An Interview with Lizzie Mac

Having worked as a translator for many years, Lizzie Mac gave that up to write. She works at least six days a week. In whatever spare time she has left, she loves endless talks with family and friends, listening to music, baking, and watching films and TV series. She also enjoys going to the beach for long walks, especially in a storm.

---

---

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

Well, it was just “the book” until I had nearly finished it. I always knew that it was going to be a trilogy and that each part would be about specific family members, but never really thought about a title until I actually needed one. Then someone asked me what it was about and I said, “It’s about two families and everyone has secrets…” and I had my title.

How did it feel when you first saw your book cover? Or when you first held your book in your hands?

SCARY!

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

We owe that to my beloved sister, who got cancer and died. She had turned her life around some two years earlier, becoming a teacher after twenty-seven years as a fierce lawyer. From the moment she got her death sentence, she urged me every single day to stop waiting for the right time. On the days I was not with her to provide care, she would either call me or text me to repeat her message. She did that for nine months, then died. I decided to close my business a few weeks before she died (this took about a year to complete) and began to write one month after her death.

She and I have always been extremely close, speaking a language of our own and all. She is still very much a piece of me, and she is all over Family Secrets!

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

I was a translator and built a translation agency with some 1,200 freelance translators over thirty-four years. There was no plan or goal, I simply worked hard, treated translators with respect, and paid them well, which was extremely rare in the industry, and so translators and clients wanted to join me

One of my sons joined the company in 2014 and added a content marketing department, which was quite successful. We worked with a wonderful office crew of eight … and then my sister called to tell me she had some bad news.

What was the most rewarding/meaningful part of publishing your book?

Sorry to be so boring, but that was my sister again. I had begun to write immediately after she died, trying to fit writing into my work at the office, still sharing my office with three colleagues and more colleagues in other rooms. When the book was finished, a year later, the translation agency had finally closed, although several clients still refused to accept that and continued to send work for another year.

I burned my bridges. The most meaningful part of publishing this book is the fact that I owe it to the one person who always knew that becoming an author was what I should have done ages ago. The sister who made it her final mission on earth to persuade me to do it.

If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?

Oh, the list could go on for two days … Here are just a few favourites:

Can’t Stop the Feeling! (Justin Timberlake)

Uptown Funk (Mark Ronson, Bruno Mars)

Happy (Pharrell Williams)

Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (Elton John, Kiki Dee)

Old and Wise (The Alan Parsons Project)

Piano Man (Billy Joel)

Respect (Aretha Franklin)

Eye of the Tiger (Survivor)

I Want to Know What Love Is (Foreigner)

We Are Family (Sister Sledge)

There Must Be An Angel (Eurythmics)

I Feel the Earth Move (Carole King)

What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?

Hah! One thing I took away from it myself is that love, loyalty, and friendliness make for a better vibe in people’s lives than competition, rivalry, and anger. I learned this as a business owner in a rather competitive world and used it in Family Secrets.

I hope that readers take away whatever they need most in their lives!

What creative projects are you currently working on?

I’m working on part two of the Clover Clan. It’s provisionally called New Beginnings.

The Dutch version of Family Secrets will be published in late October—plenty of work to do.

How was working with Atmosphere Press? What would you tell other writers who want to publish?

The process at Atmosphere Press is perfectly set up; the people are professional, kind, and enthusiastic. I just wish there were a few people who oversee the process one layer up, as it were. If I knew a writer who was looking to publish, I would first make sure they knew what they were signing up for, and if I were sure they wanted to go hybrid, I would certainly recommend Atmosphere.

---

Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.