Susan Akin, MLA, was born in Carshalton, England to a British mother and American Army Air Corps father stationed in England during WWII. Raised in a military family, she grew up in Germany and England. She received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from St. Edward’s University, where she teaches as an adjunct professor of history. While studying for her MLA, Susan Akins picked an interest in Edward the Confessor, who the university is named after. She went on to write her Masters thesis on King Edward, a work that has now grown into a book length project.

What inspired you to write your first book? And what do you hope to inspire in your readers?

I was working on my dissertation in grad school, and needed to choose a topic. I worked on staff in housing, and when asking freshman students if they knew how the school received its name, some knew and some didn’t. If they were third or fourth generational students, they knew, but most did not. I knew a little bit about it, but I didn’t know much about him. When I told my mentor and professor, Paula Marks, about writing about him she agreed that it was a good topic, so it was sort of a light bulb to write about the English king.

I want to inspire people to understand who Edward really was, and why he is important.

Can you describe the research process in preparation for the book?

My mother is British and so I was born there. I was raised in a military life, so I traveled all over Europe and England. I emailed the head librarian at the English Cathedral that King Edward rebuilt. He said sure, what day do you want to come in? I made an appointment, and I went into the back gate. A lady, I swear she was two hundred years old, led me to this curved, concrete staircase that wraps around several bookcases. The librarian had already pulled several books for me, and as I wrote my own notes on a piece of paper, he turned the pages for me with his gloved hand. The books were written in Norman French, so he translated as we went. I just absorbed the whole experience. I was just so overwhelmed. Someone there even asked me why is a school in the middle of Texas interested in King Edward? Later in one of Winchester’s cathedrals, I went to the site where the bones of King Alfred the Great (King of the Southern Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex) rested.

Just to say be able to say that you walked in their footsteps. It’s an amazing thing. I also visited Oxford where I sat and listened to a workshop of historians who were researching the Anglo Saxon kings, including Edward.

Can you share a favorite passage from your book, and why is it your favorite?

One of the stories about Edward is that he had a coronation ring that was given to him. Well, he went to mass every day and one day there was a beggar asking for money. Edward always kept silver pennies with him, but on this day he didn’t have any. So, he took his coronation ring off, and gave it to him. What it shows is that he didn’t have a whole lot of regard for wealth or things, or items, or how he dressed. Several years later, two pilgrims from the Holy Land arrived and gave the ring back to him. He said, “I gave this to a beggar.” The pilgrims said, yes, but you really gave it to St. John the evangelist and his message to you is, “I will see you in heaven in the next six months.” And he died six months later.

It’s a story that shows who Edward really was… very pious, very spiritual. He did not have any expectations as a King. He was abandoned and disowned as a young child. He eventually became a co-ruler with his half-brother, Harthacnut (child of Edward’s mother Emma and her second husband, Cnut). Edward was ill-prepared, but believed in doing good and reinstated a holy, business-free church. He was a transitional king. He believed in diversity, and looked at education as a holistic thing.

Which is what Saint Edward’s University exudes. Students here are diverse. They come here looking for holistic education. Edward believed in providing justice to all people, providing clothes to people, feeding the people. This is also something that SEU that encourages: community service and outreach… taking care of those around you.

So, Edward’s mission and SEU’s mission is interlocking in a lot of ways. His spirituality. His compassion. His sense of obligation to his subjects. He didn’t go out and have wars to accumulate land. He wanted to just have peace and serenity in his country. People had had enough of war. He wanted people to keep on living, which is an inspiration in and of itself. Father Sorin actually named the school, not because of the mission of Edward as a king, but actually, it was because Edward was the name of his patron saint when he was ordained.

What sets your book apart from others?

Most other books say that his miracles are exaggerated, and that he was not the person people said he was. I want to write about who he really was from all sides. He wasn’t just a miracle worker, he had a temper. They said he had a roar like a lion, but he was not a mean person. He had a habit of exiling people, feeling bad about it, and bringing them back! So, I want to include all of that—good and bad.

You have a Master in Liberal Arts and History, would you say that your book comes from the perspective of a writer telling a story, or a historian teaching facts? Or is there a difference (writer vs historian)?

For me it started out as a historian, but then he got under my skin, and I wanted to do more. Historians are more clinical. I want it to be more personal. Imagine yourself abandoned, away from family, picked up and taken somewhere strange. How would you feel?

During the writing process, what would you say was your biggest challenge and/or greatest fear?

I got the box out that had all my notes in it, all my floppy disks, remember those? And I just remember collecting it all and thought, where do I start? So, I started with an outline and just started writing. Cut and paste. I just began writing, but that was the hard part — getting started. My greatest fear is getting it all together, having someone read it, and then waiting for a response. You never know what people are going to say about your work.

Do you have any tips for readers or advice for other writers trying to get published?

Just do it. Make time every day. Give yourself permission to just do an hour. You become really amazed at how much you get done. And you keep it fresh in your mind.

Also, find a mentor. Find somebody who can work with you; like Dr. Marks was really good at just giving suggestions. But find a mentor who you trust. They might be mean to you, but it’s constructive, they aren’t being mean just to be mean. Then follow their advice. Find a faculty member. There is always that one faculty member who you just connect with; that’s what’s great about Saint Edward’s faculty too.

One final question: Your book offers great value and insight for the students, faculty, and alumni at SEU, if Edward the Confessor and King was on campus today, in your opinion, how would he react?

I think he would be proud. I think he would understand our mission, who we are, and what we do. I think he would feel right at home. I think he would look at us and say this is good. I get it. He would be proud of the leadership and our mission.