Make-Believe Mondays with Shelley Munro

Today on Make-Believe Mondays my guest is Shelley Munro.

Shelley, first, tell us a little bit about the manuscript you’re working on now.

Shelley: I’m currently working on book nine of my Middlemarch Mates series about a feline shifter community living in a small country town in New Zealand. My work-in-progress features two tiger shifters, although most of the shifters in the community are black leopards. The series starts with Scarlet Woman. Actually, each time I return to my Middlemarch series it’s like meeting up with old friends. This particular story features Ambar, the sister of the hero in CatNap and she’s starting to experience freedom after her very strict parents died in a motor vehicle accident.
If anyone is interested in the idea behind the story they are welcome to visit my website for photos of the real town, how I came up with the idea for the series and also a free PDF booklet which shows the family trees and the connections between the different stories in the series.

Debra: That sounds fascinating. Tigers are my favorite big cats. Readers can find all your websites listed at the bottom of this interview.

Ray Bradbury said, “We are cups, constantly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.” How do you keep your creative cup filled?

Shelley: One thing I’m not short of is ideas so I must be doing all right with keeping my creative cup filled. I’m constantly reading—anything from newspapers and magazines to books in various genres. I read lots of non-fiction titles as well. I watch current movies and television shows—they’re always great sources of ideas and a way to relax away from writing. My favorites at the moment are The Mentalist and True Blood.

Writers spend a lot of time alone during the writing process, and I think it’s very important to get out and interact with the rest of the world. Watching other people go about their business is always fascinating and a way to stimulate the imagination and get ideas. I really enjoy people watching at the mall.

And finally, I love to travel and always return home recharged and full of ideas, ready to start writing again.

Debra: I agree with all these points. It's a balance I think. A writer needs to be alone to write, but we also need to interact with people. And I firmly believe that everyone should travel. If everyone left the country they were born in and traveled even once to another country we'd live in a much different world.

As a child did any particular book or author pull you into their imaginary world?

Shelley: An English author, Enid Blyton was one of my favorites as a child. She is well known for her Noddy series, but she also wrote children’s mysteries such as the Famous Five series plus stories full of magical elements like wishing chairs, fairies, goblins and toys that come to life. I write contemporary and paranormal stories usually strewn with bodies. I think Enid Blyton is directly responsible for the direction my writing has taken.

Debra: I am not familiar with her, but Shelley has kindly provided a website link.
www.amazon.com/Enid-Blyton

Shelley: I was also very keen on Hugh Lofting’s Doctor Dolittle series about a doctor who treated talking animals.

Debra: Oh yes, I recall being fascinated with the animals in that one.
Shelley, thank you for joining us here on this Make-Believe Monday to share a little bit of the magic of writing with our readers.

Shelley: Thanks so much for having me here today, Debra.

Readers can visit my website at www.shelleymunro.com or my blog at www.shelleymunro.com/blog
www.shelleymunro.com/for-readers/behind-the-scenes
www.shelleymunro.com/for-readers/behind-the-scenes

Debra: It has been a pleasure.

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Debra's News/Debra is Watching:

www.debraparmley.com