QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Part One: Who put the pop-up in the pop-up toaster?

And the answer is: I did! That was just one of my previous jobs, on the conveyor belt at Morphy Richards factory in my hometown, when I was in my teens. In fact it was first ever paid job and I was thrilled, and when I received my first pay packet I thought I was rich. But read on to find out more.

Pop up toaster

Probably every single job a writer does in life, and every person they ever meet, and every single experience, positive and negative, is raw material for a novel, short story, poem, an article or a nonfiction book… the list goes on and on.

What was the first job you ever had?

At the age of fifteen, I took a school holiday job on the assembly line at the Morphy Richards factory in St Mary Cray, Kent. I was one of the team making pop-up toasters. My job was to put the spring in that actually created the “pop-up”. Despite the fact that I’d passed a dexterity test before getting the job, every so often I lost my grip on the springs and they would ping across the aisle, in through the entrance to the ladies toilets.

The ladies on the assembly line were a revelation to me. I listened avidly to their conversations when the assembly belt stopped at break time and the doughnut trolley came round, and they all started gossiping and chatting, a rich treasure trove for a journal-writer like me.

What are the best and the worst jobs you’ve ever had?

The best was at the BBC, where I worked with lively and witty producers, presenters, broadcasters, scriptwriters, actors, studio managers and all kinds of creative people. I had great fun recording programmes both in studio and on location. I also freely admit that the conversations I heard between actors and producers in the BBC Club Bar at the Langham were a rich resource for me in my subsequent novels.

Radio recording studio

The worst was a job as a temp at a company called “Imported Meat Trades Ltd” (I’m a vegetarian). After the first day I was asked not to come back again. Not that that was actually the reason for my dismissal. They had no idea what I ate!

Overwhelmed secretary being bawled out by an impatient boss in an office

Fed-up secretary at her desk in the office

As an author of psychological, paranormal and mystery fiction, I draw upon not only my imagination but also my life experience. Write about what you know, they say.  Well, I partly agree with that. And I believe a lot of imagination, and often research, is important too! but who knows how your memories, your tastes, your values and personal preferences may play into the created world of your novels?  Often the effect they may have upon the imagination of the author lies within the unconscious.

I have worked in admin in the following places:

in London – BBC Schools Radio, the British Council Visitors Department, the Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Queen Mary College, University of London, and the Church Mission Society.

 In Kent – the Chairman’s office at the Kent Messenger, and the European School of Osteopathy.

 In Australia – the University of Queensland External Studies, at University of Queensland Press, and the Brisbane City Council.

 In Warwickshire – the University of Warwick, the Church Pastoral Aid Society, Mental Health Social Services, Mental Health Assertive Outreach, and the Speech & Language Therapy Department, NHS.

So – far too many to contemplate, and these don’t include all my various temp jobs!

I once had a temp assignment with a company which lost its opportunity to change the course of history – a firm in Tunbridge Wells which supplied ceiling tiles and partitions to the Middle East, and which had supplied and fitted a suspended ceiling to one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces just before the Gulf War. One of the directors said to me, “We should have installed a device up there which emitted a poison gas.” They were subsequently to discover how they might have changed the course of world history over the next two decades.

On another occasion, whilst working as a shop assistant at Swan & Edgar department store in Piccadilly Circus during the Christmas rush, I accidentally threw the till off the counter onto the floor. The impact reverberated around the entire Festive Gifts Department. My line manager, a prototype for Mr Humphries, picked it up and replaced it on the counter with smoothness and panache, and said to me, “Don’t you like this till?” We then carried on serving customers as if nothing had happened.

In this blog series, I will answer some questions I’ve been asked, which include:

What is your earliest memory?

Which books did you love reading as a child?

What made you want to be a writer?

Which authors have influenced you?

What are your favourite things?

How did you get your ideas for your two novels ‘Mystical Circles’ and ‘A Passionate Spirit’?

How long did the two novels take you to write?

What advice would you give someone who wants to be a writer?

These are just some of the questions I’ll be answering in my next few weekly blog posts here on this website at scskillman.com.

Why not join me on my writing journey by signing up to my monthly newsletter. I share gems and snippets from my research discoveries, news and insights from the writing and publishing worlds, and you’ll be the first to know when I have a new book coming out. I’d love to have you join us!

About Me

My name’s Sheila and I write under the pen name of SC Skillman. I live in Warwick with my husband and son, and my daughter currently lives and works in Australia.

I was born and brought up in Orpington, Kent, and have loved writing most of my life. I studied English Literature at Lancaster University, and my first permanent job was as a production secretary with the BBC. Later I lived for nearly five years in Australia before returning to live and work in the UK. 

My output includes psychological, paranormal and mystery fiction, and historical and paranormal nonfiction. Each of my nonfiction books is illustrated by 100 original full colour photos, mostly taken by myself, and others by my son and daughter (both talented photographers!)

In March 2023 I was the Nonfiction Adjudicator at the Scottish Association of Writers Annual Conference in Glasgow. I’m a member of the Society of Authors and the Association of Christian Writers.

My nonfiction books on Warwickshire are published by Amberley and include Paranormal Warwickshire, Illustrated Tales of Warwickshire and A-Z of Warwick. I’m now researching a fourth book for Amberley: Paranormal Gloucestershire. I also have a new light gothic horror novel in progress.

In addition to my published books, I blog weekly here on scskillman.com about books and films I love, people and places of inspiration, life, spirituality, history and travel.

I’m also a public speaker and have spoken to many groups and organisations about Paranormal Warwickshire, Illustrated Tales of Warwickshire, the quirky tales of Warwick, the art of writing nonfiction, and the power of story. Do get in touch with me if you’d like a speaker for your group!