would add a solid connection to the characters, but that is me, as I am a writer of character-driven tales. Yet I know there are those readers out there who couldn\u2019t care less about the characters, they want the action\u2026 You know. I think in the end it comes down to one thing: whether you are in the character camp or the action camp, you have to make the reader care. It is as simple as that.<\/p>\n

To what extent do you think a shared connection with readers, such as common interest in fandom activities or a regular presence at conventions, contributes to succeeding as a writer versus simply publishing good writing?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know how it is for every author, but I know that I would not be where I am without my personal connection with my fans. I sell more books in person than I do on-line, with much more repeat customers because they know me. They can talk to me about what they liked and what they didn\u2019t, we can chat and hang out at a convention. Now there are a lot more authors out there that are wildly successful who don\u2019t do this, but most of those have a big-house publisher behind them feeding the distribution machine. And even so, I say an author that gets out and moves among their following has a stronger, more loyal fan base than one who stays up on their pedestal typing away, without connecting to their readership.<\/p>\n

In terms of bringing great fiction to your readers, how do your goals as an editor differ from those as a writer?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Whatever hat I\u2019m wearing, I love to create cool books. I love to share the unexpected and the wonderful with readers. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn\u2019t, but that goal is always the same.<\/p>\n

\"DAMInt_WordFantasy\"<\/a>You\u2019re very well plugged in to the regional science-fiction\/fantasy convention scene, appearing at several cons each year, often hosting launch parties for new publications. What advice can you offer to writers about connecting with readers, editors, and publishers at these conventions?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Talk. Listen. Socialize. Don\u2019t pitch or pimp or continually drag focus only to your book or manuscript. Build a relationship, don\u2019t just try and make a connection. We\u2019re all there to have fun in a community where we are comfortable and can relax. Being pushy or obnoxious gets in the way of that and will turn people off more than anything.<\/p>\n

Where should a reader who hasn\u2019t yet read your work start? Give us some suggestions from your short fiction as well as your long fiction.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Well\u2026 any of my first novels are good places to start, depending on the reader\u2019s taste: Yesterday\u2019s Dreams<\/em> (Celtic urban fantasy), The Halfling\u2019s Court<\/em> (biker faeries \u2013 urban fantasy), or Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn<\/em> (historic\/steampunk fantasy). After all, who wants to start with book two of a series. J As for the short fiction. If a reader is partial to science fiction it would have to be the short story collection A Legacy of Stars<\/em>, which contains the bulk of my sci-fi stories. For fantasy I have a collection called Transcendence<\/em> coming out later this year from Dark Quest Books. It contains a nice chunk of my fantasy stories. As for individual stories\u2026 that is so much harder to recommend. I just can\u2019t do it. Each one contains some kernel of wonder that I love, and all of them are so different from the others. There is no comparison, no way to guide someone to ease their way in. Best to leap in with both feet. J<\/p>\n

What should readers look for next from Danielle Ackley-McPhail?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh goodness! Who knows what mischief I\u2019ll get into next! I certainly don\u2019t. There are a number of on-going projects in the works. For anthologies I\u2019m editing: Gaslight and Grimm, Eternal Flame, The Society for the Preservation of CJ Henderson,<\/em> and The Transdimensional Adventures of the Miracle Mead Men<\/em>. Those I\u2019ve contributed stories to that are coming out this year are: Dance Like a Monkey<\/em>, Athena\u2019s Daughters, Hellfire Lounge 4: Reflections of Evil, <\/em>and Lucky 13<\/em>. Novels I\u2019m working on are The High King\u2019s Fool: A Bad-Ass Faerie Tale, Daire\u2019s Devils<\/em> (military science fiction), an as-yet unnamed sequel to Baba Ali<\/em>, and an unconventional vampire novel looking for a new name. So\u2026I guess readers should expect pretty much anything!<\/p>\n

To follow Danielle’s projects, learn more about her, or buy her books, please check out her website<\/a> and visit her Amazon author page<\/a>. Also, look for her on the convention circuit where she’s a steadfast con presence up and down the east coast.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The final part of my conversation with Danielle Ackley-McPhail, casting an eye on the nuts and bolts of creating\u00a0anthologies, finding an audience, making the most of the convention circuit, and Dani’s most recent projects and ventures. Thanks all for reading! (Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, or\u00a0Part 5.) You\u2019re known as one … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “An Interview with Author and Editor, Danielle Ackley-McPhail \/ Part 6 of 6”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[91,1],"tags":[97,74,23,90,92,96,94],"class_list":["post-710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews","category-uncategorized","tag-baba-ali","tag-bad-ass-faeries","tag-danielle-ackley-mcphail","tag-espec-books","tag-eternal-cycle","tag-legacy-of-stars","tag-wild-hunt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jameschambersonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jameschambersonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jameschambersonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jameschambersonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jameschambersonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=710"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"http:\/\/www.jameschambersonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/710\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":750,"href":"http:\/\/www.jameschambersonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/710\/revisions\/750"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jameschambersonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jameschambersonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jameschambersonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jameschambersonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}