Terry Jackman’s debut novel is Ashamet, Desert-Born, an adventure fantasy
in an Arabian Nights world – or is it? (oh, Terry is really Teresa but NOBODY
calls her that) Otherwise she’s a mild-mannered English lady living in a pretty
village, not so far from the Manchester United stadium, with an ancient cross,
cobblestones and a duckpond. Don’t believe her? Check the wiki entry for Lymm,
or http.lymm.com or www.lymmvillage.co.uk/blog
and see for yourself?
Well,
that’s one version.
The
other Terry, apart from being an English teacher who grew up in a house without
books, was once the best qualified professional picture framer in the world.
Which led to articles, seminars and guest appearances, and ultimately into
fiction.
And
if you think that’s odd ask her how she sold her first three articles, and how
Ashamet got published!
Questionnaire:
Thanks
for letting us interrogate you! Can you
give us a go-for-the-gut answer as to why you wanted to be an author?
I’m sure there are people who actually
decide that but honestly I just needed to write. In fact my first articles were
my way of finding out if I could write anything worth reading. I hadn’t planned
on getting sucked into more for another ten years. I always wanted to write
fiction. I just got delayed enroute.
Tell
us (we won’t tell promise!) is it all it’s cracked up to be? I mean what are the perks and what are the demands?
The perks? You can live inside your
head for hours, days, years, where all kinds of fascinating things and people
have sneakily taken up residence. And you get to meet great real people, both readers and writers.
Demands? You need to get all
those fascinating things and people onto a page, before they nag you to death!
Which
route did you take – traditional or self-published – and can you give us the
nitty gritty low down on what’s that like?
I went traditional. Some of my best
friends have self-published successfully but I guess I don’t have that degree
of confidence, or nerve. Getting paid has always been my way of checking that
what I’ve written is good enough.
I’m not sure I’m the best person to ask about the nitty gritty of it though,
since for me it was enormous fun from start to finish.
Tell
us for real what your family feels about you spending so much time getting your
book written, polished, edited, formatted, published, what have you?
Happily my family have been very good
about my continual absences from their lives, to the point of humoring some
strange woman who actually can’t concentrate on writing if they’re too near. I
think that says it all.
Do your pets actually get their food on time or do
they have to wait until you type just one more word?
No pets these days, I’m afraid, but my
husband has learned to cook a lot more than fish fingers.
Are your plants actually still alive?
Ah. Only if I put them next to a water
tap, thus reminding myself to water them. Occasionally.
In
writing your book, how did you deal with the phone ringing, your family needing
dinner or your boss calling you saying you’re late?
Um. I have been known to ignore calls,
helped by the fact there’s 1] an answering machine and 2] the few people who
know my mobile number also know it’s wise to text. And I usually leave early
for work, so I can read or think on the bus then grab a coffee in town and work
on, with one eye on the clock and less distance to cover. And did I mention my
other half can cook?
What
was the craziest or insane thing that happened to you in the book publishing
process?
Oh that’s SO easy. As you may have
gathered I love writing, but I’m not good at submitting. I sent Ashamet out twice. One UK publisher held
onto it for a year, the other said it was “too difficult to market”. Ah, I
thought, it’s not good enough then, and shelved it. Yes, I know one is supposed
to send and send and send and… but I didn’t.
Only then Dragonwell Publishing
heard about it from someone else and asked if I would be “interested” in
sending them something! Instant panic and emails to friends, the best of which
replied, “Stop panicking woman, just send it!” and so Ashamet was sold, in ten incredible days. Truth really can be stranger
than fiction.
How
about the social networks? Which ones do
you believe help and which ones do you wish you could avoid?
I like talking to people, but I don’t
enjoy selling ‘me’, so a lot of my interactions are with people I already know,
like the British Science Fiction Association where I coordinate the writers’
groups, and swap crits, or NorthwriteSF, which is a face to face group for
published writers (something I couldn’t do when I started out). Or even reading
stories for Albedo One magazine in Ireland and giving some feedback. I guess I
like to pay forward.
I like to follow discussions too, on
Facebook or LinkedIn, but otherwise I think my favorite social media is now
face to face at conventions. I’ve met some lovely people that way, and listened
to and taken part in some great panels. (I’m actually a pretty good moderator,
being a nicely balanced Libra type.)
Book
sales. Don’t you just love them (or lack
of?)? How are you making the sales
happen for you?
Since Ashamet is my debut the only answer I can give to this is: I’d love
some. I do know some people have pre-ordered, which feels wonderful, and yes, I
will be pushy enough to mention the date in my regular page in Focus magazine.
After that… a Brit publisher had very kindly invited me to read as a guest at
one of their own launches in July, and another has offered to add copies of Ashamet to their dealer table. (See what
I mean about lovely people?) But honestly I’m really crossing my fingers and
hoping that enough people will read it and give favorable reviews to spread the
word. I’d far rather have other people say Ashamet
is worth reading than claim it myself.
What
is one thing you’d like to jump on the rooftop and scream about?
Scream, as in bad? The last time
someone asked me that question I chose the remark “There’s no demand for it”,
which I always heard just after I’d asked for something! But about this, I
don’t think I can complain at all right now. So far for me the whole publishing
experience has been a lot more fun than I expected. I might have muttered something
unladylike when we had to scrap the original cover art quite late in, but then
I think the new version is even better – so who’s complaining?
Okay,
too much sugar for you today! Here’s a
nice cup of Chamomile tea and come on over and sit under the cabana and watch
the waves roll in. Now…can you tell us
what you love about being a published author and how all those things above
doesn’t matter because it’s all part of the whole scheme of things and you
wouldn’t have it any other way?
I love that I’ve achieved this goal,
and that someone loved Ashamet enough
to ask for it.
I love having a publisher who
discusses everything, and an editor who kept making me laugh and wanted words
adding rather than taking out.
I love the idea that other
people, I hope, will enjoy reading Ashamet,
Desert-Born as much as I enjoyed writing it.
ABOUT THE
BOOK
Title: Ashamet, Desert-Born
Genre: Fantasy/adventure/romance/paranormal
Author: Terry Jackman
Website: www.terryjackman.co.uk
Publisher: www.dragonwellpublishing.com
Find out more
on Amazon
A desert
world. A warrior nation that worships its emperor as a god. But
for Ashamet, its prince, a future filled with danger...
Ashamet is
confident his swordsmanship, and his arranged marriage, will be enough to
maintain the empire’s peace. But when a divine symbol magically appears on his
arm, closely followed by an attempt on his life, he no longer knows who to
trust. Worse, the strange attraction he feels toward a foreign slave could be
another trap. As events unravel, too fast,Ashamet must find out if this
innocent young male is a tool for his enemies--or the magic key to his
survival.
"Ashamet,
Desert-Born" is a debut adventure fantasy with an exotic Arabian-style
setting and elements of same-sex romance.
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