Margery Allingham’s Mr Campion’s Farewell, Completed by Mike Ripley, Reviewed

The PR company handling marketing asked me to review this book. It’s not my usual read, but, having watched some of the adaptations on TV and enjoyed them, I agreed.

The eponymous character is well drawn, matching the depiction from the screen. He’s an interesting personality, personifying that quintessentially English upper middle class hero who prefers to pretends to be a little dim. In fact, of course, his wit is razor sharp and his intelligence high. The other players in this novel are equally well put together; individuals who manage to be representative of certain types without becoming stereotypical.

The narrative is delivered with a tongue-in-cheek gentle humour reminiscent of an earlier age. At times, I found the convoluted descriptions a little tedious, though this was only an occasional irritation, which quickly passed. There is a certain type of wit here that will definitely appeal to those who have loved the previous novels and those who enjoy the Jeeves and Wooster books.

The plot is clever and its denouement very well handled, keeping the reader interested to the very last. The relationships between the various characters are drawn with humour and compassion so that even the villains engender a certain amount of sympathy. In one of those peculiar coincidences that sometimes cause delight, I began to read this book on the day I had visited Lavenham, in Suffolk. This is the town on which the main setting of the book is based, so I immediately felt at home with the descriptions of the place and some of its buildings.

Against my expectations, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It’s an entertaining and engaging read and I expect that those who love their crime with a touch of humour will find it thoroughly worthwhile.

Are Your Characters Written to Fit Movie Stars?

I ask this question quite seriously, since I’ve seen a few articles suggesting people do precisely this. It would be a waste of time for me as I’d have difficulty in putting faces, let alone other characteristics, to more than half a dozen actors. It’s not that I don’t admire their skills, simply that when I watch an actor at work I lose myself in the character portrayed rather than watch the person playing that part.

For me, the essential aspect of a character is personality. Hemmingway suggested we should write about people not characters, as he described characters as caricatures. I agree with his first point. But his second is off the mark. A character is only a caricature if it portrays the person in an unlikely or exaggerated manner. A character, as used in drama and fiction, is or should be an imagined person drawn in such a way that the reader or audience will accept them as real.

Having said that personality is the vital aspect, I don’t mean to suggest that appearance is unimportant. It’s simply that appearance is a secondary consideration for me. In fact, when I create a character I always do so with some image in mind. I generally use a picture of a person collected from the internet. These are unnamed human beings who I use as visual frameworks to which I apply a history, relationships, likes and dislikes, traits and faults to bring them to life. Having a picture of the person I intend to create helps me develop a more rounded human being for the story.

I suppose I could search the internet for pictures of actors and then apply my method to those pictures. In fact, I suspect I’ve done so occasionally, without actually realising it. There is, of course, a very ‘good’ reason for using the physical type of a known actor as, if the work is seen as suitable for a film or a TV play, the producer may recognise the character more easily and use that recognition for casting. On the down side, however, if the chosen actor has always played ‘baddies’ and my character is actually a ‘goody’, such recognition could well prove an obstacle.

For me, applying the idea of the actor to the role of a character in my fiction would involve extensive viewing of films and TV works simply to identify potential models. I don’t have time to do that. I do, of course, watch TV and go to the cinema. But I do that in the spirit of escapism and don’t want to turn my leisure into an extension of my writing. In any case, I prefer to use my imagination, and employing ‘unknown’ human beings gives me far more scope to overlay the model with the characteristics I determine as necessary to the story I’m telling.

So, for me, picturing Emma Watson as other than Hermione Grainger, Johnny Depp out of pirate’s costume, Julia Roberts outside the role of Pretty Woman, or Robin Pattinson other than Cedric Diggory would be difficult. It’s not that I’m unaware of them playing other roles, simply that my experience of them is in these parts only. So, these images would overlay them as characters in my fiction and that would be counter-productive. It would limit my choices. I don’t blame the actors or their roles, simply my own lack of cinematic attendance.

So, to return to the opening topic. Do you make your own characters in fiction fit particular movie stars? And, if so, how do you get past the roles they’ve played? I’m intrigued, you see, and you may be able to pass on valuable lessons to me.

Related articles

• Tim Burton - Johnny Depp A Great Character Actor
• Morning Link: Actors Who are Very Confused in Which Role They're Playing
• Naming your fictional character

Motivating the Writer.

Cover of All Quiet On The Western Front

We write for different reasons; our motivations are many and varied. So, what drives you?

I'll play the lead and tell you what drives me, shall I?

Words have fascinated me since I began to understand what they were, their power, their beauty, their precision and duplicity. I read from an early age and, with no intervention by television into my life until I was 14, I read voraciously. In fact, I exhausted my local library's children's section by the age of 11 and dared ask the fierce librarian if I could borrow books from the adult section. I was a regular visitor, of course, and well known to this large and intimidating woman, so she allowed me this privilege on certain conditions: I was to pass the books I borrowed before her personal scrutiny and I could borrow only one at a time. My first title was All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. Anyone who's read this classic will be aware of its content, which includes incidents involving prostitutes as well as the necessary brutality of the First World War. Looking back as an adult, I can find no reason, beyond ignorance of its contents, for this severe lady to allow me to read such a disturbing book. But, no matter, I did and thus started on a road that has twisted and turned its way through adult literature to include almost every genre ever classified in both fiction and non-fiction.

When I was in the Royal Air Force, and worked, as a teenager, for five men in their mid-fifties approaching retirement from the service, I was often faced with empty days and took to visiting the camp library. By the end of my service at RAF Lyneham, I'd read every book on the shelves. Of course, I can now recall only a few of those titles but the information, imagination and content all wormed their way into my brain, to help form the man I've become.

So much for my introduction to reading; something I do now whenever I find the time.

But what about my own motivation for stringing words together and placing them on paper? At school I carried my love of language over into my studies, so that English came to be my favourite subject, and the one in which I excelled. Most of the other stuff seemed no more than an attempt to fill my head with information I could easily glean from encyclopaedias and I had difficulty understanding why we spent so much time on remembering what seemed to me irrelevant facts. If I needed to know the annual rainfall in Argentina, I could find it in a book: I didn't need to learn it by heart. This attitude, together with a singular intellectual rebellion that was left unnurtured by my teachers, and coupled with the death of my mother two days after my 16th birthday and only weeks before I faced examinations that would determine my future in the world of work, meant I left school at 16 with few qualifications. But I did enjoy and was encouraged to develop English as a means of communication and expression. I suspect that the attractive nature of my young English teacher and her habit of leaning forward over the desk, exposing her cleavage in the opening of her loose blouses, had some formative effects on a teenage boy. But, that aside, my first success at school was the winning of a cup for an essay in a competition I entered at 14.

I had always enjoyed writing essays, which were, in fact, often opportunities for expressing imaginative ideas in the form of stories. My mother would listen to my efforts when these were written for homework and was always encouraging. With her loss and the poor exam results, coupled with the change in life at home, I decided to join the RAF as a photographer. My mother was a painter and my father a photographer, so the move into the world of visual creativity was more or less inevitable. I did so well in my first year at the school of photography that my writing was eclipsed as I took to the expression of my creativity through photographs. This led, through a series of events and jobs, to a life largely spent dealing with photography or those aspects in which it featured. Writing took second place, though I did regularly submit illustrated articles to the photographic press, and had many of these published.

Life often seems to come along with reminders of our purpose and, during a period when I was no longer employed but working as a freelance, I came across a contest run by the well-respected UK weekly magazine, the Radio Times. The play I wrote for the entry came third. Second place was taken by Shirley Gee, wife of a professional actor and first place was won by Willie Russell of 'Educating Rita', Blood Brothers' and much other fame.

Thus began a long period of writing radio and, once I was approached by a literary agent, TV scripts. I was another 'nearly man' in this world. My skills and ideas, my characters and ability to frame a great plot were never at issue. But my subject matter and the themes I espoused were too radical for the editors and gate-keepers of those organisations to which my work was submitted. Several plays reached the 'round table' stage only to be refused the light of day by those in charge of subject matter deemed suitable for public consumption. So, I never got further than the first play, broadcast in a truncated form that my inexperience permitted the producer to develop for the airways. A shame. My second play was purchased by the BBC but got no further than commissioning as the producer, a man with whom I had little sympathy or connection, left the drama department to go on to some other subject. At that time, the BBC was structured such that no other producer was able to take over the reins and the second play never reached production.

I could, I suppose, have tried to conform to the requirements of the broadcasting authorities but I have always been a bit perverse: what I write, I write. It would be great to be published, broadcast, heard etc., but I refuse to modify my words to suit the preconceptions of men in grey suits. In fact, I did try to write a best-seller on one occasion. Long before the days of the electric typewriter (yes, I'm THAT old), I wrote the first 76,000 words of a thriller in longhand on lined foolscap paper. But I read the thing through before I'd finished it and threw it in the bin in disgust. It didn't do what I wanted my writing to do, so I ditched it.

Life came along and a troubled first marriage gradually impacted on my writing in a number of subtle and not-so-subtle ways. I produced a few stories and began the ground work for a fantasy, drawing a detailed map and gathering together the geographical, political, social and spiritual history of the tribes I would eventually include in this epic trilogy (I've written the first two volumes of that, but I'm not releasing any of it until I've started on the final volume).

The necessity of earning a living is possibly the single most destructive element of our creative lives in current society, but it must be done. I wonder how many great works are denied us by this insistence. However, I ended the destructive marriage after 18 years and found a new soul mate; a woman who understands my creative needs even though she lacks such desires for herself. A loving, trusting relationship naturally brought a child into our lives and for some years I gave over much of my energy and creative spirit to the development, education, amusement and care of our daughter.

If the foregoing sounds like a series of excuses for my lack of commercial success, so be it. We each develop our own sense of what matters here and now and what can be left for the future. Suffice it to say that my later years have been my most productive. I've written five novels and published one, had several short stories published, some as prize-winners in contests, and, of course, written the first two volumes of the epic fantasy. In November last year I took part in the NaNoWriMo challenge, which requires the writer to complete 50,000 words of a novel during the month of November. With typical individuality, I set myself the target of completing an entire first draft of a novel in the same period. I managed 112,242 words and am currently battling with the editing, trying to find the right voice after several false turnings. But, I think now that I shall allow the book to take the course it directed during the writing and stop trying to turn it into something it is not. I allowed myself to be talked into the idea of making it a best-seller. I'm not, and never will be, 'best-seller' material. My ideas and themes of importance are too off the wall to be generally accepted by the book-producing community. Thank heavens for independent book publication!

Have I told you what motivates me to write? Well, I may have deviated here and there, but I think you'll get the general impression that I write to some extent because I'm driven to do so.

But what I write about is largely motivated by my need to dispel many of what I see as false beliefs and ideas that exist in the world and cause most of its problems. I'm a frustrated teacher and agnostic preacher, but hopefully without the arrogant zeal of those pastors and missionaries who wish to inflict their set of religious values and beliefs, mostly unproven, on the unsuspecting and ignorant. But that will have to wait to be expanded. I've made enough of this post. Perhaps I'll develop those last thoughts next week? Who knows?

And now, as ever, I invite your comments, your thoughts, your sparkling gems in response. Thank you for reading.

The Green Thing

Image via Wikipedia

I received the following as an email from a friend and, instead of gumming up the works by sending it to all my friends by email, I thought I'd spread it via the blog.


Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the older woman, that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment.

The woman apologized and explained, "We didn't have this green thing back in my earlier days."

The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations."

She was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.

Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that young lady is right; we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana . In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us.

When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she's right; we didn't have the green thing back then.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But we didn't have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?

Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smartass young person.

Remember: Don't make old People mad!

We don't like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much to piss us off.


I find my sympathies lie with both camps. As a Greenpeace supporter since the 1970s, I've long had a 'green' awareness. And, as a child of the post war years, I used to attend the local cinema 'free' simply for the price of 9 jam jars to be recycled. So I understand all of the above. The young, on the other hand, are not responsible for developing all the labour-saving devices that have evolved from our love affair with consumerism and technology. These have all come along at the hands of our generation or that of our children. The continued exploitation of the Earth's resources continues with the current generation who merely follow the example we have set. So, whilst it might be true that we did many things to re-use items and resources in our younger days, it is equally true that we did nothing to prevent the decline of such recycling and we did a great deal to ensure the success of the modern throw-away economy.
Lets's not blame one another for the state of the modern world. Instead, let's actually do something about it, by ensuring we avoid the worst excesses of consumerism and embrace the best practices of the ecologically sound.

#NaNoWriMo Progress, Day 18 = 75960 Words

Some days go well, some go better.
So, what have I done today? Well, I'm looking just a tad more like a human being, having visited the local barber, where I had my locks shorn and, as is the way in such places, we fixed the problems in football, sorted out the local authority and generally set the world to rights.
Finally put to gether my application for an ITIN with the IRS in USA, so I won't have to pay US tax as well as UK tax on my earnings. Must post that tomorrow. Lunch, and then a pleasant short walk for air and exercise with my lovely wife.
Before breakfast, I'd done a session on the NaNoWriMo challenge and I had a second session this afternoon, turning out a total of 4,546 new words to bring the grand total to 75,960 at the end of today. Sinister threats lurk beneath the superficial idyll that our two lovers occupy. All is not as it appears on the surface and unpleasant events are afoot.
Tonight, I intend to spend the evening in front of the idiot's lantern to watch what, for me, is 'must'watch' TV. Here in UK, we have a charity night in November, aimed at raising money for disadvantaged children. Children In Need has raised more than £500,000,000 over the years, with the British public donating around £35,000,000 for each show. I shall watch, as usual, and donate what I can, as usual. It's a  great cause and a great way to bring serious issues to the attention of the public, whilst offering real entertainment from a gang of stars and personalities who offer their services free for the night. If you're able, I urge you to join me for the night and dig into your pockets to help those deserving kids out there, eh?

The pic is another Wordle diagram, this time of Chapter 21.

Writing: 2000 Words, Against the Odds.

Unusually, I didn't start writing the epic fantasy today until after lunch. I had a latish start as I was still feeling unwell. But, moping gets you nowhere, so I sat at the keyboard and, to my delight and surprise, turned out another 2000 words. Pleased with what I've done, as well.
Later, and with many rest periods in between, I managed to update the 'Writing Contests' page and write and post a piece about entering such competitions.
So, late in the evening, and still feeling no better physically, but heaps better spiritually, I'm going to watch some entertaining TV with my wife, who has just returned from a successful bowls match, and imbibe some of the wine I received for my birthday.

Writing: Not a Serious Word was Placed

Little Driffield, Horse Fair Lane.

Yesterday, as regulars will know, was dance class following the day at the office. No writing, but I did enjoy a documentary on TV about the background to the recent economic collapse. Today is now my long day at the office and I usually arrive home in no fit state to do more than respond to the emails that have flown in during the day.
But I had a couple of ideas in the night and placed them on one of my many notebooks placed strategically about the house for just that purpose. Tomorrow, I finish early and may even do some writing between the end of the office job and the weekly visit to my writing group. With luck!

Writing: 1300 Words Added.

Another relatively early start, after a great evening at my brother's house for wine, music and talk on many matters. Produced 1300 words of Ch22 and brought part of the action to a climactic moment, with plenty of threat and room for danger for a main character.
It's been a mostly domestic day; following breakfast in bed after the writing, I visited the local recycling depot and disposed of bottles and card there. Visited my brother again, to borrow his pressure washer. Washed the car, for the first time this year; well, the first time for about 6 months, if the truth be told. Lots of mud to remove and some odd spots now revealed that are in need of paint if the body isn't going to rust.
Emptied the larger of our two compost bins and spread the rich soil on the flower borders. Used the pressure washer to remove the layer of green lichen that has made the paving slabs dangerous in the wet: winter had left them with this film of green that turns into a slime when the rain falls, so i had to clean them. Half of that job done; the other half will have to wait until tomorrow.
It's Easter and it's Saturday, so that means it's Dr Who in UK. A must see TV programme.
After a busy day, physically, I think I've earned some relaxation time, so that's me finished for now. See what the morning brings.

Today's picture is of a gap in a dry stone wall. If it seems familiar, that's because I used it in combination with some other pics for the cover of my novel, Breaking Faith.

Writing Now

Book 2 progresses. This morning, I added 800 words of a death scene to chapter 18. Always difficult to kill of a character you love, but it had to be done. Later, I completed chap 18 at 4,189 words, ending on page 179. Chap 19 is well under way, with about 2000 words down and more to come. So, going well at present.
It's been an odd day. The new bed we ordered over 6 weeks ago, finally arrived, which meant the old one had to be dismantled and the new one assembled. The headboard didn't quite fit the base, so, instead of sending it back and having to wait for more weeks, I got out the drill and screw driver and did a spot of modification. Looks fine and is as solid as you could wish. Should be a good night's sleep tonight.
Completed Kate's funding application with the bit Valerie and I had to contribute to the process, so now just waiting for things to happen there.
More stuff transferred from collapsing cardboard boxes into sealed plastic containers for the loft. Will have to get those up there tomorrow.
And now I'm for a drop of red stuff whilst I watch 'Have I Got News For You' and 'QI' on the idiots' lantern.
Another picture for your inspiration.
By the way, if you like writing contests, take a gander at the Writing Contests page, where you'll find links to over 120 such competitions.

Edit Going Well

Image by Red Nose Day 2009 via FlickrAn interesting and, in some ways, productive day. Chapter 4 of the new book 2 is now done, with some small additions to reflect its new position in the scheme of things. Book 1 is now up to chapter 16 with the alterations and corrections to the text.

The buddleia is trimmed back, the hedge bordering the south western side of the garden is tamed. And both will now give better displays when spring comes into its own. Two of the four borders are now free of their weeds and a couple of plants that were in unsuitable spots have been transplanted to better locations.

Tonight, in the UK, is Red Nose Day, a celebration of comedy on the TV, run to raise money for charitable organisations here and in Africa. Its a biennial event, alternating with Children In Need, which does the same sort of thing exclusively for children's charities. For me, these are two nights when I must participate and watch. There is  mix of pathos and comedy and a great deal of money is generally raised for good causes, so I shall sign off now and spend the evening in front of the box with my family.

Author Interview with Shiela Stewart

Raised on a rural farm in Saskatchewan, Shiela Stewart relied on her vivid imagination to fill her days.
Never did she realize that her need to tell a story would someday lead to becoming a published romance author. In the fall of two thousand and six, Shiela published her very first book and hasn't stopped since.

When not writing, Shiela spends time with the love of her life, William, and their three children. She has a strong affection for animals which is evident in the five cats, one dog, three turtles and ten fish she owns. Some of her passions aside from writing are drawing  and painting and proudly displays her artwork in murals in her home.

Her favorite time of day is sunset and loves to stargaze.

Tell us about Horsing Around in a few sentences.

Horsing Around is the first book in my Carnal Desires series.

Carnal Desires: We've got a match for all your sexual pleasures.

Sara Miller needs a real man. One who can give her what she desires in and out of the bed. So far, none have met her expectations. She’s hoping all that will change after submitting her application to Carnal Desire’s Web dating service.

The owner of several prize-winning horses, more money than he knows what to do with, Andy McDonald has it all. Except for the love a good woman. He’s sick of flighty bimbos wanting only his money and not satisfying his sexual desires. After a friend pressures him into looking on line for a woman, Andy gives in and submits his application.

Sex takes on a new twist when Sara and Andy get together and nothing is taboo.

How did you come to write this particular book?

I was tossing ideas around with a friend one day. I’d seen all these ads on TV and on the internet about dating services. Matching people with their souls mates, and I thought, “Well, that’s just great if they have a bunch of things in common, but what if they’re not sexually compatible.” And voila, Carnal Desires Dating service came about. Now all I needed was my first couple to partake in this new service. And boom! Sara Miller and Andy McDonald walked in the door and took up the challenge.

Where and when is your novel set and why did you make these specific choices?

It is actually set mostly in a hotel called The Desire Inn. I wanted a place for the couples to go that was neutral ground for them both, just in case the relationship didn’t work. So The Desire Inn was created. Mistress Bella is the owner and she interviews each client and matches them up with their sexually compatible mate. No personal information is given to the clients so neither knows where the other lives unless they decide to reveal it.

How can people buy your books?

To purchase Horsing Around or any of my other books, readers can go to the Breathless Press Website at www.breathlesspress.com or All Romance Ebooks at http://www.allromanceebooks.com/storeSearch.html

Beginning writers make many mistakes; what do you think is the most harmful?

Letting friends and family read their work. Most friends and family won’t tell you honestly what they think of the book, if there are errors, and so forth. The best thing a new writer can do is to join groups that help critique their work honestly. If you’re not ready to hear your story needs more work, then you’re not ready to become an author.

How much revision of your MS do you do before you send it off?

I usually go through the manuscript several times before submitting it to my critique partners. When I first sit down to write, I just let the words flow. Sure, I’m conscious of spelling and grammar but I don’t sweat the small stuff. When I go through it a second time, I catch spelling errors and grammar. The third time I go through it for plot inconsistencies. Then I ship it off to one of my critique partners and they go through it for all of the above.

Every publishing house will tell you to make sure you have gone through your MS thoroughly before submitting to them. One way to show you’re not worthy of publishing is to hand in a manuscript ripe with errors. So revise, revise, revise. J

To what extent do you think genre is useful in the publishing world?

Genre’s are always changing so it’s good to stay in the loop. A specific genre can boost the sales of you book tremendously. Example: When Seducing the Darkness, the first book in my Darkness series was released, it came out as Stephanie Meyers Twilight series was making a big splash. Seducing the Darkness was in the top five best selling dark paranormal romance on Fictionwise for two weeks running. I was in third place and Stephanie Meyers books took up the first, second and forth spots.

The vampire genre took a huge boost in sales and it was what most writers wrote about. It’s like riding a wave. Once you’re on it, you go with it.

How do you know where to begin any given story?

For me, the story starts itself, sometimes from a mere sentence. My first novel, Kidnapped, started out that way. I was sitting in my living room one day and the words, “Well wasn’t this a fine predicament she’d gotten herself into now. Won’t dear old daddy be thrilled when he finds out his only child was being held captive by a bunch of thugs.” Just popped into my head. From there the story unfurled.

Do you have support, either from family and friends or a writing group?

I have a very supportive family. My hubby is actually the one that pushed, not encouraged, pushed me to look into getting my work published. He did the research, got books on getting published and kept at me until I finally caved and started submitting my work. My children are thrilled to have a mother who is an author, though my middle son has a bit of a hard time with some of my more sexier books. It doesn’t help that his friends tease him (in a friendly manner) that his mother rights smut. LOL (he’s 16 by the way.)

As for other family. My sisters are very supportive. They even through a surprise party for me when my first book was published. One sister has bought every book I’ve published, and has told me that even though they aren’t all to her liking, she buys them because I wrote them. J

How long does it normally take you to write a book?

Normally? I’ve been told I’m anything but normal. LOL

I’ve cranked out a 60,000 word novel in a month. When a story comes to me, and it refuses to leave me alone until I get it all down on paper, I have no choice but to oblige. I’m fortunate not to have a day job so I can spend as much time writing as I like. Plus my kids are all older now so I don’t have little ones to take care of.

What single piece of advice would you give to writers still hoping to be published?

Be prepared for rejection but don’t let it stop your dreams.

What are you writing now?

Right now I’m revising the second novel in my Demon series. Awaken the Demon will be released in the spring and the second book in the series, Offer the Demon needs a lot of fine tuning.  The demon series is a tale of three generations of demons who happen to be the direct descendants of Satan.

 Do you have a website or a blog that readers can visit?

To learn all about me and my books, the readers can go to my website at www.shielasbooks.ca

I’m also on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/shiela.stewart

And I share a blog with two friends and fellow authors called, BSB Hot Romances: http://bsbhotromance.blogspot.com/

Where do you write?

I spend my time on the sofa in my living room where I can crank up the stereo, watch the snow fall outside and create until my heart’s content. If I want to write while the family is home, I take my laptop to my bedroom, sit on my bed and create.

Thanks so much for this!