Author Archive: Sheila Myers
From Novel to Screenplay: My Experience
Sheila Myers I had this idea that my Durant Family Saga trilogy would get optioned one day as a spin-off of the popular streaming series Hell on Wheels, and I’d make a million dollars. That hasn’t happened. Actually, I didn’t set out writing the Durant Family Saga with the idea it would be adapted to […]
Unsealing Divorce
While researching the third novel in a trilogy for the Durant Family Saga, I tracked down and unsealed a divorce file from 1898. After this, I was left with a dilemma, what to do and how to unfurl the story about a man who covered up his adultery in an attempt to protect his reputation […]
When the Hero’s Journey Doesn’t Pan Out The Way You Thought it Should
The main character in my historical novels—William—was a real person. He cheated on his wife, swindled his sister out of her inheritance, and left his family bankrupt. Yet somehow, after filling 900 pages of a saga about him and his family, I managed to make him likeable. So I can’t figure out why it is, […]
From Poem to Love Story
Whenever I think of the protagonist in my historical novel, Ella Durant, I imagine her brother in a fit of rage in 1903, burning all of her letters, family photos, and any memorabilia having her imprint. It had to be, because there is scant primary material about Ella Durant except for a handful of correspondence […]
To Self-Publish or Not to Self-Publish
‘‘Are you sure you want to self publish again?” asked a colleague of mine who is traditionally published. We were discussing my plans to self publish my historical novel. I felt defensive because I knew what was coming next. I’d heard it before. “You will never land a traditional publisher if you do. Believe me, […]
Recent Comments