Amazon Author Interview

Mila Clark

Almost Home

Congratulations, Mila!

Your book is now available on the Amazon bookstore. How did it feel to see it there for the first time?

Pretty incredible, to be honest. I’ve written stories for as long as I can remember. Never did I imagine that they’d be published and out there for the world to read.

Can you tell us a little bit about your book and why you wanted to write it?

Almost Home is the story of Maeve Holloway, a young woman who travels from the English countryside to America after her mother’s death, hoping to uncover the truth about the father she never knew. I suppose the story moves from being one in search of answers to a journey of self-discovery where Mae is pushed to her limits in a world that is the complete opposite to the one she’d known. And, in many ways, Maeve’s story is quite similar to my own. I find myself living a life that is at complete odds to the one I have always known, and each day presents its own challenges. Writing Almost Home became a form of escapism but I quickly fell in love with the characters and couldn’t wait to see how their stories unfolded.

Have you always been a writer / wanted to become an author?

My mother worked in our local libraries for over twenty years and so I suppose that I have to attribute my love of books to her. I was very fortunate in that I had access to an unlimited amount of books, of all genres, from a very young age. I suppose I envied authors and that their ‘grown up’ jobs were writing the stories that I loved so much. I quickly decided that I’d like to write stories when I grew up too. But as time moved on, I grew older and adult responsibilities fast approached, life decided that it had other plans for me. I still wrote a bit, and read A LOT, but assumed that my dream of becoming an author had passed me by. That was until I wrote Almost Home.

What made you take that leap and self-publish your book?

I started writing Almost Home over a year ago for no other reason other than my enjoyment of writing stories. It was never my intention to publish it, I suppose I never thought that people would actually enjoy it and want to see what happens next. I’d shared it with a few friends and family members and the feedback was positive. It was my mother who first suggested that I publish it, and my husband soon agreed with her. It was their push, and constant reassurance, that finally allowed me to take the leap.

Do you have any more book plans in the pipeline?

Absolutely! Almost Home is book one in a series of books that I have planned for these characters. Their stories are far from over.

What advice would you offer other aspiring authors who are thinking of self-publishing?

Just do it! Have faith in yourself and the work that you have poured your heart and soul into. A good friend recently told me “Some people can’t make stories of their own, so it’s very important that the people who can, share theirs.”

Thanks so much, Mila!

All the best with your fantastic novel!

The blurb…

A leather-bound, well-worn journal… a pendant… and a photograph of a mysterious biker with her much-younger, radiant mother.

Mae is more than ready to shake up her past… little does she know she is gambling with her life.

When 22-year-old Maeve Holloway loses her much-loved mother and finds a battered, old, leather-bound journal, she feels compelled to unearth the shadows of her secret past.

Despite spending her whole life perfecting the art of going unnoticed, she bravely leaves her safe, ordinary, quiet English life for Blackthorn and the dark and dangerous Appalachian mountains in West Virginia, America.

Morrigan’s Sons, a fearless motorcycle club that runs the isolated town, don’t take kindly to strangers. So when squeaky-clean English rose Mae turns up and is seen chatting with local law enforcement, their vice president, Fate, is quick to react.

But Mae isn’t perturbed. She hasn’t travelled halfway across the world for nothing.

With strength, courage and defiance, she stands her ground and refuses to leave without learning the truth. And as she exposes her true identity, she slowly struggles to ignore the pull this godforsaken town has on her. A town where good girls like Mae don’t belong.

Almost Home is a gritty, emotional slow-burn romance exploring legacy, found family, and transformative connection.