Today, I’m thrilled to introduce you to a truly intrepid lady! Mary Smith, who is another fine author from my writers’ group, eNovel Authors At Work, has lived in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Doing voluntary work, she got to sample these amazing foreign cultures and at some point, even more than she would have liked, when she found herself at the mercy of a man holding a gun to her head! Are you hooked? That makes two of us! So, let me stop blathering and introduce you to Mary and her work without further ado!

Scottish-born midwife, Miriam loves her work at a health clinic in rural Afghanistan and the warmth and humour of her women friends in the village, but she can no longer ignore the cracks appearing in her marriage. Her doctor husband has changed from the loving, easy-going man she married and she fears he regrets taking on a widow with a young son, who seems determined to remain distant from his stepfather.

When Miriam acts as translator at a medical teaching camp she hopes time apart might help her understand the cause of their problems. Instead, she must focus on helping women desperate for medical care and has little time to think about her failing marriage. When an old friend appears, urging her to visit the village where she and her first husband had been so happy. Miriam finds herself traveling on a journey into her past, searching for answers to why her marriage is going so horribly wrong. Her husband, too, has a past of his own – from being shunned as a child to the loss of his first love.

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Drunk Chickens and Burn Macaroni (subtitle) offers a remarkable insight into the lives of Afghan women both before and after Taliban’s rise to power. The reader is caught up in the day-to-day lives of women like Sharifa, Latifa and Marzia, sharing their problems, dramas, the tears and the laughter: whether enjoying a good gossip over tea and fresh nan, dealing with a husband’s desertion, battling to save the life of a one-year-old opium addict or learning how to deliver babies safely.

Mary Smith spent several years in Afghanistan working on a health project for women and children in both remote rural areas and in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif. Given the opportunity to participate more fully than most other foreigners in the lives of the women, many of whom became close friends, she has been able to present this unique portrayal of Afghan women – a portrayal very different from the one most often presented by the media.

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Hello Mary, and welcome to my blog!

Hi Fros, thank you for inviting me!

What has inspired you to write No More Mulberries?

Two things really: firstly my women friends in Afghanistan are the inspiration behind this book. The western media tends to portray Afghan women as downtrodden victims, who have no voice in a male-dominated society. I wanted to show that is not the whole truth. Yes, life is tough for women (and men), and there is poverty and lack of amenities, particularly in the rural areas, but there is also fun and laughter, hope and a dogged determination to make the most of life. The second thing was a ‘what if?’ moment, as I began to wonder how a woman from the west would cope with life in Afghanistan married to an Afghan. Would their love for each other be enough to overcome the cultural difficulties and past histories they kept hidden from each other?

What other writing have you done? Anything else published?

Drunk Chickens and Burnt Macaroni contains real Stories of Afghan Women; it is a travel memoir based on my life and work in Afghanistan. Also, I am pleased to say I abandoned the awful teenage verse and learned to write better poetry. I was really excited to have my first full length collection, Thousands Pass Here Every Day, published a couple of years ago by Indigo Dreams Publishing.

As a journalist I’ve lost track of how many features I’ve had published on everything from local history, arts and culture, heroin abuse, homelessness, boy racers to head lice!

I am impressed. Well done, my friend. Any hobbies or interests that you enjoy in your spare time?

Um, what is ‘spare time’? I read – can’t go to sleep without reading in bed. I enjoy exploring the fantastic countryside near where I live. We have glorious scenery; forests and woodland, stretches of coastline with sandy beaches and rugged cliffs. I think because I went away I returned years later seeing everything with fresh eyes and really appreciate it much more now.

Your part of the world sounds wonderful! Do you see yourself in any of your characters, or do any of them have traits you wish you had?

I’d love to say I shared many of the traits Miriam has in No More Mulberries but she is much nicer than I am, braver and more insightful. I suppose there are bits of me in her if only because I did live in Afghanistan for a number of years and we share some of my experiences and observations.

What are you working on at the moment? Tell us a little about your current project(s).

Lots of readers have asked when a sequel to No More Mulberries is coming out, and I have begun work on that, though I’m not even half way through the first draft. I find it difficult to decide how much back story from the first novel to include in the second without irritating people who read the first one while providing clarity for new readers. I think I’m going to have to read other series and see how it is best done.

Well, if it helps, in my Lady of The Pier series I revisit past events very sparsely and only in 1-2 sentences tops. Readers have good memories, and if you want the sequel to be a standalone, I’d say, still put little info as to intrigue new readers to buy the first book too. The more the merrier, right? (giggles)

Makes sense, yes (laughs). Anyway, I’m also working on something completely different. It’s a local history book called Dumfries Through Time (Dumfries is the main town near where I live). A photographer and I have been commissioned to track down old images of the town, take photos of the same places as they are today and write a short commentary. Quite hard work, time-consuming but fun and we’ve met some wonderful people who collect old postcards and other images and have been incredibly generous in sharing.

Oh, this simply intrigues me, seeing how places change over time. An exciting project! Have fun with that, Mary. Tell us now, what genres do you read mostly, and what are you reading now?

I read very widely and enjoy most genres (though not horror). I am a member of a ‘pay-it-forward’ writers’ group called eNovel Authors at Work and we are a very varied group in terms of genres which has been great, as I’ve found myself enjoying books I might never have picked up including thrillers and fantasy. Mostly, I like books which are about ‘real’ people dealing with real issues in their lives. Characters are the most important element for me. I want to empathize with the central character, to feel I know what she/he is going through.

I also read a lot of biographies – it’s the journalist in me which makes me nosy about other people’s lives. I’ve just finished The Witch of Napoli by Michael Schmicker, a novel about a 19^th century Italian medium and the attempts to prove or disprove her psychic abilities. I’ve just started Noodle Trails, a travel memoir: Fair Trade, Dung Trade, and Travels in Thailand and beyond (how could anyone resist such a title) by indie author Eileen Kay.

Do you have any advice for other indie authors?

Don’t give up your dreams or your day job! It probably comes as a bit of a shock to most indie authors when they realize that as well as writing their books they have to learn about marketing – a whole different set of skills. Actually, many traditionally published writers are realizing the same thing, as publishers don’t spend on marketing and promotions except for the top handful of already successful authors.

Are there any sites or writing tools that you find useful and wish to recommend?

I found Indies Unlimited a great site for all kinds of information helpful to indie authors. I already mentioned eNovel Authors at Work.  Although it is a closed group, the site has lots of really useful resources for indie writers from style guides to marketing tips, from review sites to making sure your Author Central page serves its purpose.

Well said, Mary. And I can’t recommend the site for eNovel enough, myself! Tell us about your website/blog. What will readers find there?

I have a website which tells people a bit about me and my writing and also includes examples of some of journalism. I am ashamed to say it has not been updated recently – my bad, and it will be seen to as soon as possible.

I also have two blogs, one of which, Novel Points of View, is shared with four other writers. We thought this was a clever way of blogging as each of us would only have to do a post once every five weeks – I still find my turn comes round before I’ve thought of my next post. My other blog, My Dad is a Goldfish, is a more personal one about my father’s dementia and my role as his carer.

What are the things in your life that you’re most grateful for?

My ability to read and lose myself in a book. Regardless of what life throws at me, reading has always been my greatest comfort.

How would you like to be remembered?

As a kind person and loyal friend – oh, and as a wonderful writer!

Before we end this conversation, I am dying to ask, how did you wind up in Pakistan and Afghanistan? I mean, they’re not exactly popular holiday destinations!

Well, in a way, my whisky-drinking habit got me there! I was watching a snooker match in a pub in Lancashire, drinking whisky and talking to a Pakistani friend, and he would up inviting me to visit Karachi in Pakistan with his wife and his sister. I took up the offer and when I got there, I visited the leprosy headquarters that were supported by Oxfam. I volunteered to help and they asked me to set up a health education department! They trained me and I stayed there for three years.

Wow! And what about Afghanistan?

Well, when my 3-year contract ended, I signed up to continue my voluntary work there. I stayed in Afghanistan for seven years.

That’s amazing, seven years! Is this where you got the scare of your life?

I guess you can say that (laughs)

So what happened?

In Afghanistan I trained female volunteer health workers and spent time in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif and the rural areas of Hazara Jat. One day, armed robbers broke in and stuck a pistol in my ear and an AK47 at the back of my neck. Another time I experienced a bombing raid too. But despite these experiences, I found my stay in this country incredibly satisfying. I never felt more alive than when I lived there!

Goodness me, I am such a wimp! Forgive my gaping jaw! Can I call you, ‘superwoman’?

(laughs) I wouldn’t go as far as that!

Seriously now, kudos to you for doing all this incredible voluntary work! Well, Mary, thank you so much for our chat, it’s been wonderful to have you!

Thank you Fros. I am delighted to be interviewed by you. I’ve really enjoyed it!

Writer, freelance journalist and poet Mary Smith lives in beautiful South West Scotland.

Although she has always written, whether it was childish short stories, very bad angst-ridden poetry as a teenager, diaries or funding reports, she never really believed she could write for publication. And so she did lots of other things instead including fundraising for Oxfam and later working in Pakistan and Afghanistan for leprosy programmes. While in Afghanistan she established a low-key mother and child care programme providing skills and knowledge to women health volunteers.

Those experiences inform much of her writing. Her debut novel, No More Mulberries is set in Afghanistan and she has also written Drunk Chickens and Burnt Macaroni: Real Stories of Afghan Women, a narrative non-fiction account about her time in Afghanistan which offers an authentic insight into how ordinary Afghan women and their families live their lives.

Back in Scotland she found work as a freelance journalist while completing a MLitt in Creative Writing. She loves to travel but is having to keep her itchy feet still for a while until her son gets through his medical degree.

Visit Mary’s Amazon page

Visit Mary’s Website

Visit Mary’s Blogs:

http://novelpointsofview.blogspot.co.uk
https://marysmith57.wordpress.com/2014/07 (My Dad Is A Goldfish)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000934032543

Twitter: https://twitter.com/marysmithwriter

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