Ask the Author: Djuna Shellam
Answered Questions (8)
Djuna Shellam
That's an easy question. I'd go back in time to somewhere between 1948 and the mid-50's to Sleepyside(on-the-Hudson), New York, where I'd hang out with Trixie Belden, Honey Wheeler and the Bob-Whites and solve mysteries.
Djuna Shellam
Hopefully, by summer I'll have published my sixth novel. I would like to do some reading before I begin my next project. There are a few classics I'd like to reread, or read for the first time. Who? The potential list is long—let me get back to you.
Djuna Shellam
I'm not sure I'd call it inspiration that gets me to writing. It's more of an internal drive of which I have no control. An idea, or a story will begin to formulate in my brain; and over time, it will continue to form until it begins to bubble up into my every thought. That's when I start plotting in my head. Once that plotting begins, there's not much I can do about it until I ultimately find myself jotting down notes on a yellow pad, or at my keyboard, tapping out an outline, a chapter, a synopsis... whatever.
Now, from where that initial storyline idea springs is often a mystery; OR... it can be a bit of a conversation I happen to overhear in a line at the grocery store, or something that happened to a friend or acquaintance, and I'll think, gosh, that little tidbit in their story would make for a great experience for my character. By the time the story is in progress or completed, its genesis is but a vague memory.
Now, from where that initial storyline idea springs is often a mystery; OR... it can be a bit of a conversation I happen to overhear in a line at the grocery store, or something that happened to a friend or acquaintance, and I'll think, gosh, that little tidbit in their story would make for a great experience for my character. By the time the story is in progress or completed, its genesis is but a vague memory.
Djuna Shellam
Don't compare yourself to other writers. Don't try to be "the next" whoever. Just be yourself. It's your voice, your style, your stories that will make your mark, not chasing after someone else's journey. Write what you know, and when you don't know it, write like you do. When you feel like writing, write. When you don't feel like it, write—or don't write. Whatever, just like any other craft or skill, you must practice to be good. If you're naturally good, then you must practice to be great. Practice writing—it's just that simple. Try not to look to others for validation. It's difficult not to, especially after you've slaved over a writing project and want some feedback, but if you must, don't let someone else's opinion define you. After all, it's just an opinion. One of millions. Believe in yourself. If you don't, why should anyone else?
Djuna Shellam
I haven't really experienced the writer's block phenomenon. I don't write on a schedule, so if I have nothing to say, I don't say anything and it doesn't bother me. There are times when I feel as if I have a need, a drive to write something, but don't know exactly what I want to say at that particular time. That can be frustrating—for about a minute. I find that if I just start writing, things just happen. I may have to delete a great deal of what I've written, but eventually, good stuff comes out.
Djuna Shellam
My most recent book, A Woman Like Eve, Book Six of The Em Suite Series, came about early on in the series. I named my character Eve, who first appears in Book Two, Mackenna on the Edge, after the independent foreign film, A Woman Like Eve. Though she bears no resemblance to the film character, I wanted to pay homage to that film.
Djuna Shellam
I answer this question at length in my podcast, The Djuna Shellam Podcast, but in essence, as a writer and a storyteller, I can reinvent myself, others, rewrite history, and make the world mine. It doesn't matter how old I am, what possessions I have in this world, where I've been or haven't been, or who loves me, or doesn't love me. No, as a writer, I decide everything.
With that kind of power, who wouldn't want to be a writer ? The bottom line to me is this: I love telling stories that can take readers to another place, another time, and give them characters who affect them in some way. Being a writer allows me to do that.
With that kind of power, who wouldn't want to be a writer ? The bottom line to me is this: I love telling stories that can take readers to another place, another time, and give them characters who affect them in some way. Being a writer allows me to do that.
Djuna Shellam
I'm in the final editing stage of of Book Six, continuing the series The Em Suite. The title is A Woman Like Eve. I'm hoping for a late spring 2023 release.
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