Sara Sheridan
Sara Sheridan
Sara Sheridanis a Scottish writer who works in a variety of genres, though predominately in historical fiction. She is the creator of the Mirabelle Bevan mysteries...
NationalityScottish
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth7 June 1968
I write fast. I'm one of the lucky ones.
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Personally I estimate about a third of my time is spent on author events, social media and traditional publicity.
If I hadn't been able to get my first book published, I am not sure what I would have done.
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There are so many ways to do research - even watching old Ealing comedies, watching people getting on and off buses in London, looking at household interiors.
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Something I notice speaking to writers from south of Hadrian's Wall is that the culture is different. At base, I think Scotland values its creative industries differently from England.
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I've never seen an 'English' books section in, well, an English bookshop, but in Scotland, most bookshops have a set of shelves dedicated to Scottish authors.
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The Best of Elvis Presley, Doris Day, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bill Hailey and the Comets, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Frankie Laine all topped the charts in the '50s. Load a playlist of rock n' roll royalty. You're spoilt for choice.
Some matters are simply contentious. Sometimes you're never going to get it right.
enjoyed
I'm grateful that I've enjoyed the support of libraries, bookshops and institutional funders.
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I'd never be where I am if more successful writers hadn't taken an interest in me and done me a good turn - be it chiming in with constructive criticism or giving me sound advice about my career plan.
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Most fledgling and mid-list writers are lucky to be offered a 4-figure sum and are not only expected to deliver copy that needs minimal editing but also take an active part in marketing and publicizing their work.
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It's easy to laugh at etiquette, but in a hundred years, our children's grandchildren will almost certainly be laughing at us.
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We're all so digital, but the '50s was the era of watches you had to wind. When Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of Everest in 1953, Hillary was equipped with a Rolex Oyster Perpetual.
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Living in Edinburgh, I consider myself particularly lucky - we have the biggest book festival in the world, a plethora of fascinating libraries and museums, and some of the greatest architecture in Europe.