Writers on the Wharf : My Yarn with Shannon McRoberts

Shannon McRoberts 1st in the shed I would like to thank Shannon for finding the courage to be the first to enter the shed.

It has been a long day out on the water with my mates, Gerard, Jack, Terrance, and Frank and I have been looking forward to sitting and relaxing in my simple shed of solicitation with a nice cold brew.

My mates are the back, around a makeshift fire, sharing two dozen Coors Light between them and telling dirty jokes.

I slip my tired feet out of my rubber boots and place my stocking feet on a milk crate and twist open my first beer, savouring the soothing effects of the ice cold golden liquid as I close my eyes.

My silent revere is interrupted by a sharp rap on the door.

"Who in the hell can that be now?" grumbled Gerard.
I glare at the ornery senior member of our group and get up to answer the door. I am delighted at who I see, it is Shannon McRoberts, I greet her warmly and letting her in.

"Welcome to the shed of solicitation, Shannon have a seat, sorry that it is not more comfy, but a poor fishing season has forced me to reduce my furniture to two milk crates, but I have plenty of refreshments, care to have one? "

" I would like a coke please." I rummage around in my cooler and mange to pull out the last coke. Funny, I only bought a case this morning….hmmm…I glare at Frank who blushed and smiled at me sheepishly.

"Thank you for coming, Shannon, though I have known you for years, this yahoos are unfamiliar with you, share a little about yourself."

"I am an independent author, artist, and poet. I have several self published books of poetry, art, and novellas. I love fantasy art, MMORPGs, and RPGs. I didn't start writing novellas until after I was a working adult. One day I just had an idea and it turned into a book. Then I had another idea...and another...and another! So, my small idea of a novella turned into a series."

A series of cat calls and whistles come from the group around the fire, with all of them chanting "Woo baby, Shannon, she is a looker, that one!" I stare hateful daggers at the group and return to Shannon.

"Sorry about that Shannon, they have been out to sea for way too long and are not used to seeing a female without gills."

"I have seen The Daughter of Ares on the Amazon website and I would love to pick it up, but before I do, could you tell me a little about it?"

"The Daughter of Ares Chronicles www.daughterofares.com Sure. This is my "trilogy" for my mythological goddess Athine and her world. It includes Athine Verses: The Beginning, The Narkurru, and The Blood Sisters. It has been noted to be a 'coming of age' story and a great 'young adult' story. I basically take what you think yo know about Greek/Norse/Celtic mythology and put a new spin on it. If you love kick ass heroines, action, and mythology set in an imaginative world then this series is for you!"

"Wow, Shannon, that sounds intriguing, is there a particular part of the story that you really enjoyed writing?"

"I think I enjoyed writing and coming up with the entire Blood Sisters story. It is the longest in the series now and has gotten rave reviews. It was great for me because I finally, after years of loving vampire books, worked a vampire angle into something I wrote. It only took me about 15 years from my first attempt, but I did it. That story then allowed me to branch out into a continuation model in Worlds Collide and in my WIP Cursed Bloods."

I am set to ask Shannon the next question when Jack waltzes over, flashes Shannon is best and brightest flirtatious smile and asks her,

"Hey pretty lady could you tell us who your favourite characters are?"

"In my series I would have to say Athine and Nikeda are my favorite. They are developing to be a Sherlock vs Moriarty type of dynamic. Of course we can't forget Zarra!"

"Sorry about that, but Jack's question brought another question to light. If The Daughter of Ares Chronicles were to be optioned for a movie, who do you see playing your main characters?"

" I do not know. I am never any good at picking out "people" to play parts. Although I will always have Kevin Smith in my mind as Ares. I wouldn't mind seeing Jason Momoa in there as well. I bet Rose McGowan could pull off Nike! "

"Hey isn't Nike a sneaker? Hah, hah, hah!" Frank chimes in, trying to be witty, but failing by the look of barely contained disgust on Shannon's face, but he does manage to solicit a hardy round of snorts and laughter from Jack and Terrance, even the subdued Gerard.

I cannot believe I am associated with these jokers. I move on and continue with my conversation with Shannon.

"They will be perfect, Shannon, I could really see those actors playing those roles. I was wondering, as a person who writes on the side, during my down time, my writing process starts with forming the story in my head before I put pen to paper, what is your writing process like?"

"Usually a nagging idea, then I scribble notes to myself. Then I think about it. Then when I sit down to write, it usually changes!"

Terrance staggers over to us, nearly falling into Shannon's lap, spilling some of his beer on her and asks Shannon this question, "All of this sounds fascinating but I heard writing is a hell of a lot of work, why do you do it, what do you get out of it?"

"Hey! Watch it you walking beer factory! I don't want to smell like a brewery. It is a lot of work, but for me I get this wonderful world I know I created and once I get them in paper I can hand it out to people. I can say I did something."

"Thanks for the awkward segue, Terrance, now go over with the rest of the b'ys and let me and Shannon have our yarn. Terrance asked you why you like to write, now I want to ask you, is there anything about writing you don't like?"

"I think faster than I type. I hate typing it out. I would love to just have someone to type for me. And then there is all that damned formatting.....ugh. At least I have an editor. "

"I hear you girl, I wish either my thoughts slow down or my fingers speed up!" My beer is now empty, and I reach for another, and as I twist the top of the brew, I think of a couple more things I want to discuss with Shannon.

"When you write, what is it that you hope your readers take away from your story?"

"That there is something worth reading out there still. That people still have an imagination!"

"I know you have a ton of imagination still left in you for years to come, so, do you have any other stories you are currently writing or are planing to write?"

"Yes, I am in the middle of Cursed Bloods. Continuation of The Blood Sisters, Worlds Collide, and set in both Zarra's world and Athine's world...and some new ones :)"

I see Shannon shiver, her thin wool coat, providing her with little protection against the cold, so I decide to finish our little yarn and let her go home.

"Thanks a million for answering all my questions…and the others, Shannon, it has been a real pleasure. As I said before, I have seen The Daughter of Ares Chronicles online at Amazon is there anywhere else your book is available and what formats?"

"Currently I am on in Amazon right now, except for The Blood Sisters which is on iTunes and Nook through lulu.com Most of my books are on Amazon though. Just go to www.shannonmcroberts.com and click on "amazon author" and that will show you all my books. I am trying to get createspace going, but it's taking awhile! It will show up on that page too when I get them done. If you have the "bluefire" reader I think you can read just about any kind of electronic file even if you do not have a kindle. "

"You must be frozen solid by now, Shannon, my mates have been pretty greedy with the heat, so I am going to let you go so you can toddle on home and warm up, but before you go is there anything else you want to add?"

" I am working on daughterofares.com, which is a companion site that will show the conceptual artwork of my characters as well as tell who is who. It also features freebies and short stories. You should check it out! "

"I certainly will, Shannon, thank you so much for coming and if I do not see you around soon, I wish you all the best in your writing endeavours."

I help Shannon off the milk crate and see her to the door, the rain had began to pour again, so I wish her a safe drive home, while I return to my mates to throttle them with a beer bottle.