📚 A Bookish Chat with 'The Twelve Months of Christmas' Sheila Roberts | Author Interview | #AuthorInterview #BlogTour #Interview

Today we welcome Sheila Roberts to The Writer's Life e-Magazine! Sheila is the author of the new women's fiction/romance, The Twelve Months of Christmas. This interview is part of her Blog Tour by Pump Up Your Book. Enjoy!

USA Today and Publishers Weekly best-selling author Sheila Roberts has written over fifty books under various names, ranging from romance to self-improvement. Over three million copies of her novels have been sold to date. Her humor and heart have won her a legion of fans and her holiday novels have been turned into movies for the Lifetime and Hallmark and Great American Family channels. When she’s not out dancing with her husband or hanging out with her girlfriends, she can be found writing about those things near and dear to women’s hearts: family, friends and chocolate.

Author Links

Website | Facebook | Instagram | BookBub | Goodreads

On writing:

Where do you get inspiration for your stories?

Inspiration can come from anywhere - something I’ve read, something someone has said, observing what’s going on in someone’s life. Sometimes, as with The Twelve Months of Christmas, it just seems to come out of nowhere.

There are many women's fiction/romance books out there....what makes yours different?

Good heavens, that’s hard to answer. All women’s fiction and romance deal with things we women care about - love and friendship, personal growth. When I write I want to deal with those challenges that arise in our lives and my characters deal with those in the context of their relationships with family and friends. I love humor and I love to include some in my stories. And I am adamant that my stories must end hopefully and happily. Live is hard enough - I don’t want readers to shut one of my books and be depressed. I want them to come away encouraged.

Where is your book set and have you ever been there?

My book is set in the city of Bremerton, WA, which happens to be where I live. My spring release, The Best Life Book Club will be set in Gig Harbor, WA - a nearby city.

What is your next project?

I'm very excited about my spring book, The Best Life Book Club, about a woman who starts a book club that ends up not only changing her life but the lives of her new friends as well. I’m hoping book clubs will want to read and discuss this. If you are in a book club, please reach out to me through my website or message me on Facebook!

Do You have another profession besides writing?

Writing is it! I originally wanted to be a songwriter but I think, in the end, we end up where we are supposed to be and doing what we’re meant to be doing.

How long have you been writing?

Since childhood! As, I think, is the case with many writers.

What is the last great book you’ve read?

The Aviator’s Wife, about Anne Morrow Lindbergh and her husband Charles. An eye opening read, and a reminder that no one has a perfect life.

What is a favorite compliment you have received on your writing?

I’ve had readers tell me that my books have helped and encouraged them. When I wonder if this making up of stories stuff is at all worthwhile, I remember those words.

What is one piece of advice you would give to an aspiring author?

Really learn your craft before you start putting stuff out there. Once something is in print (especially if you’re traditionally published), it’s out there for good. You want to put your best foot forward.

On rituals:

Do you snack while writing? Favorite snack?

I snack all the time! Love dark chocolate, popcorn, chips … and cupcakes!

Do you write every day?

Yes!

In today’s tech savvy world, most writers use a computer or laptop. Have you ever written parts of your book on paper?

I only did that a million years ago when I first started writing. Now I work on a laptop.

Fun stuff:

Favorite dessert?

A favorite? You’re kidding, right? I love ‘em all. (Except tiramisu)

Any hobbies?

Entertaining, playing games (do those count as hobbies?) Tennis, line dancing. Hmmm. I don’t think I have any hobbies. Unless reading counts!

What is your favorite thing to do at Christmas?

Gather with family and friends!

What is something that made you laugh recently?

More like someone - my husband!

What is your go-to breakfast item?

Always a smoothie - banana, orange, yogurt and coconut milk.

What is the oldest item of clothing you own?

Oh, my gosh, I have a nightgown from the eighties that I still wear.

What’s your favorite Christmas movie?

It's a wonderful life - no man is poor who has friends. Don’t you love that?!

What’s your favorite musical movie?

The Greatest Showman

What’s your favorite musical?

Phantom of the Opera!

Title: The Twelve Months of Christmas
Author: Sheila Roberts
Publisher: Mira
Publication Date: October 3, 2023
Pages: 400
Genre: Women’s Fiction/Romance

Sunny, Arianna and Molly are having three different but equally terrible Christmases. Sunny is a newlywed with two new stepkids who want nothing to do with her; Arianna is newly divorced and hates having to send her daughter off to spend the holiday with her dad; for Molly, nothing is new, but her job at the post office is getting very, very old. The whole Christmas season has been a bust all around.

But Sunny and Arianna have a wild idea: What if they had a Christmas do-over in January? February? On Saint Patrick’s Day? Christmas all year long – what could that look like? As these three determined women chase the perfect holiday through twelve months of cooking disasters, over-the-top festivity, and lots of laughter and tears, they’ll discover perfection is way overrated.

Buy Links