EC Sheedy's most recent books...
A Man Called Blue a contemporary romance set in London, England.
Staying Cool a romantic suspense novelette
How/why did you start to write?
I don't
believe I was a born writer, but I was a born reader who early on developed a
love for stories. As a young reader, I fell in love Anne (with-the-e) Shirley
and what I thought was the most idyllic place on earth, PEI. I was given Anne
of Green Gables for my ninth birthday. Best present ever!
After the Anne
books, I read a million dusty old books that centred around girls in English boarding schools. I discovered these
books, a lot of them anthologies, while ferreting around the used bookshops in
downtown Vancouver with my mother—also an avid reader. Funny, though, I don't
remember the names of any of those books, just the pranks and
"shenanigans" of the boarding school girls and the glowering
stewardship of the headmistresses.
How did you become an author?
I'm not sure. (see
furrowed brow) I don't remember a burning desire to write the Great Canadian
Novel—which may, or may not, account for why I haven't written it. :-) My sense
was more, I love words, love stories, and I want to give writing a try. Not the
most powerful motivation in the world and totally sans any nod to high art,
because on the heels of that give-writing-a-try thought came the I-want-to-be-published
thought. I am, I think, mercenary at heart. And one thing I did know; I did not
want to be a trunk writer.
What was your first published piece?
My first
published work was a non-fiction business book for Self-Counsel Press. Fresh
off of selling my own computer service business, it seemed a natural project to
take on. And it was fulfilling to share what I'd learned as an entrepreneur with
people keen to start their own businesses. Self-Counsel is a super publisher,
and I enjoyed working with them. I ended up writing two business books for them,
before discovering my real passion was fiction.
With the often
typical arrogance of a new writer, I decided I'd dash off one of those short
Harlequin romances, this having never
read one. (What was I thinking?) But, really, how hard could it be? Answer: Very hard. Turned out I didn't have a
clue how to stitch and glue a story together, let alone imbue my pages with the
emotion and passion necessary to show two people falling in love. So I started
to read, and read, and read... After digesting countless romance books—seriously,
I think I read over 400 of them—I started writing again. This time, I pulled it
off and sold the book, and then a few more to Kensington Publishing in New
York. Along the way I discovered how much I enjoyed writing nasty villains, so I
started writing suspense—still with a central romance—but with a lot more mystery
and mayhem.
What did you do before embarking on
your writing career? Was it an asset to your writing? How?
Most of my
working life was spent as an entrepreneur in the computer and personnel service
business. And at one time I even owned a bookstore. Those were great years, full of hard work, long hours, and
constant challenge. And yes that experience was an asset when it came to my
late-start writing career. Owning a business taught me that to be successful,
you need both daring and perseverance—lots
of perseverance. These were good lessons to carry forward into the writing
world, because publishing is also a business. The concept of profit and loss
applies as much to publishing a book as it does to manufacturing widgets.
(Which I'll admit I found a terrible disappointment and not the least, uh,
romantic.) But knowing that both daring and perseverance still applied
eliminated a lot of worry and angst along the learning curve.
But as a grand
sweeping statement (I don't get a chance to make those very often.) Living life
is the finest and most valuable asset there is for a writer—any writer. It's life's
adventures, either career or personal, that brings voice and uniqueness to our word work. We all have a book in us—getting
it out is the tricky part. (On second thought, maybe making the story
entertaining and readable is the tricky part.)
What inspires you?
Oddly enough,
it's often a setting that provides the spark for my stories. I went to Spain,
loved it, and wrote a romance set there called ONE TOUGH COOKIE. I'm fascinated
with big houses and old hotels; I've set suspense books in both: A PERFECT EVIL
is set in an imagined English style estate near La Conner in Washington, and IN
ROOM 33 some malicious and dangerous people stalk the halls of an aging,
derelict hotel in Seattle.
Please share one of your successful
marketing techniques
Being on your
blog. :-)
Parting words
I really don't
have any scintillating parting words. Other than to say, to all those who want
to write, plan to write, or even dream of writing, get going and keep going.
Stories are gifts to us all—and they're important. If you doubt that for a
second listen to Ann Patchett:
"Reading fiction is important. It is a vital means of
imagining a life other than our own, which in turn makes us more empathetic
beings. Following complex story lines stretches our brains beyond the 140
characters of sound-bite thinking, and staying within the world of a novel gives
us the ability to be quiet and alone, two skills that are disappearing faster
than the polar icecaps."
(It's my pleasure, EC. Thank you so much for visiting.)
