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The Antidote to Shocking Twists
Sketchy Characters follows a young woman that ends up homeless and jobless due to a hurricane, becoming entangled with a missing friend and a murder mystery. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
Marilyn is the manager of an apartment complex and a part-time artists’ model. She is single and has no family; however, she has close friends, especially Fran. For my purposes I wanted the protagonist, Marilyn, to be completely unencumbered but forced to fend for herself. The hurricane accomplishes this by taking her home, job, car, and scattering many of her friends far away as they flee the rising water. Fran also goes missing and the hurricane initially appears to be to blame. Marilyn’s single, unencumbered status gives her flexibility to react to circumstances quickly without the considerations of a spouse, kids, a house, etc. It also creates internal conflict because she needs to find a way to support herself and she begins to question her life more, namely what she wants from it. From that point forward it was off to the races and the plot picked up momentum.
There is a lot going on in this novel for Marilyn. How do you balance story development with shocking plot twists? Or can they be the same thing?
Certainly, they can be the same thing. Every plot twist, whether shocking or not, should propel the story forward, otherwise the shock and the twist is simply gratuitous and doesn’t belong in the book. Which is not to say that story development must gain momentum through shocking plot twists, as obviously there are many other ways to advance a plot, but a bit of a shock judiciously applied keeps a mystery-lover reading—it’s a waker-upper. Of course, shock can become tiresome if the book is simply a repetitive, crazy rollercoaster ride. For me, the antidote to shocking twists is humor, especially when a character recognizes the shock and comments on it in a wry way. Plus I love a good sprinkling of funny observations, sarcastic dialogue, and the odd joke, throughout.
Are there any emotions or memories from your own life that you put into your character’s life?
I’ve lived in Houston since 2006, which is where the story is set, and I experienced Hurricanes Ike and Harvey up close and personal. (I included Ike and Harvey in the book’s Acknowledgements as a joke.) The devastation done by hurricanes could be called indescribable, but I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to draw on those experiences and give describing a hurricane a shot. Weather plays a big part in writing a novel and having grown up in Toronto, I also felt at home describing the snowy scene in Detroit.
Also, the protagonist is an artists’ model and she and her friends are artists. I too am an artist and I’ve been on both sides of the easel—long ago as a model and throughout my life as a life drawing aficionado. I paint and draw in oils, watercolor, pencil, and pastels. I also illustrate children’s books and the covers of my novels. The illustrations for the children’s book Love You Forever, is the art for which I’m most well-known.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I am currently working on two books. One is middle-grade fiction set in New York City, which will have many black and white illustrations. The other is another Houston-based mystery novel. Hopefully both will be out within a year and I’ll be back in touch with Literary Titan for your outstanding reviews.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
A frantic search for a missing friend.
A brutal double murder…
When chaos blows up Marilyn’s life, and she’s forced to go on the run from ruthless killers, she can’t dodge a cast of sketchy characters that ooze into her orbit. There’s a crooked lawyer and his wealthy clients, an internet scammer, a pair of suspicious hipsters, and a serial killer targeting the artists at Marilyn’s life-drawing group. Throw a couple of good friends and a sexy and protective detective in the mix, and it’s not all bad. Even so, it’s survival of the smartest and most resilient. As the action moves full speed, and the twists and turns keep coming, Marilyn must tackle the circumstances of her new, near-impossible normal.
Sketchy Characters
Marilyn is a young woman who finds herself homeless and jobless in less than 24 hours due to the rain that has just flooded the entire city of Huston. Her friend Fran offers help by letting Marilyn stay at her place while she gets back on her feet again. Before Marilyn arrives at Fran’s, Fran informs her that she will go on a rescue mission with the next-door neighbors to help people affected by the flood. Suddenly Fran goes missing, and Marilyn is doing anything in her power to find her friend.
Sketchy Characters by Sheila McGraw is an intricate story of loss, grief, crime, as well as hope, love, and growth. This creative story handles themes of murder, drug overdoses, cover-ups, and finding the truth on one hand while also intertwining love interests and everyday activities on the other.
McGraw has successfully created a cast of characters who capture the readers’ attention on the first few pages and manages to keep it to the very last page, putting them in desperate situations and even needing to make immoral decisions to survive. Adding layers to each character, such as Marilyn’s aunt Zabi who has passed away but appears as Marilyn’s subconscious thoughts in a way that Marilyn knows she is never alone. Another thing that fascinated me is the fact that social media becomes a character in the story. The author does not ignore the social media presence in our lives but instead uses it to her advantage, spicing up the story.
The plot has been developed masterfully by McGraw, engaging the reader and giving just enough information to keep them turning the pages to find out what happens next.
Sketchy Characters is an excellent read for anyone who wants to be kept in suspense the whole time with thrilling situations and lots of action. This riveting novel is so intricate and alluring that you won’t be able to put the book down.
Pages: 354 | ASIN : B09PZLZ2YR
A Woman’s Midlife Awakening
The Knife Thrower’s Wife follows a woman that, after failing to save her marriage after his infidelity, ends up the prime suspect in his mysterious murder. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
While many mystery novels start with the discovery of a dead body, I deliberately opened the book with the protagonist, Julia, having a disturbing dream of her husband as a knife thrower with her strapped to his target; and unfortunately, his aim isn’t the greatest. I wanted to write a more nuanced, psychological profile of Julia and allow the reader to befriend her, get to know her character, and possibly relate to her situation before bodies appeared. Julia’s reaction to the dream and how she passes it off as a fever-dream is in keeping with her deflection from, and her burying of, unsavory happenings in her life and her past that are gradually revealed. Julia is a complicated mix of smart, capable, loyal and talented, but also a people-pleasing doormat.
Once her character is revealed, I wanted her to begin to change, to become stronger, so I had her pay attention to her ever-increasingly violent dreams and not ignore them as she would have before. She begins to paint scenes from the dreams and begins to understand that the nightmares are her subconscious trying to awaken her to the fact that she lives in a state of denial in a gilded cage.
It intrigued me that her art was imitating dreams, her dreams were imitating her real life, while her pretend life was superficially imitating a Hallmark card. Also, several unsavory characters have gatecrashed Julia’s orbit and she must deal with their presence which also brings out a new dynamic in her.
In plotting the story I was aware the book could end here, as a fascinating psychological look at a woman’s midlife awakening through her art and her husband’s betrayal. However, there was another twist to be had. And since I was writing a mystery, it’s only fitting that when a body is found, one of her paintings raises the suspicions of two detectives, one eager and young, the other, older and jaded… until finally, she endures a trial.
Julia starts off the novel as a devoted and submissive wife and through the course of everything becomes a stronger more confident person. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
Since time immemorial, men have had the physical strength (and the anger issues), for good and for bad. Women tend to be nonviolent nurturers by nature and by conditioning. Women are nice. Many women, like Julia, take their niceness too far. They go along to get along and will accept, or at least work with, the status quo to preserve a lifestyle, a standard of living, a marriage, a relationship, a career. Julia has taken her niceness to a tipping point. She is a successful artist, she happily runs the house, shops, cooks, cleans the pool, tends the garden… all admirable and enjoyable… until she starts to recognize that not only are her efforts taken for granted, they are expected. Add a deception to the mix and there comes a turning point as she begins to question the status quo. Only then can she begin to see the real picture and from there she is forced to take action and quit being the ‘javelin catcher’ for the entire family.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
The Inadvertent submissive: The belief that we can have it all begets the superwoman-complex of demonstrating our ability by taking on way too much and ending up as the maid, bottlewasher, chauffeur, chef, renovator, seamstress, wage-earner, and all-round fixer… a slave to everyone’s wishes.
Gaslighting: Don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining. It’s important to trust our gut and trust what’s in front of our eyes.
The subconscious: Our conscious self organizes our closet by putting all the blouses, pants, and jackets in groupings. Our subconscious self pulls everything out of the closet including stuff that’s hidden at the very back — the boxes of Halloween costumes, old love letters, journals, and sex toys.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
The next book is Sketchy Characters — available February 15th, 2022.
A devastating hurricane.
A frantic search for a missing friend.
A brutal double murder…
When chaos blows up Marilyn’s life and she’s forced to go on the run from ruthless killers, she can’t dodge a cast of sketchy characters that ooze into her orbit. There’s a crooked lawyer and his wealthy clients, an internet scammer, a pair of suspicious hipsters, and a serial killer targeting the artists at Marilyn’s life-drawing group. Throw a couple of good friends and a sexy and protective detective into the mix and it’s not all bad. Even so, it’s survival of the smartest and most resilient as the action moves full speed, the twists keep coming, and Marilyn tackles the circumstances of her new, near-impossible normal.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
Can you say ‘I love you’ too much?
Of Love and Pies follows a narrator asking the question, ‘can you say I love you, too much’, by representing the phrase with pies. What was the inspiration for your story?
In answer to the first part of your question… Can you say ‘I love you’ too much? If you live in a place where saying I love you means being inundated with pies, then perhaps you can say I love you too much, but in the real world, there’s no limit on saying ‘I love you’. In fact, I highly encourage it!
What was my inspiration?… I was toying with the idea of writing a book in the nonsense genre of Dr Seuss and Edward lear, albeit in a modern way. At the core of this form of writing is generally a concept. I pondered several forms of a rhyming/story/concept about love, but where to start with such an enormous topic, and how to give it a humorous slant? I started exploring actions and reactions. Say I love you (the action) makes for lots of pies (the reaction). It’s silly and fun… besides there can never be too many books about love (or pies).
Then came the illustrations. For decades my art in the book “Love You Forever” has been reducing readers to tears with its message of love that crosses generations. Love You Forever’s soft illustrations were ideal for that book. Of Love and Pies needed something livelier, funnier, and punchier, and I dug in with ink and watercolor paintings that reflect the wild and humorous intent of the text.
What is one thing that people point out after reading your book that surprises you?
Many point out that the frequency of saying I love You has changed over recent generations. Many say they never heard the sentiment as a child but they say it often with their own children, parents, and friends.
What were some of your inspirations as a writer?
I give thanks to the masters of nonsense rhyming verse: Edward Lear, Lewis Carroll, Edward Gorey, Dr. Seuss, and Spike Milligan. Oh, and there’s House of Pies, a restaurant in Houston not far from where I live in Galveston County. The greatest selection of delicious pies ever!
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I currently have two children’s books in the pipeline; a middle-grade adventure book set in New York City, and a graphic novel. Hopefully, both will be out within a year.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
Of Love and Pies by Sheila McGraw is a delightful and engaging children’s book that asks the question, Can you say “I love you” too much? What would happen if you said “I love you,” “every minute or two?” And what would happen if every time you said, “I love you,” multiple pies were baked? Would the streets be overrun with pies? Would pie suddenly become less special? Would there be so many pies that even a giant couldn’t eat them all? What should you do? McGraw provides a wonderful story-poem to answer that question, accompanied by her own colorful illustrations.
Of Love and Pies will keep children and their parents laughing and entertained. Lively and imaginative, this captivating story-poem and the talented Sheila McGraw’s own whimsical illustrations make for a joyful read. This book describes and illustrates vivid scenarios where there are so many pies everywhere that they are literally underfoot. The characters are colorful and magically drawn. The picture of the pies reaching up to the moon is fantastically delightful. The problem is made apparent, and then a creative and heartwarming solution is offered. Does this mean you have to stop saying “I love you?” Of Love and Pies is a great story for parents to read to their kids. It will not only entertain but will also help teach problem-solving skills to children. This charming book would be a great bedtime read for parents and children, and is sure to end with “I love you.” —Bonnie DeMoss, Readers’ Favorite,
Of Love and Pies
Of Love and Pies is an engaging picture book written and illustrated by Sheila McGraw. The narrator suggests that every time she says I love you a baker will bake three or five pies. It starts out with pies for breakfast lunch and dinner. Everyone loves having pie whenever they want. Soon there are more pies than anyone, even a giant the size of a mountain, can eat. There are pies all the way to the moon! Pies start making messes that can’t be cleaned, and unwanted guests of bugs and rats show up. This creates a problem of too many pies and the question, can you say I love you too much?
As the author and illustrator, Sheila McGraw has created an astonishing children’s book that provides a visual representation of love in a whimsical way that will grasp children’s attention. The awe-inspiring illustrations will delight young readers, as McGraw has made sure to include representation of multi-cultural families. Understanding I love you can be a challenging concept for toddlers and small children. What is love? This visual of pies make it a tangible idea.
Unlike many children’s books that can grow repetitive reading or overly simple illustrations, this children’s book will delight the parents and caregivers reading this enchanting story. As the story continues, people realize that there is such a thing as too many pies; and if you live where saying I Love you makes heaps of pies, you’ll need to cut back on saying I love you. The narrator must come up with a compromise that works for the town, has fewer pies, and still feels right to them. It validates the storyteller’s emotions and provides a solution for everyone.
Of Love and Pies is a magical picture book intended for toddlers and young children. However, the artwork and exciting story that has not been oversimplified will make it enjoyable for adults to read.
Pages: 34 | ASIN : B092SXNGYY
The Knife Thrower’s Wife
Picture the setting of a peaceful suburban neighborhood with the perfect family, the perfect house with the perfect neighbors. A mirage for the American dream. Julia Green is in a marital rut. As she struggles to put the pieces of her happy life back together, she finds things are not as picture-perfect as they may seem. Oblivious to her husband’s true nature, she starts to unintendingly dig up the dirt on a life she thought was full of love and bliss. To cope with her failed marriage, Julia starts painting scenes from her daydreams that unexpectedly turn her into the prime suspect in her husband’s death.
Author Sheila McGraw takes us through an unconventional murder mystery in The Knife Thrower’s Wife. We follow an average American family whose life turns upside-down when plots of murderous intent and scandalous affairs come to light. This inventive story takes off when Julia is arrested, and her trial begins. This twist in the plot is a beautiful example of the nail-biting anticipation McGraw expertly executes all the way to the climax of this mystery. The author builds suspense for readers as the story races towards the finale. McGraw leaves readers second-guessing Julia’s innocence, and the much-anticipated climax reveals who the killer really is. The story’s rising action created an opportunity for the author to completely surprise her readers.
This psychological thriller is a character study in Julia’s personality. Who she is at the beginning of this complex novel is a complete 180 from where she ends up. Readers will cheer for her as she finds her voice and stops being overlooked and walked over.
The Knife Thrower’s Wife is a riveting murder mystery that will keep you on your toes and have you wondering just what will happen next. The action and suspense are thrilling and make for a page-turning experience readers can not put down till the end.
Pages: 346 | ASIN : B08FHBKPH9
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