Meet S.M. McEachern
What made you choose Red Adept Editing?
First, let me say that its really difficult to find an online editor who is both professional and good at her craft. As a novice independent publisher, I invested in one of the bad ones right out of the gate. Thats when I went on an exhaustive hunt for an editor worth my hard-earned royalty check and ended up at Red Adept. Now I recommend Lynn and her team to every author I know.
Are your books standalones, or do they need to be read in order?
The Sunset Rising trilogy needs to be read in order. Although I give each book an ending, I also end each book with a new beginning.
What are your future plans for the Sunset Rising series?
The trilogy is complete; however, I put in a lot of research when I built my post-apocalyptic world. I consulted with experts (check out my website for interviews with a Wild Kratt and a nanotech expert) and drew upon my travel experiences, including a slate mine in Wales. There are so many things left to explore in this complex world, and Im planning out the PIT series.
Do you plan on sticking with young adult or writing in new genres?
The PIT series will remain young adult because Im writing it for the Sunset Rising audience. However, Im not at all apposed to writing in a different genre for a new audience. In fact, I have a work in progress.
What part of self-publishing do you enjoy the most?
If done properly, there is no self in publishing. It takes a teameditors, proofreaders, beta readers, and cover artistto make my stories marketworthy. That said, the very best thing about being independent is the creative freedom I have. I write what I want instead of what someone wants me to write.
You have some great covers. Who does your cover work?
Nathalia Suellen is an award-winning artist from Brazil. She says her art is motivated by death and dystopia, and she likes to show the decay of the worldso who better to do a cover for a young adult dystopia? Her art is amazing: http://commercial.nathaliasuellen.com
What do you do when youre not writing?
I grew up by the ocean, I studied oceans, and thats where I go whenever I get the chance. We also move and travel a lot as a military family, and it always seems like were trying to get settled. Im not complaining, though. Ive been to some really cool places, from Buckingham Palace for the Queens annual tea party to climbing a volcano off the coast of Africa. Its given me the opportunity to make friends all over the globe, and Ive learned that our similarities far outweigh our differences. (Photo: An international delegation of women who were also my neighbors for a year. Thats me in the third row, fourth one from the right.)
What authors influenced you as a child?
We didnt have a lot of money growing up, and we didnt live close to a library, so I was really dependent on my parents bookshelf and my schools library to feed my reading addiction, which resulted in an interesting mix of authors. My all-time favorite was The Chrysalids by John Wyndham; my second favorite was If Tomorrow Comes by Sidney Sheldon; my third, The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum. Then there was the Harlequin subscription my mom received every month as I said, a mix!
What advice would you give to a new author?
Its one thing to write a story, and quite another to share it with the public. Editing is never a step you want to skip, whether youre trying to find an agent to represent your work or publishing independently. Invest time and money in doing it rightyou and your book are worth it.
Where can readers find you?