Introduction

If this is the first post you are reading from me, I would like to introduce you to the series.

G. D. Anderson said “Feminism isn’t about making women stronger. Women are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.” 

This perception of strength she described is the reason I am creating this interview series.  Each article is structured to highlight the strengths, talents, and business pursuits of inspiring women of all ages, races, ethnicities, and nationalities. 

Thank you for traveling around the world with me as we celebrate these women’s accomplishments.

Hannah Peckham

Today we are traveling to England to learn about author Hannah Peckham. I love her new book Conker The Chameleon and what it stands for, so I am excited to introduce her to you!

15 Questions With Hannah Peckham

Q.1.  Where in the UK did you grow up? 

I grew up in Sussex. I love the countryside, I travelled Australia and  moved to London for ten years. But my heart was always in Sussex so I moved back nearly ten years ago

Q. 2. In school you were diagnosed with severe dyslexia. Many people have the misconception that someone with dyslexia will be unable to thrive in a literary field. You have been successful with writing, though, so that is clearly not the case. What is something you wish people knew about dyslexia? And what encouragement would you give to someone who is interested in being a writer, but struggles with their dyslexia?

Reading and writing was always bit of a love hate relationship for me, I love to be creative but used to get very frustrated with myself as I couldn’t keep up with my brain. For me dyslexia also gave me drive, I am so stubborn I knew I had to work hard but I was determined to prove the nay sayers wrong.

Q. 3. Did you study writing at Uni?

I went back to uni at 27 to study Person centred existential counselling. My work as a counsellor obviously contributed to the idea of writing Conker the chameleon.

Q. 4. You have worked as a voice over artist and script writer for both TV and radio. These are great accomplishments for anyone, let alone someone diagnosed with dyslexia – further proof that children with dyslexia should always be encouraged in school. What were these jobs like for you?

It’s hard, I never actually told  the people I worked for that I was dyslexic as I feel there would still be a stigma attached to it, sadly. I developed a way to think out of the box, think on my feet and work with my dyslexia. Its much easier now with spell check and mobile phones and quick internet searches.

Q. 5. I love that your book teaches children diversity and that they are each special. What inspired you to write this into your story Conker The Chameleon? 

I think my own journey as a counsellor to self acceptance but also while working with young people as a counsellor I realised just how important and how overlooked mental health and talking about feelings in. I  also noticed while bringing up my own toddler what we are encouraged to teach and how identifying feelings/emotional literacy  is not a priority and it should be.

Q. 6. Publishing your own book isn’t as easy as it might look. When did you decide that you were just going to go for it and publish your story? 

It has been really hard work, writing the story was the relatively easy bit, its been all the other bits that have taken time and dedication.I finally found some time to sit down and put my idea on paper in October 2019 it was then nearly a whole year later that I just went for it to get it released by February.

Q. 7. How did you find an illustrator?

Blue Falcon (my publisher) had a few contacts and I felt Stephanie’s work was a good fit for Conker.

Q. 8. Did you try working with a large publishing company first? Or did you want to self publish from the start?

I sent my manuscript to a few publishing houses, but actually its worked out well as Conker is so special to me I didn’t want to hand him over to anyone, I wanted to keep control of his essence.

Q. 9. Ingram Sparks seems like a great print company, but there are always a lot of details that go into using any company for publication. Do you have any advice for someone considering printing with Ingram Sparks?

I’m afraid it is a first time for me and really just went with the advice of Blue Falcon.

To clarify: After this interview, Hannah and I discussed her publishing process further. She is listed with Ingram Sparks, a self publishing company. However, she did actually use a publishing company as well. Her publisher Blue Falcon prints and distributes her books using Ingram Sparks.

Q. 10. Getting your book from print to Amazon looks like it might be a tricky process. What has the process been like for you with selling your books on Amazon?

Once again I have been really lucky as Blue Falcon has handled this for me.

Q. 11. I saw that on Amazon UK you have a five star rating with 207 reviews. That’s fantastic! Do you have any advice you can share for self-publisher’s struggling to get their book seen on Amazon?

I did all the PR myself, I focused on one social media platforms and reached out to companies with a similar ethos and also tried to genuinely connect with people who would be my target market.

Q. 12. For working with a publisher, there’s always a wholesale discount. I know not all self publishers offer this, though. Do you recommend that new author’s should offer a wholesale discount? And if ‘yes,’ what percentage do you recommend?

I really don’t know about this, as I was advised by Blue Falcon. I think its between 30 and 50percent?

Q. 13. You recently signed with Penguin Random House in Portugal. Again, congrats! What has that process been like? Will you continue to self publish Conker The Chameleon? Or will you only be working with publishers from now on? 

Thank you, most of the worldwide rights are still available, as Blue Falcon does not have connections with these countries so they would be with other publishers. In terms of my next book it really depends, like I said I did like having control of Conker’s story. Although having someone do more of the Promotion would be wonderful as I am pretty much a one woman band at the moment and also trying to raise a toddler so its pretty exhausting  right now.

Q. 14. Who are three women that have inspired you?

This is so hard. My mother has been a huge support and my English teacher from school really believed in me. I have some beautiful and supportive friends that inspire. I love reading Julia Donaldson and Rachel Bright books to my son.

Q. 15. What is one of your favorite female empowerment quotes?

THERE ARE SO MANY. But my personal life theme song is Gloria Gaynor I AM WHAT I AM. 

I am so proud of Hannah and her publishing journey! You can connect with Hannah on instagram at @h.j.peckham. And to order a copy of her adorable book, click here for the Amazon UK listing and click here for the US Amazon listing.

XO,

Mikéla