Louise Shelley
About Me
I was born 1962 in the Rhondda. My father was desperate for a boy. There were seventeen of us born in the hospital that weekend, and I was the only girl. Nevertheless, I was still brought up to play football and cricket. I was the only child of two working parents. We lived in a large house on the side of amountain. It was a lonely yet exciting place to live, and stimulated my imagination. I attended a local school, where I made many friends, some of whom I am still in contact with, courtesy of Facebook. I joined the Civil Service on leaving school, where I have been employed for the last 40 years. I am thinking of retiring to be able to write more, but enjoy my work and the sense of purpose it gives me. I moved to Cardiff in the mid eighties, which opened up a new world to me. I met my husband in Cardiff, and we both enjoy travelling and walks in the country.
Inspiration
Books provided a great source of entertainment in my childhood. An English teacher noticed and encouraged my writing talent at age fourteen. Much later in my life, I read Alan Garner and was totally inspired by his ability to interweave landscape, myth and society. The Valleys landscape was the creative force in my life, but those of us growing up in the seventies were also spoilt by the excellent atmospheric drama on television. Kitchen sink dramas of the sixties also had some influence on my writing, such as Shelagh Delaney, which I felt people could relate to.
Why Rowanvale
Many Welsh publishers were not interested in my work, apart from two, who wanted me to make drastic changes. I therefore looked at self publishing companies, and noticed Rowanvale was local. I was impressed with their aims and the supportive services offered.
Reading
I have diverse tastes in literature, from the classics such as Virginia Wolf to modern classics like Margaret Drabble. I will also read science fiction or biography for instance if a book is written well. I read the latest book section in the Independent, and listen to Book Club on radio 4. I am interested in the story an author has to tell. I read about three books per month.
Pride
I am proud of the one novel I have written so far, especially the feedback received from readers. People of my home town can relate to the places, but also a reader from the US left feedback on Amazon, which I was surprised, but pleased my novel had some resonance in another country. My aim is to write books that speak to people.
Advice for writers block
Take a break, or take a blank sheet of paper and just write anything. This usually gets the creative juices flowing.
Item to have with me when writing
I just need a quiet room. Once I have the idea of a novel in my head, I make copious amounts of notes, which I sort into chapters and just write from there.
Best part of being an independent writer
The freedom and lack of pressure.
Whats Next?
I am just putting the finishing touches on my second novel. This novel has an anti racist theme, and is based around a Rhondda myth. Racism is a very topical theme at the moment, especially with the Black Lives Matter movement. My novel is again multi faceted, combining myth, romance, social history and landscape. A kind of Othello taken to the SW Valleys. Once published, I have been working on a third novel for the past five years. This will be my masterpiece, which I am very excited about, as are some of my readers.
I was born 1962 in the Rhondda. My father was desperate for a boy. There were seventeen of us born in the hospital that weekend, and I was the only girl. Nevertheless, I was still brought up to play football and cricket. I was the only child of two working parents. We lived in a large house on the side of amountain. It was a lonely yet exciting place to live, and stimulated my imagination. I attended a local school, where I made many friends, some of whom I am still in contact with, courtesy of Facebook. I joined the Civil Service on leaving school, where I have been employed for the last 40 years. I am thinking of retiring to be able to write more, but enjoy my work and the sense of purpose it gives me. I moved to Cardiff in the mid eighties, which opened up a new world to me. I met my husband in Cardiff, and we both enjoy travelling and walks in the country.
Inspiration
Books provided a great source of entertainment in my childhood. An English teacher noticed and encouraged my writing talent at age fourteen. Much later in my life, I read Alan Garner and was totally inspired by his ability to interweave landscape, myth and society. The Valleys landscape was the creative force in my life, but those of us growing up in the seventies were also spoilt by the excellent atmospheric drama on television. Kitchen sink dramas of the sixties also had some influence on my writing, such as Shelagh Delaney, which I felt people could relate to.
Why Rowanvale
Many Welsh publishers were not interested in my work, apart from two, who wanted me to make drastic changes. I therefore looked at self publishing companies, and noticed Rowanvale was local. I was impressed with their aims and the supportive services offered.
Reading
I have diverse tastes in literature, from the classics such as Virginia Wolf to modern classics like Margaret Drabble. I will also read science fiction or biography for instance if a book is written well. I read the latest book section in the Independent, and listen to Book Club on radio 4. I am interested in the story an author has to tell. I read about three books per month.
Pride
I am proud of the one novel I have written so far, especially the feedback received from readers. People of my home town can relate to the places, but also a reader from the US left feedback on Amazon, which I was surprised, but pleased my novel had some resonance in another country. My aim is to write books that speak to people.
Advice for writers block
Take a break, or take a blank sheet of paper and just write anything. This usually gets the creative juices flowing.
Item to have with me when writing
I just need a quiet room. Once I have the idea of a novel in my head, I make copious amounts of notes, which I sort into chapters and just write from there.
Best part of being an independent writer
The freedom and lack of pressure.
Whats Next?
I am just putting the finishing touches on my second novel. This novel has an anti racist theme, and is based around a Rhondda myth. Racism is a very topical theme at the moment, especially with the Black Lives Matter movement. My novel is again multi faceted, combining myth, romance, social history and landscape. A kind of Othello taken to the SW Valleys. Once published, I have been working on a third novel for the past five years. This will be my masterpiece, which I am very excited about, as are some of my readers.
