Writers on Wednesday: Aishah Macgill
This week for Writers on Wednesday the multi-talented author, publisher, indie book store owner and the co-ordinator of the brilliant Australian Writers Rock! website Aishah Macgill gives some brilliant and very unique answers to my questions ...
Tell us a bit about yourself …
This would be
one of the hardest questions of all to answer. I was on an online dating site
for a while and I wondered why I only got ninny’s contacting me. Then I
realised my profile, that I wrote, made me sound like a twit, so...
I try to live
life with honesty, integrity and openness. I just love to write. It’s like an
itch I have to scratch, a hunger I must feed. When I think, I am always writing
a book in my head or making a movie. When I write a book, I have already
written most of it- in my head, but without as much detail. Does anyone else
think like that? If you do, my number is...
Tell us about your most recently
published, or about to be published, book?
I have just
completed the third book in a trilogy, titled The Bone Seer Paranormal Romance
Trilogy. In between the 2nd and 3rd books I wrote another book. I think that
was a good thing to do, it gave me some time to reflect and breathing space to
ponder where the trilogy was going. The trilogy is an epic story. It touches on
the subjects of life after death, the meaning of life, meeting a soul mate
again from a past life and my political views of the world.
I thought, it’s
my book, so I may as well use my views as the characters viewpoint. I enjoy a
bit of political intrigue as well. I was a member of a communist party when I
was younger, so I am a bit of an old leftie. I’m certain I have a long
forgotten ASIO file somewhere. I’m sure it would contain something like, “a
harmless flake, easily misguided and influenced by her more dangerous, commie
peers,” or similar. If it was today and I was young, I would be a greenie or a
feral, or maybe a feral greenie, the term greenie didn’t exist back in the
1970’s. But some of that old, idealistic fervour and anger, and the desire to
make the world a better place still lingers on in my psyche today; and it comes
out in the story line of the trilogy.
I also consider
myself a ‘seeker of truth’, meaning, a seeker of knowledge and enlightenment. I
have a serious interest in traditional styles of meditation and Vedic thought.
I love eastern philosophy, particularly Hinduism. I love that their gods and
goddesses actually have sex, not like our western dogma, where we attempt to be
so puritanical that we can only have a virgin birth. In one Hindu myth, a particular
god and goddess are constantly at it
up on Mount Kailash in the Tibetan Himalaya, they’re in a cave and it’s their
eternal love making that keeps the world going round. And if you interrupt
them, as one hapless, curious rishi
did, you’ll be burnt to ash with the glance of a third eye.
I have
intertwined much of my own philosophy into that of the main character, Isabella
Matthews. Only she’s much smarter than me.
I decided to
write the trilogy, (though it didn’t start out as one, it was only going to be
one book), as I had myself an inexplicable yearning for the love of a man I met
many years ago. I couldn’t shake it. I decided to consult a psychic, who told
me I had been in love with this man in a past life, that I had been imprisoned
and he told me he would rescue me, but he never arrived and I died in jail,
wondering why he didn’t fulfilled his promise. She said he had died but nobody
told me and that was why I had suffered from these abnormal pangs of want that
had no logic. So, I decided to write a novel based on this premise, of love
lost and found through lifetimes. I invented the time and place and the
circumstances, but I wanted to get across those incredible, but irrational
feelings of loss I’ve had to contend with.
Tell us about the first time you were
published?
My first book
was self published on Amazon and I did it all by myself. I struggled to find
out how to do it, once I figured it out, then I decided I would start a
business doing it for others who struggled as much as I did.
As writer, what has been your proudest
achievement so far?
My proudest
achievement would be finishing any one of my books. I have a long history of
not finishing things and procrastinating. You may never read this interview as
I may never actually finish it and submit it to Kathryn.
[I'm glad you did ~ Kathryn.]
What books or writing projects are you
currently working on, if anything?
I am tidying up
my trilogy, the 3rd book is currently being edited and will be published on
Amazon in a few weeks. Then I have another 20 or so books in mind to write and
I will decide which one I will finish first.
Do you have a favourite place to write?
I love writing
in cafes with good coffee and cheap food. I have a favourite but the owner, I
think, is a bit sick of me, so I’ve been spreading my love around town. I write
better surrounded by noise, out of the house.
Which do you prefer? eBooks or Paper
Books? Why?
I love both
equally. It’s like having two children, each has their own unique quirks and
features. I don’t favour one over the other.
I can read
quicker on a kindle and they don’t weigh your arms down when you read in bed.
You know how books get really heavy after a while and you have to constantly
change positions to achieve a comfortable reading pose.
With a
paperback, I can flick through the whole book, casually with ease and stop the
pages with the press of a finger. Real books are nicer for non fiction,
especially if they have pretty pictures.
Aside from your own books, of course,
what is one book that you feel everybody should read?
Hmm, I don’t think there’s one book like
that, one for everyone. But Shantaram by Greg Roberts is a fave of the past
decade. Before that I would have said anything by Herman Hesse. So anything by
Herman Hesse would maybe be closest to that idea, but more the concept of an
author that everyone should read. So read at least one of Hesse’s books in your
life. I can only imagine what they must be like in German if the translations
are still so magical in English.
Finally … is there anything you would
like to say to your readers in Adelaide, Australia?
I’ve only been
to Adelaide once, and the water was so terrible, so I feel sorry for you folks.
Is it still the same hard water? But I grew up in Horsham, which is not that
far from Adelaide by Australian measure, and we shared the same weather
patterns. Fuqing really, really hot and really fuqing cold. And Horsham has
terrible water too, so we have alot in common actually, only our town water had
dead sheep rotting in it. It started as a pristine waterfall in the Grampians,
and as it gently meandered through the paddocks toward town, in an open
channel, the sheep used to frolic by the banks and fall in and drown, and they
were left there. Along with an overdose of pesticides and herbicides sprayed on
all the wheat, it was an undrinkable cocktail. Alas, anyone who had blonde
hair, it was tinged green with the chlorine. Everyone had tank water to drink
though. No one in Horsham is without a tank or two in the backyard. Do Adelaide
peeps have tanks too?
In my trilogy,
the home town of the main character is Edenhope. People from Adelaide may have
actually been to Edenhope, at least once in their life. And in the book, I do
mention Adelaide, once.
Thank you Aishah--to answer your question, yes lots of houses in Adelaide has a rainwater tank, though it rarely rains here.
As always, we've got cool links so that you can find out more about Aishah and her work:
twitter:
@aishahmacgill
PS I am one of the many authors to be included in Aishah's anthology, SoulMate Conversations.
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