Featured Interview With Sheila M. Cronin
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am a native Chicagoan, south side. My book is actually dedicated to the people of South Shore, the neighborhood where I grew up. I live on the north side now but still root for the White Sox.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
At age 8, I came down with a terrible bout of the flu. My new mother and I were still getting to know each other. She was a professional writer and avid reader. While I was sick, she gave me one of her favorite books from her childhood to read called The Little Colonel. It looked as thick as a bible and the pages even had gold edging! But once I got started on it, I couldn’t put it down. I’ve been hooked on books since then. I began writing around that same time.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite authors are updated as soon as I read a new good book. Recently I read Liane Moriarity: The Husband’s Secret and can’t wait to read more. I love mysteries and just discovered K.K. Beck so I’m going through all of hers. Leslie Meier and her series in Maine, too. However, some standards are: Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird, P.G. Wodehouse, Charles Dickens, and I’ll leave it there because I don’t want to leave anyone out.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
Do all gifts have strings attached? My novel explores that question. The Gift Counselor is set in Southern California where I live for 16 years. Jonquil Bloom a single mom and UCLA graduate student, has a knack for helping people choose gifts. Yet, her ten-year-old son Billy longs for a dog which she won’t allow him to have. Into their lives comes Claude Chappel, a general contractor, who uncovers the paradox of a gift counselor with giving issues and he resolves to remedy the situation. A Catholic priest, a collection of department store employees and customers seeking gift counseling for a variety of reasons, round out the characters. The book took over 15 years to write.
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