My Writing Journey: Sheila Patel

‘I just write…. I write it as I see it and if it makes me laugh, I write it down’

When I was growing up, I loved watching movies, the funnier the better. Jerry Lewis, the Marx Brothers and of course, Laurel and Hardy. I grew up in a huge Punjabi family in the textile city of Bradford in West Yorkshire.

Being the youngest of seven children, there was plenty of opportunity for mischief and adventure. Inspiration for stories was everywhere and that’s when I started telling stories, to school friends, relatives and family. Basically, anyone who would listen to me.

Many of my short stories are a twist on real life adventures, often spiced up and brought to life. At a young age, I was inspired by Sue Townsend and the Adrian Mole Diaries. I liked the quick wit and delivery of the fun punchlines.

My writing journey really started on my niece’s birthday. She is a young accountant living at home with her parents over a corner shop. Her bedroom and wardrobes are often used as storage for supplies for the shop. For her birthday I wrote her a short story using the analogy of Narnia. Instead of finding a faun and a lamppost in her wardrobe there would be a barman and a dancefloor.

My niece shared this story with her sisters and friends. Soon they were asking for weekly instalments. Before I knew it, I had written a short story, The Magic Vodka Wardrobe. I quickly taught myself self-publishing and bought a copyright box. I then had my short story professionally edited and got a cover designed.

I used the events of last year, such as Brexit, to explore ideas for my books. The world seemed a gloomy place, so I enjoyed writing just to bring joy and laughter to others.

I do enjoy writing my stories and I manage to fit my writing in around my day time job at the University. I write as I see and hear things, if it brings a smile to my day, I jot it down. I tend to finish the whole thing, then edit it once and send it to my editor. I spend a lot of time observing and getting the ideas clear. I try to keep the fiction simple and use relatable terms and phrases.

Once I have completed the Magic Vodka Wardrobe series, I will be looking at new genres, possibly science fiction.

However, I feel I would benefit from a creative writing course to tackle this or I will be drinking vodka in space!

My advice to new writers would be, if you have a great story to tell, then write it down. You need to take a chance.

Also, there is a great support network on social media. I have lots of author followers on Twitter, we help each other enormously. I have also encouraged and helped others to self-publish their work.

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Biography
Sheila Patel was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK. She is the youngest of 7 children. Born into a traditional Punjabi family, she went on to study Engineering at Leeds Polytechnic and John Moores University. She later obtained an MBA from the University of Liverpool.

After working at British Aerospace for several years, she became interested in working with young people and ran a successful training company in Liverpool city centre for over ten years.

She discovered her passion for writing later in life, having spent magical moments with my huge family and lovely nieces. She saw and experienced many things growing up in 70’s Britain. Comedy and humour played a huge role in her life and she loved all the funny things that Indians do daily, to adapt to the British way of life.

Sheila now lives on the Wirral with her Professor husband, two boys and a huge dog.
Sheila and her family spent 2006/2007 working in Wuxi, China on a project involving bamboo!

You can connect with Sheila on Twitter @vodkawardrobe

THE MAGIC VODKA WARDROBE BOOK 2

Mrs Singh would give anything for a wedding proposal for her daughters, then the mysterious text arrives, something about juicy mango’s? Will Shaz accept or just visit the Magic Vodka Wardrobe where she can drink and dance with her sister Trace and Aunt Sheila?

As Rogue One hits the cinema, George Lucas is back from Uni, but will he catch the eye of the knicker-less shop girl, Sheryl?

Martha starts a new waxing business from her back kitchen while her little Avengers terrorise the street. We also meet Betina, the dog walker and the homeless Skinny Rita as they do whisky shots at the community centre with Dammit Janet the local Buddhist nun.

As Storm Doris wreaks havoc, Martha chases the wheelie bin full of empty tins of cider down the street. The wardrobe shakes and Shaz and Trace dance to Stormzy as the hairy barman Bachittar watches from behind the counter…. Sighing.

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Category: On Writing