Interview with S.M. Mceachern

 

Biography

If you’re looking for either S.M. McEachern or Susan McEachern, you’re in the right place. S.M. is the author of the young adult series, Sunset Rising, and Susan is the author of the new adult novel, Shag Lake .

Prior to beginning my journey as an author, I studied and worked in international development and resource management at Dalhousie University and the International Centre for Ocean Development alongside one of the world’s greatest peace activists, Elizabeth Mann-Borgese, daughter of Nobel Prize winner, Thomas Mann. She deserves mention in my author bio because she was an enormous influence on my view of world politics–ethics that have wound their way into all of my books. My understanding of world politics has been further strengthened in my role as a military wife to an Air Force officer. He’s been all over the world, including some political hotspots for long periods of time, and occasionally he’s dragged me with him, snagging invites for us to places like Buckingham Palace, and soirees with world leaders and military elites.

In 2013 I decided to finally pursue my lifelong dream of writing, and it was the best decision I’ve ever made. I’ve learned a lot over the past few years, joining writing groups and honing my craft as a writer, as well as having the opportunity to work with an amazing technical team who started off as Vook, then transformed into Pronoun, and is now the ebook publishing platform of McMillan. And as enriching as those experiences have been, the best part of my writing journey has been the support I’ve received from so many readers. Without you guys, I wouldn’t be writing.

Credit : About - smmceachern.com

Questions

What inspire you to write your trilogy Sunset Rising?

First I want to say thank you so much for inviting me to your blog! I remember we met about 6 years ago at the Ottawa Book Festival when you were just beginning your writing journey — and now you’ve published four times in anthologies! Congratulations Any! 

Now, back to your question :) My inspiration for Sunset Rising was the result of quite a few things coming together in my life. First was my love of writing. I had attempted to write several books throughout my life — some romance stories and one children’s book on the horses of Sable Island — but my work and studies in ocean resources always took precedence and I never finished writing them. Then later in life, when I was a mom to  two daughters who also loved to read and write, I got into reading young adult books with them. Although I enjoyed the stories we were reading, I wasn’t loving the stereotypical heroine who didn’t seem to have any friends, her parents were always absent or just dumb, she didn’t have a job, studies or any interests, and she was instantly and hopelessly inlove with the hero. Since I was raising two strong young ladies, I wanted them to read about other strong young ladies. You know the saying, write the book you want to read? Well, I did. I wrote Sunset Rising. I wrote about a seventeen year girl who was a little naive, made mistakes, learned from them and moved on. I wrote a love story that wasn’t instalove — it was a love that grew out of mutual need, respect and trust. I wrote the story I wanted my daughters to read.

Why did you write a dystopia for your first novel?

Oddly enough, the story line for Sunset Rising came from my academic background. I had done a case study of the Arizona Biosphere experiment in my fourth year of university, and it kind of always stuck with me. It was a failed experiment because their carbon and oxygen cycles weren’t balanced (they needed an ocean!), and yet even though it failed the government continued to pour money into the project. The project’s biggest success was that the same number of people who were sealed into the sphere for two years came back out, despite the lack of oxygen and near starvation. In the end, life inside a sealed biosphere was viable and just needed some tweaking. But the question that burned in the back of my mind was, why? Why do we need a place to protect us from the earth’s environment? So I let my imagination run and came up with the plot for Sunset Rising.

 

Do you have a favorite author and why?

I don’t have a favorite author.  That seems kinda weird, doesn’t it?  The only way I can explain is that I’m all about immersing myself into the story, falling inlove with the characters (or even hating them!), and living in the world they live in. I want to feel like I’m part of the story, not just a bystander.  Although I have a lot of favorite authors, I don’t necessarily like everything they’ve written. And as a writer, I learn a lot about my craft by reading a variety of authors and  writing styles.

Will you write something else than romance?

I don’t think of Sunset Rising as strictly a romance. There’s a lot going on in the story, with the developing relationship between Sunny and Jack being a component of their journey.  That said, my readers have been split about that. I’ve had a lot of readers say that they liked the fact it wasn’t a romance, while other readers have been really focused on the love story. I like writing stories that readers can get what they want from them.

What advice will you give to a writer who hesitate to keep writing after being published? 

A lot of writers get discouraged when they published their first book and it doesn’t sell very well, or at least not as well as they wanted. It bears keeping in mind that rarely does a writer hit a home run with their first book. Yes, there are a few cases, the most recent that comes to mind being Delia Owens Where the Crawdads Sing (a book I’ve read twice already and gearing up for a third!). But overall, it takes writing at least 4 to 5 books for an author to find their voice. For instance, I often think about rewriting  Sunset Rising because I’m a much better writer now.

There’s another component to being a successfully published author and that is marketing. Uploading your book to Amazon or getting a physical copy on a bookstore shelf doesn’t guarantee sales. If nobody knows your book exists, nobody is going to buy it. Whether you’re an independent author or with a publisher, marketing is key to getting your book cover in front of the eyes of readers.

In the end, the best way to become a successful writer is to keep on writing! 

What is your next project? 

A couple of years ago I stopped interacting on social media, my last post promising readers a continuation of the Sunset Rising trilogy with the PIT series. I’ve attempted that series with a couple of different starts (seriously, I have 6 different first chapters … arrrggghh!), but as the wife of a General, I’ve been all over the place the past few years. We moved to the west coast of Canada, then off to London for the diplomatic life, then back home during the pandemic to be with our daughters. Now he’s retired from the military and I get to settle down and start focusing on writing again. I have a lot of ideas for books, including the PIT series, but the best way to choose what I write next is to just start writing and let my imagination go to where it wants to go.  

 

Thank you again, Any, for inviting me on your blog! It’s been a pleasure. I look forward to seeing what you publish next!