I’m so hyped today. Of course I am, I’m hyped on chocolate! Again! My guest today is Sheila Roberts, and she’s here to introduce us to her first yummy (review here) book about Life in Icicle Falls, Better than Chocolate. True love IS better than chocolate, but most of us will agree that chocolate is pretty damn good.
Marlene: Sheila can you please tell us a bit about yourself?
Sheila: Thanks so much for hosting me! I’d be happy to. Here’s Sheila in a nutshell. I love to read (and write). My family is hugely important to me and so are my friends. I’m a real party girl – love to play games, any kind of games, love to bake and entertain. I’m big into tennis and I drag my hubby out dancing on a regular basis. Right now I’m in the process of learning how to golf and I think I might have discovered a new addiction.
Marlene: Describe a typical day of writing for us. Are you a plotter or a pantser?
Sheila: Definitely a plotter. I like to have a map of where I’m going. I may take some side trips on my writing journey but at least I know how I’m going to get to the end of the journey.
Marlene: What can we expect of Better Than Chocolate?
Sheila: A good read. At least that’s what I hope you’ll get. My motto is: Read Sheila for a Good Time. That’s what I try to deliver.
Marlene: There are lots of romances about family companies, but what inspired you to write about a chocolate company (Yum!)?
Sheila: Well, when I was creating my town of Icicle Falls (which is, by the way, my ideal town), I asked myself what I’d want to see in it. And a chocolate factory came to mind. I’m a bit of a chocolate addict and if I was going to own a business that’s the kind of business I’d want.
Marlene: Would you like to share your favorite scene from the book with us?
Sheila: You know, I have a lot of favorite scenes, but probably my top one is the scene where my heroine, Samantha Sterling, is having a nightmare. I won’t give it away, but let me just say it involves being chased by giant candy bar monsters and then by our hero. Oh, and there’s a vat of chocolate, too.
Marlene: Who first introduced you to the love of reading?
Sheila: Probably my grandmother – but that’s pretty ancient history we’re talking! We always had books around our house and I remember how excited I was when I got my very first library card. One of my favorite childhood books was The Wind in the Willows. Our Seattle neighborhood had a Carnegie library. It wasn’t a huge building but it was gorgeous. I can still see it in my mind’s eye – the brick building, the stone steps, the hardwood floors and the bench in the children’s book section. How the light fell through the windows in the late afternoon. What a great place!
Marlene: Who influenced your decision to become a writer?
Sheila: Only me. I’ve always written, ever since I was kid.
Marlene: What book do you recommend everyone should read and why?
Sheila: Pride and Prejudice. Great writing and a great study in human nature.
Marlene: Now can you tell us 3 reasons why people should read your books?
Sheila: Well, I think if people enjoy humor and want a laugh they’ll want to read my books. I hope the books also are encouraging (some of them, like Small Change and Bikini Season, are actually self-help fiction – I’m especially fond of Small Change because I think I included a lot of helpful money-saving tips). Finally, I think I spin a good yarn. So, if you’re looking for fun, a good story, and some encouragement then I’m the girl for you.
Marlene: Would you like to tell us a little bit about your upcoming projects? What’s next on your schedule?
Sheila: I have some fun reads looming on the horizon. In November Merry Ex-Mas, a holiday tale of wives and their exes will be out. And that one is great fun. We even made a music video for it, which you can find on Youtube. (Look for Merry Christmas Mama and you’ll see me getting hauled off by Santa!) Then come spring I’ll have a novel out titled What She Wants, which is about a group of poker buddies learning to solve their woman problems in a very unusual way.
Marlene: Do you really think there’s anything better than chocolate? Maybe coffee? Tea? Wine? Margaritas? 😉
Sheila: Nothing is better than chocolate… but don’t tell my husband I said that. 🙂
Marlene: Morning person or night owl?
Sheila: Somewhere in between. Not a bad place to be.
Maybe nothing is better than dark chocolate, or even milk chocolate. But I’m not so sure about white chocolate. Frankly, I’m not sure white chocolate IS chocolate, but to each their own.
Thanks so much, Sheila, for being such a wonderful guest today!
