USA Today best-selling author Sheila Roberts has seen
over fifty books, both fiction and non-fiction in print. Her novels have
appeared in many different languages and been made into movies for both the
Lifetime and Hallmark Channels. She writes about things near and dear to
women’s hearts – love, friendship, family and chocolate.
Her latest book is the women’s fiction, Winter
at the Beach.
Website Link: http://www.sheilasplace.com
Twitter Link: https://twitter.com/_Sheila_Roberts?lang=en
Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/funwithsheila/
BOOK BLURB:
Jenna Jones, manager of the Driftwood Inn, a vintage motel
in the Washington beach town of Moonlight
Harbor, is convinced that a winter festival would be a great way to draw
visitors (and
It turns out that Susan knows a lot. A big storm hits during
the weekend of the festival, wreaking havoc with the parade and producing power
outages all over town. Including at the Driftwood Inn.
Jenna finds herself with a motel filled with people, all
with no power. What to do? Enlist the help of friends, of course. Her friends
take in many of the stranded visitors, and Jenna and her Aunt Edie take in the
others, stuffing them into Aunt Edie’s house next door to the Driftwood.
All the guests come with their own unique stories. The last
thing Taylor Marsh wanted was a getaway with her husband. His refusal to give
up on his dying business is taking them down financially and killing their
marriage. But her sister Sarah (she who has her financial act together and
never lets her sister forget it) insists this will be fun for both their
families. It will only be fun for Taylor
if her husband gets eaten by a giant squid. Then there’s Darrel Wilson, who
planned the perfect anniversary getaway for his wife, who’s been undergoing
chemo. So much for the perfect anniversary. And the sisters, Lisa and Karen,
who can’t seem to go on a sister outing without it turning into a Lucy and
Ethel adventure. Unlikely roommates, all of them. But perhaps each one has a
valuable lesson to share with the others. And perhaps, what looked like a
disaster will prove to be the best holiday adventure of all.
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Thanks for this interview, Sheila. Congratulations on your
new book! Would you say it’s been a rocky road for you in regards to getting
your book written and published or pretty much smooth sailing? Can you tell us about your journey?
I’ve been on this publishing road for so many years that I
think I’ve pretty much already tripped over most of the rocks. This particular
book was a pleasant journey and I enjoyed the whole process – the writing, the
edits, working with my editor on back cover copy and seeing my gorgeous cover.
There are a lot of ups and downs in this business (and believe me, I’ve had my
share), so it’s good to enjoy the fun when you’re in an up phase.
If you were to pen your own autobiography, what might the
title be?
It’s a Wonderful Life (Sorry, Frank Capra, you can’t
copyright a title.)
When not writing, what do you like to do for relaxation
and/or fun?
I am big on fun. I line dance, drag my husband out dancing
once a week, play tennis, read, have girlfriend parties, play a ton of games
(Charades, anyone?), and gorge myself on episodes of House Hunters International.
What makes your book stand out from the rest?
That’s a hard question to answer. There are so many
wonderful authors putting books on the shelves. So, why should a reader part
with her hard earned dollars for one of mine? For the fun of it. I love books
that incorporate humor and I try to do that in mine. I’m big on encouragement
and happy endings, so even though my characters may struggle, they always find
their way to a good place by the end of the book. And recipes. This book has
some yummy ones and I spent a lot of time wiping drool off my chin as I typed.
Can you give us the very first page of your book so that we
can get a glimpse inside?
Life at the beach was good. It was even
better when you ran a motel and had people staying in it.
Lately life at the beach hadn’t been quite so good for Jenna
Jones, manager of the Driftwood Inn in the beach town of Moonlight Harbor, Washington. Her great-aunt, Edie
Patterson, the current owner, had offered Jenna both
a home with her and a job after her divorce. Jenna had been grateful for the new start and Aunt Edie had been
grateful for the help as the place had fallen into disrepair after the death of
her husband, Ralph. Jenna would eventually inherit the motel, which offered her
financial security.
It had been a win-win deal, and Jenna had whipped the place into shape, decorating on a shoestring, giving the rooms a different theme, depending on what color bargain carpet and what kind of thrift store décor she’d been able to find. The Driftwood Inn was now, if she did say
so herself, a charming beach retreat. But she needed more heads in beds.
After Labor Day, when summer fun ended and families got busy with school and football season, reservations became scarce. Now, in October, well, if you were looking for a cute vintage motel to stay in, the Drift- wood
Inn had plenty of vacancies.
If your book was put in the holiday section of the store,
what holiday would that be and why?
Christmas. It’s my favorite holiday, and almost every year I
try to bring out a Christmas tale. This book starts a little before and extends
a little beyond, but there’s still plenty of holiday fun in it, including
Jenna’s Seaside with Santa festival… which is going to turn out to be something
that Santa and anyone with a brain will want to avoid.
Would you consider turning your book into a series or has
that already been done?
This is the second book in the Moonlight
Harbor series. The first book was Welcome to Moonlight Harbor.
When you were young, did you ever see writing as a career or
full-time profession?
No. I wrote stories and made “books” when I was a kid
(usually about horses since I was horse mad at the time). Took a ton of lit and
writing classes in college and sold some articles when I was a newlywed but I
never really saw myself as a published author. I wanted to be a songwriter.
Funny how, sometimes, what you want isn’t what you’re supposed to be doing.
Did any of your books get rejected by publishers?
My very first book never saw the light of day, but my
second, which I wrote on a fluke, did get published. Of course, I had my share
of frustration after that. I’ve crashed my writing career twice and had to
reinvent myself. But I’ve always kept on going because I love to tell stories.
What is your view on co-authoring books; have you done any?
If you find a good working partnership then I say go for it.
I’m about to try and co-write a book with my husband. Hopefully, we’ll still be
speaking to each other by the time we’re done.
What’s next for you?
This spring The Beach
Retreat will hit the shelves. And little Sheila will hit the beach. Unless,
of course, Dancing with the Stars
calls. J
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