A Quick One on The Side - Sheila Quigley

A warm North East welcome to my guest today, Houghton-le-Spring's very own Sheila Quigley.

Sheila was born in the village of Herrington. You can find it using Google maps. At the age of 15 years, Sheila had her first job, working as a presser at Hepworths, a local tailoring factory. Sheila was married at the age of 18 years. Now divorced, she has two daughters and one son and is a grandma. She lived on the Homelands Estate in Houghton-le-Spring for many years and this became the influence for her Seahills Estate featured in her first few novels.
Sheila's rise to fame as an author was different to most in that she was the subject of a BBC documentary. Her first novel, 'Run For Home', was published in 2004 and brought D.I. Lorraine Hunt into our literary lives. After a successful series of novels featuring Lorraine, Sheila moved the location for her current trilogy featuring D.I. Mike Yorke and sidekick Smiler, a psychic street kid. The novels 'Thorn in My Side', 'Nowhere Man' and 'The Final Countdown' are all set on Holy Island. All Sheila's book titles are song titles from music that she likes. 'Thorn in My Side' has fooled many readers. The song that Sheila likes is actually by Bon Jovi. It's worth checking it out.
Sheila is also well-known in Houghton-le-Spring for her annual 'Houghton Feast', held in October. Along with local historian, Paul Lanagan, she takes fans on a murder mystery tour.
So, here goes, Sheila answers her own ten quickies...

Who is your favourite author?
"It has to be Stephen King."

What would be your favourite book read?
"That would be 'The Stand' by Stephen King."
( 'The Stand' is a post-apocalyptic horror/fantasy novel)

Who is your favourite band/group?
"It would the Eagles."

What is your most listened to album?
"It would be a toss up between Queen and the Eagles. I'm not very good at remembering album titles and they are all packed away ready for moving. I can tell you that my favourite songs are 'It's a kind of magic' by Queen and 'Hotel California' by the Eagles."

What has been the best gig/concert that you have attended?
"None. I couldn't stand all that screaming."

What is your favourite food?
"An all day brekkie."

What would be your favourite holiday destination?
"That would be Holy Island."

What would be the most autographs you've ever signed in one session?
"About 65."

Have you ever been mistaken for someone else?
"No."

How often do you get recognised?
"In the North East I get recognised quite a lot."


Many thanks to Sheila for being today's guest.
Next week, weather and traffic permitting, my guests will be Martyn Waites and Alison Gaylin.
As ever, thank you for reading...