Welcome to Shielah Stewart's guest blog!

Welcome Ms. Shiela Stewart to Love Romances and More, thank you for joining us.


Thank you so much for having me!


Did you always want to become a writer?


No, in my youth I wanted to be a dancer but even though I loved to dance the urge to write was always there. It was always in the background, pushing its way forward. It wasn’t until my late thirties when I decided it was time to stop pushing the writing voice to the back and let it free.



What is the most, and the least interesting fact about writing?


Good question. I’ve never gotten this one before. Most interesting…Being able to create believable people that come alive as I write them. Also, creating my own cities and places. .

Least interesting? Editing. It can be a long and tedious battle at times.



How did you celebrate your first release? What was it like to see your book in a bookstore? Do you have a special ritual for celebrating a book release?


I celebrated my first release with a big blow-out party. I invited all my family and friends to help me celebrate. I even did giveaways. Each person attending had their name put in a draw. The winners received a mouse pad and fridge magnet of my books.


Seeing my book in the shelves of a bookstore is the greatest joy I’ve ever had, aside form the birth of my children and marrying my husband. I was giddy every time I stepped into the store, though I tried to pretend it was nothing out of the ordinary, inside I was doing the snoopy dance and saying, “YAHOO,MY BOOK IS ON THE SHELVES!!!


I don’t really do anything special or have a ritual with each book release. Since September I’ve been releasing a book every week. If I celebrated each time, I’d never get any writing done.




How did your family react to fact that you write romance novels? Have your family read your book?


My husband is incredibly supportive of my writing career and he has read practically everything I’ve had published. My siblings…two of my sisters are huge fans and one has read every one of my published books. When I first told them I was writing romance, they were all incredibly supportive. The first time they read one, they were shocked. LOL I am typically a shy quiet person and reading about sex in one of my books was rather surprising to them. They saw a whole new side of me. J


Most authors are also avid readers. Is this the case with you? If so, who are some of your favorites? Have any influenced your writing?


Oh yeah, I love reading. I would say I became an avid reader later in my teens but it wasn’t until I was given a Nora Roberts book in my thirties that I truly fell in love. I have to say, she is the one who influenced me to push to get my work published. Until I read her book, I had always thought my writing style didn’t fit anywhere. Some of my siblings and friends used to read Harlequin Romances. You know the ones back in the old days when men would tear the dress from their lover, the woman would swoon over a man and the man always saved the day. I was never into that. I wanted some meat to my story, not just some woman who can’t live if she doesn’t have a man taking care of her. Reading Nora Roberts, I saw that I wasn’t the only one who didn’t want that in a story.


I also love J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series. I also read Sherylin Kenyon and am currently reading her book Acheron.



Do you feel each of your characters live with you as you write? Do their lives sometimes take over a part of your life? Can you name an example? Do you have living role models for your characters?


Oh I definitely feel each of my characters as I’m writing and sometimes long after the book is done. Before I wrote my darkness series I would have said no, my characters lives did not take over mine. But while writing the Darkness series, I found suddenly every thought I had was about vampires and what they would do in a city totally blacked out, no sun and what would I do if I was a vampire living in a city with no sun. I woke with the Darkness series surrounding me and even in my sleep I would dream about my characters.


I have to say the romance aspect comes from my own relationship with my husband. From day one we were friends and even now, 24 years later we’re best friends. I often place little bits of our conversation in my books and I also add the humour between us in my books. My husband is a jokester and often, his mind is in the gutter. I’ve put that characteristic in some of my books. J


Where do you get the inspirations for your books?


Mostly from my dreams. I have some wild and often nightmarish dreams. I take them, twist them around and make them into a romance. Just because they’re nightmares doesn’t mean they have to stay that way. I infuse the romance into it and give it a happy ending. Aside from my dreams, occasionally an idea will just pop into my head and often it starts with a sentence as was the case with Kidnapped, my first published novel. Occasionally I’ll see a news article and it will spark an idea.


Do you find it difficult at times to write love scenes?


When I was asked to change my writing style to make my romances more erotic, yes, I had trouble then but normally it just flows from my fingertips. I’m very comfortable writing love scenes.


Do you have a problem with deadlines and have you ever suffered a writers block?


I have always been a publisher’s dream author, as I was called by one editor not so long ago. I love deadlines and I am always on early. I hate being late for anything so I make sure and get my stuff done when I get it and not put it off until later.


Do you prefer stand-alone books or series (As a reader or a writer) ?


I am a series-a-holic in both reading and writing. I’m addicted to series. I prefer to write series over a stand-alone because I can’t let the story go. LOL I like the continuation of the story in both reading and writing. I think of it like a TV series. What fun would watching a show be if you knew tomorrow or the next week it wouldn’t be there? That watching that one episode was all you got.


If you could change places with one character from your book, who would it be and why?


Trinity Ford from Seducing the Darkness by far. Why? She is a kick-ass heroine who won’t stand for bull and knows just what she wants and how to get it. She’s fiercely loyal to those she loves but if someone pisses her off, look out. Plus, she’s the queen of all vampires. I would LOVE that much control. LOL



What is your favorite book from the books that you have written so far? Who are your favorite hero and heroine, and why?


My favourite by far would have to be the book I am currently re-writing but was actually written many years ago. Awaken the Demon. It stemmed from a dream I had one night that stayed with me for days until I finally had enough and wrote it down. Even now, five years after it was originally written the story has stuck with me. Why, I’m now too sure. There is just something about the lead characters, Draco Starr and Missy Green that have always tugged at me. Draco is a demon looking for a way out of collecting souls for Satan and Missy is a young woman who wants to start a new life for herself which includes being in control of herself and never letting a man control her again.

It’s part of a series involving three generations of Demons. Book one is a tale about a young woman running from an abusive relationship only to wind up in the arms of a demon. If that wasn’t strange enough, Satan is looking for her and wants to control her soul.

Of my published books. I would have to say Secrets of the Dead. I loved writing C.J. Dowling’s character not only because he has the ability to see and speak to the dead but he has a wicked sense of humour that he doesn’t mind using on others, including the woman that is locked in a haunted house with him.


Would you like to give another genre a try?


I’ve been toying with straight fiction, maybe something sci-fi or even a murder mystery. I’ve got some ideas rolling around in my head but that’s all they are at this point. Ideas.


Which book was the hardest to write and which the easiest?


Oh the hardest by far was Tempting the Darkness. It almost didn’t get written. I had written out a general idea for the story to give to my then editor. It’s a story about a woman dieing of cancer and her husband who happens to be a vampire promising to find a cure. I began writing it last July and in the middle of August, my father passed away suddenly from Lung Cancer. It was incredibly hard for me to sit down after that and continue a story that so closely touched my heart. I almost contacted my editor to tell her I couldn’t continue with it. But the stubbornness inside of me prevailed and I finished the story. I’m glad I did now.


The easiest by far would be Kidnapped. I wrote that in a flash. The writing flowed, the comedy came so easily and before I knew it, the story was finished. It’s a tale about a rich woman who is kidnapped and held for ransomed. But if her abductors think she’ll make it easy on them they are sadly mistaken. Liz Cromwell may look like a dumb blonde but she is no pushover and when she turns the tables on one of her abductors, everything changes.


If you could choose of your books for a movie, which one would it be and who would you as the cast?


I would love to see my Darkness series made into a movie now simply because vampire movies are all the rage. But I think most of all, I would love to see Secrets of the Dead made into a movie. I would love to see the special effects they would use to create the ghostly images that haunt the house. Who would I have play the lead characters? Simon Baker from the Mentalist would be C.J. Dowling and for Jessica Coltrane, Eliza Dushku from Doll House.



If you could travel through time to visit a special time period or famous person, what or who would it be and why?


Queen Elizabeth the first would be my first choice. I’m fascinated by her story and I would love to be there first hand to see her rule her kingdom, a woman who despite her father’s disappointment of not having a son she managed to do a damn good job of ruling the people and loved for it. Unlike her sister, Mary who was nicknamed, Bloody Mary.


Do you listen to music while you are writing and if so what music is it?


I have to have music going while I write. It’s what fuels my power to create. It depends on my mood at the time and what I’m writing but it always has to have an upbeat tune. Mostly I listen to Dance music and hard rock. Even now as I fill out this interview I have the music going. Eclectic Electronic is today’s choice. J


Big congrats to your latest release, can you please tell us something about the book?


Thank you! I am so happy to have this book released finally. Consuming the Darkness is the 7th book in my Darkness series and is the New beginning.

Here is a blurb of the book.


He needs your heart to live.


In Jacob’s Cove, where death is as common as apple pie, a serial murderer is a first. Lieutenant Sienna Storm, the town’s newly minted homicide detective, is eager to prove she’s up to the job of tracking down the demon who rips out his victims’ still-beating hearts. Even if it means using her innate ability to connect with him through his blood.

Detective Nathan Powers lost his partner to the aptly named Heartless Killer, and the trail of bodies leads him straight to Jacob’s Cove. However, this is no typical small town. It’s a strange world populated with bloodthirsty demons and run by a vampire. Still, the leggy blonde Sienna is a pleasant distraction. Until he discovers she’s after the same killer—and she’s not sharing.

Minds clash as the hunt intensifies, but the more they run into each other, the harder it is to stay apart. Together they discover not only clues, but a searing need that rises higher by the day.

That need may be their downfall when Nathan becomes the killer’s next target, and Sienna must risk everything to get him back.



Are you working on anything right now, and can you tell us a teaser about these projects?


Right now I am in edits for the last book in the Darkness series, Surviving the Darkness. It is slotted for release at the end of this month. I say it’s the last book in the series but not necessary will it be the final book. I never say never to adding another book to a series I write. J


Here is a taste of Surviving the Darkness:


When death is on your trail, the only thing you can do is run.

Heading home to Jacob’s Cove after her abductor is released from jail, concert pianist, Deborah Carmichael just wants to find some peace. What she finds is a town run by monsters, and a kind night club owner willing to help her get her self-confidence back. Problem is, he’s a shape shifter and his bar is frequented by demons.

Owner of the Demon’s Lair, Zachary Adams has had to deal with all sorts of evil. Hearing about Deborah’s horrifying ordeal, breaks his heart and he is determined to help her overcome it as best he can. But as the two grow closer, someone is lurking in the shadows. When Deborah is abducted again, Zach is willing to do anything to get her back.

Will he be able to save her before it’s too late?