I’d like to welcome Shiela Stewart to Reading Reality today. Shiela is the author of The Naughty Angel, a title in one of my own personal naughty delights, the 1Night Stand series from Decadent Publishing. Shiela’s here to tell us about her devilishly decadent new book (review here), share our mutual love of J.D. Robb’s In Death series, (Wow!) and explain why she adores Halloween.
Take it away Shiela!
Marlene: Shiela, can you please tell us a bit about yourself?
Shiela: I’ve been married for 27 years to a wonderfully supportive man who has stuck with me through the good and the bad. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be here today as an author. He pushed me to get my work published and for that I am forever grateful. We have three grown children, 17, 20 and 24 who always keep me on my toes. I love to write, which is obvious, but aside from that I love to create in other forms such as drawing, painting and knitting. I have a wicked sense of humor and love to scare people. My children are never safe. I’m not sure if I should be proud or annoyed that they inherited my sense of humor. LOL
Marlene: Could you describe a typical day of writing for us. Are you a planner or pantser?
Shiela: Often my ideas come from my dreams. I have very vivid dreams that are quite in-depth.
My typical writing day begins after I’ve cleaned my house, showered and returned emails. I put on dance music—a must have for me—grab a class of iced tea and get started. I don’t have a desk or an office. I prefer to write in my living room seated on the loveseat.
Marlene: I’ve noticed that a lot of your books are paranormal romance, including The Naughty Angel. What draws you to write about the “things that go bump in the night”?
Shiela: Having lived in a haunted house plays a big part in that. Aside from that it would be having an older brother who thought it was hilarious to hide under my bed and when I went to get ready to go to sleep he would reach out and grab my foot. He also loved putting his glow in the dark skull head in my closet. I guess it’s just in my blood because even as a small girl I was intrigued by scary stories. Halloween was and still is my favorite holiday. 🙂
Marlene: Where did your inspiration for this book come from? An angel and a demon, that’s an unusual combination for a love story!
Shiela: And precisely why I wanted to write it. It’s not a typical love story. Good and bad, Heaven and Hell. Such complete opposites. I always like to throw a curve in my stories and what better way than bringing a demon and an angel together. It stemmed from seeing an episode of Supernatural where an angel surprisingly kisses a demon.
Marlene: Was writing a story for the 1Night Stand series different from your usual writing style?
Shiela: The Naughty Angel is the second book on the 1Night Series that I’ve written. The first was A Taste of Humanity. It was more difficult in that I tend to write longer works that range from 20,000 words to over a 100,000 words. Condensing everything I want to say into fewer than 10,000 is a bit of a challenge for me. But what is life without challenges. 🙂
Marlene: What projects do you have planned for the future? What is next on your schedule?
Shiela: Right now I’m editing a series I wrote a while back, and sharing chapters of it on my blog That’s What She Said. It’s a story of a woman who has the ability to see and speak to the dead (Shocker, it’s another paranormal lol) She’s visited by a deceased little girl seeking help in finding her killer. It turns out she isn’t the only victim and Samantha is suddenly bombarded by several more young victims. While searching for a killer, she becomes attracted to a married man in the midst of a nasty divorce.
I post two chapters a week on Monday and Friday. Curious, check it out. http://shielassays.blogspot.ca/
Marlene: Now can you tell us 3 reasons why people should read your books?
Shiela: I like to give the readers an escape from the real world by sharing a glimpse into a fantasy I’ve created.
I create likeable realistic characters that draw the readers in and make them feel like they can relate to them.
And lastly–nothing more needs to be said for this one other than, my vampires don’t sparkle.
Marlene: What book do you recommend everyone should read and why?
Shiela: Every one of my titles of course. LOL Aside from my books I recommend anyone who loves a good mystery with romance to check out JD Robb’s In Death Series.
For those who want a steaming erotic novel check out any title by Faith Bicknell Brow.
And for those who like Non-Fiction I recommend Imperfect Justice: Prosecuting Casey Anthony by Jeff Ashton.
Marlene: After reading your journey to becoming a writer, I was wondering if you had any words of advice that you would want to give to aspiring authors?
Shiela: Never give up. Don’t let rejections bring you down and never stop learning and perfecting your craft. There are plenty of groups out there where you can get your work looked at and critiqued for free. I strongly suggest finding someone to look at your work before submitting it to a publisher. But also be cautious in who you have looking at your work. If the person has nothing but negative things to say, find someone else. There is nothing more discouraging than hearing someone rip your work apart and not give you any positive feedback.
Marlene: Before I let you go, would you like to tell us a little bit about your artistic hobby?
Shiela: I love to draw. My specialty is faces. I find faces so interesting, how each one is so different. I also love to draw nudes and animals. I find the art of drawing very relaxing. If you’d like to check out my drawings go to my artwork page in my website. http://www.shielasbooks.ca/Art%20work.htm
Marlene: One last question: Coffee or Tea?
Shiela: Coffee.
From living in a haunted house to writing paranormal romances, that’s one fantastic journey. Thank you so much, Shiela, for sharing a bit of it with us.
~~~~~Tourwide Giveaway~~~~~
And speaking of sharing, 5 winners will get to share the deliciously naughty fun of The Naughty Angel by winning an ebook copy of the book. Good Luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway