Shelagh's Blog: September 2006

Friday, September 29, 2006

More information

The heading to this post is correct but the information isn't new. At least, not new to the 'net. I seem to have added information all over the web: my website, on-line bookstores, forums, myspace, on-line newspapers and libraries.
All the information is about writing with a little bit about why I write. So, why do I write? I'm not sure. A bit like climbing mountains I suppose. Have keyboard, will write.
I don't write to influence, impress or educate anyone. I write because not writing would mean not expressing any ideas.
So here I am, sharing my ideas.
I'm not exactly full of ideas today so this blog entry might be brief.
I'm digressing again. This is supposed to provide more information and I've provided very little.
I've already mentioned New Zealand. Not the only antipodean region I've visited. I had a great time in Australia on a couple of occasions. The first time I visited Brisbane and the Gold Coast, and somehow ended up on a round trip from Coolangata airport to Melbourne and back in a day. But that's a long story. I'll save that for another blog entry.
I've done quite a bit of travelling around the world and I've lived in three countries in the UK. I was born in England, lived in Scotland for twenty-six years and I now live in South Wales.
More about me later.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

More about me

This is supposed to be about me, but I lead such an uneventful life that there's little I can say. Well, I suppose I could say a great deal because I'm a writer and writers always have a great deal to say about everything and anything. But then you would all fall asleep!

What you really want to read about is all the amusing moments of my life: the times I've fallen flat on my face, walked into gents' lavatories and all that stuff. Well, I did once walk into a men's public lavatory (in New Zealand) but it was empty. I walked in, used one of the loos, washed my hands and walked out again. Then I saw the sign. There was no wo in it. And no-one around to say, "Woa there, look at the sign!"

Not a very busy place New Zealand. Five million people and ten times as many sheep. It's worth a visit though. The landscape is spectacular and you can drive for miles on empty roads.

I digress. I'm supposed to be talking about me not New Zealand. Maybe in my next blog I'll tell you a little bit more about me.

Saturday, September 09, 2006

My first blog

This is my first blog. I'm Shelagh. That's the Irish spelling of Sheila. I'm from the UK and my first novel Mr. Planemaker's Flying Machine was published in 2005.

Mr. Planemaker's Flying Machine

My Writing

When I began writing in 1998, I wrote my first unpublished novel The Power of Persuasion.

The story, set in Scotland, is about a woman in her early forties, who writes a letter to a national newspaper in response to features written by a freelance journalist employed by the newspaper. The journalist has quite a reputation as the newspaper's theatre and film critic.

Despite the fact that the newspaper does not print the letter, the journalist seeks out the woman who wrote it and follows her around. The novel is very tongue-in-cheek and full of humour and is now available on Lulu.com:

http://www.lulu.com/content/2048817

I am also working on a sequel Mrs. Planemaker's Flying
Carpet to my first published novel.

In October 2005, one of my poems Hope for a Safer Place was chosen
for inclusion in the anthology
Stories of Strength, which was written in the aftermath
of the Katrina Hurricane to help raise money for Disaster Relief charities.

In February 2007, my first short story, Leo's Daughter: Mistress of the Web was accepted by Universe Pathways Magazine.

Issue 5 of the English magazine with my story inside can be previewed on lulu.com:

Universe Pathways preview

My story, Leo's Daughter: Mistress of the Web, is on page 167.

You can find Issue 5 of the English magazine here:

Universe Pathways: Issue 5