Author Interview: Danielle Ackley-McPhail - Part Two
The conclusion of my interview with award-winning writer, Danielle Ackley-McPhail!
Leaping from Fantasy to Military SF, you’ve also contributed to the anthology series, Defending the Future, edited by your husband Mike McPhail. Had you written Military SF previously? Did you initially find it challenging to move across genres?
You know…I am convinced that my muse is schizophrenic. I did not have a problem hopping genres because I’ve always read both and I’ve also been an active gamer in my husband’s Alliance Archives Martial Role-Playing system. Since many of his play-testers were former military, it gave me a lot of insight into military science fiction well before I even tried my hand at it. Movies help, as does living with a former military personnel. Besides, it’s been said that technology sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from magic…which means I have a LOT of room to play with J
In the end, really, my stories are character-driven, so it doesn’t matter the setting so much as those I populate it with. The tech or the magic supports the characters I’ve come to love. Now true, the scenarios are very distinctly different, but I don’t really find it difficult to shift gears. I love the wonder and magic of words and playing with concepts I then have to sell the reader on.
Ironically enough, I have a better success rate with my science fiction than I do my fantasy. I’ve [knocks on wood] sold every single piece of sci fi I’ve ever finished. I would likely be a wealthy woman if I could say the same thing about my fantasy ;)
I understand that there is a second book pending in your Legends of a New Age series called Eternal Flame . What can you tell us about the series? Do you have a release date for book two?
Remember what I said about turning expectations on their ear? Well, we are putting our own spin on the traditional legends. See, everyone “knows” that dragons are drawn to virgins or gems or…whatever your cultural legends tell you, but they don’t say why. In Dragon’s Lure, the first book in the series we put our own spin on the “why”. Eternal Flame is along the same lines, but we are looking at Phoenixes and other eternal flame creatures. It’s been back-shelved a while due to health issues I had in 2011, but as soon as we are done with Bad-Ass Faeries: It’s Elemental, this one’s being dusted off. It probably won’t release until late 2014, though.
What can readers expect from you next?
Well, Dark Quest just released The Redcaps’ Queen: A Bad-Ass Faerie Tale, so that’s good for some immediate gratification J Here’s the blurb:
The Hunt Is On!
When strength becomes weakness…
And hope becomes doubt…
As the past collides with the future…hard…
Can Suzanne—Wild Hunt biker chick and one-time member of the fae High Court—stand strong as her world falls apart? She survived an assault by redcaps, an all-out battle with the High King’s armies, and her first encounter with roller derby… but how will she fare against her inner demons? Caught in the midst of a transformation she scarcely realizes and does not understand, her hard-won convictions are tested as never before.
Suzanne is left with only one question—what if those convictions are wrong?
The truth could mean the difference between saving her sanity and losing her soul…
_____________________________
In the more distant future I’m told I have to start working on The High King’s Fool, the sequel to Redcaps’ Queen. Also I have to put together my solo Fantasy collection: On Darkness and Light. Beyond that, I’m working on a Daire’s Devils novel in my predominant military sf universe, and an unconventional vampire novel that is currently unnamed. I could keep going…but who knows how long it will take me to get that much done.
What does Danielle Ackley-McPhail do when she isn’t writing?
Groan! This entry could be longer than all the others put together. Let’s just say, oversleeping isn’t one of those things.
I typeset and do promotional work for Dark Quest Books, I sew and make costume horns, I work for a medical publisher for my day job, and I torment my husband endlessly. Whenever I’m not doing any of those, I read or play Words with Friends or Scramble with Friends.
Leaping from Fantasy to Military SF, you’ve also contributed to the anthology series, Defending the Future, edited by your husband Mike McPhail. Had you written Military SF previously? Did you initially find it challenging to move across genres?
You know…I am convinced that my muse is schizophrenic. I did not have a problem hopping genres because I’ve always read both and I’ve also been an active gamer in my husband’s Alliance Archives Martial Role-Playing system. Since many of his play-testers were former military, it gave me a lot of insight into military science fiction well before I even tried my hand at it. Movies help, as does living with a former military personnel. Besides, it’s been said that technology sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from magic…which means I have a LOT of room to play with J
In the end, really, my stories are character-driven, so it doesn’t matter the setting so much as those I populate it with. The tech or the magic supports the characters I’ve come to love. Now true, the scenarios are very distinctly different, but I don’t really find it difficult to shift gears. I love the wonder and magic of words and playing with concepts I then have to sell the reader on.
Ironically enough, I have a better success rate with my science fiction than I do my fantasy. I’ve [knocks on wood] sold every single piece of sci fi I’ve ever finished. I would likely be a wealthy woman if I could say the same thing about my fantasy ;)
I understand that there is a second book pending in your Legends of a New Age series called Eternal Flame . What can you tell us about the series? Do you have a release date for book two?
Remember what I said about turning expectations on their ear? Well, we are putting our own spin on the traditional legends. See, everyone “knows” that dragons are drawn to virgins or gems or…whatever your cultural legends tell you, but they don’t say why. In Dragon’s Lure, the first book in the series we put our own spin on the “why”. Eternal Flame is along the same lines, but we are looking at Phoenixes and other eternal flame creatures. It’s been back-shelved a while due to health issues I had in 2011, but as soon as we are done with Bad-Ass Faeries: It’s Elemental, this one’s being dusted off. It probably won’t release until late 2014, though.
What can readers expect from you next?
Well, Dark Quest just released The Redcaps’ Queen: A Bad-Ass Faerie Tale, so that’s good for some immediate gratification J Here’s the blurb:
The Hunt Is On!
When strength becomes weakness…
And hope becomes doubt…
As the past collides with the future…hard…
Can Suzanne—Wild Hunt biker chick and one-time member of the fae High Court—stand strong as her world falls apart? She survived an assault by redcaps, an all-out battle with the High King’s armies, and her first encounter with roller derby… but how will she fare against her inner demons? Caught in the midst of a transformation she scarcely realizes and does not understand, her hard-won convictions are tested as never before.
Suzanne is left with only one question—what if those convictions are wrong?
The truth could mean the difference between saving her sanity and losing her soul…
_____________________________
In the more distant future I’m told I have to start working on The High King’s Fool, the sequel to Redcaps’ Queen. Also I have to put together my solo Fantasy collection: On Darkness and Light. Beyond that, I’m working on a Daire’s Devils novel in my predominant military sf universe, and an unconventional vampire novel that is currently unnamed. I could keep going…but who knows how long it will take me to get that much done.
What does Danielle Ackley-McPhail do when she isn’t writing?
Groan! This entry could be longer than all the others put together. Let’s just say, oversleeping isn’t one of those things.
I typeset and do promotional work for Dark Quest Books, I sew and make costume horns, I work for a medical publisher for my day job, and I torment my husband endlessly. Whenever I’m not doing any of those, I read or play Words with Friends or Scramble with Friends.
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