Commonwealth/Territory

Are you a lover of all things magical? A reader who can’t get enough of fantastic tales steeped in weird and wonderful Celtic myth? If so, check out Danielle Ackley-McPhail, a local author who has used her considerable imagination and talent these past eight years to produce a prodigious body of work using Irish folklore as a point of departure.

Award-winning author and editor, Danielle Ackley-McPhail has 23 titles to her credit to date – two novels, a collection of poetry and a host of anthologies. Her first novel, Yesterday’s Dream (Vivisphere Publishing, 2001; Mundania Press, 2006), is considered an “urban fantasy”, or as she puts it, “a slice of life with a twist.” According to the author, the book sprang to life in her head and virtually asked to be written. Like much of her work, this story is about contemporary life imbued with the magic of her Irish heritage - a way for the writer to counterbalance the effects of the “real world” on her psyche.  Its sequel, Tomorrow’s Memories (Mundania Press, 2008), was released in print in November after an original release as an e-book over the summer.

In addition to her novels, Ackley-McPhail has edited numerous anthologies including several in which she is a contributor. The most recent series, Bad-Ass Faeries (Marietta Publishing, 2007) contains 19 tales of faeries who could not be further from the cute faeries of our childhood. Straight out of Ackley-McPhail’s fertile imagination, the anthology is filled with stories that are gripping and fun. “These faeries are of a more macho sort,” she says. “Think Tinkerbell with attitude.” Though each tale is unique, inhabited by a variety of tough guy faeries such as the biker faerie, the mob faerie, or the gun runner faerie, each story ends with a serious twist that leaves the reader surprised and delighted. Its sequel, Bad-Ass Faeries 2, was released in print and as an e-book in May and has qualified as a finalist in the Best Anthology Category for the 2009 EPPIE Award for excellence in electronic publishing. At present, a third anthology of the series is in progress, introducing a whole new cast of unconventional faeries to the world, this time with a military theme.

Ackley-McPhail says she has loved to write ever since she can remember. She recalls trips to the library with her mother where she always checked out the maximum number of books. After finishing each one, she would continue on with the story, making the rest up in her head.  “Whether it was music, literature, or myth,” says Danielle, “I always wanted to know more. That’s the writer in me.” It was after graduation from Keen College, though, that she started writing seriously. She volunteered with an on-line site of would-be writers called the Amazing Instant Novelist, sponsored by AOL, and fortuitously, her writing attracted the attention of a publisher. The rest is history.

And a lot of hard work.  Danielle works tirelessly to promote her work. Besides doing her own PR and on-line postings, she participates in Sci Fi and fantasy genre shows and conventions, book fairs, store events, fairy festivals and craft shows selling her books (and crafts) and speaking to audiences. She goes wherever there might be an interested audience. With a sizeable following already, she is always looking to increase her readership.

In addition to her busy career as a writer, Ackley-McPhail has worked on the publishing side of the industry for over 15 years - for small press, several magazines and for the publishing giant, Random House. At present, she is employed as production manager for the medical publisher, Wolters Kluwer. She lives in South Jersey with her writer/editor husband, her mother-in-law, and three spoiled cats.