GUEST POST: Cathi Shaw

Writers Everywhere by Cathi Shaw

At the end of my Business Communication class yesterday there was one student hanging around. As we both finished packing up our things, he asked me about Five Corners and so I gave him a little synopsis of the book.

He was very interested and as we chatted about the book, he revealed to me that he also had written a fantasy novel but that he lost most of when his hard drive AND his computer crashed (every writer’s worse nightmare!). After talking about the importance of multiple back ups and using some kind of cloud storage we got back to talking about his book and I told him he should rewrite it. He agreed. I drove home with a big smile on my face as I reflected on the fact that so many of us are writers!

Since Five Corners was published, I’ve been approached by the most unlikely people who have told me they are writing their own books. People I would have never have imagined would be writing a story! And I never get tired of hearing about their ideas and their work.

It never fails when I’m at an author event someone will come up and start talking to me about their book, looking for advice and, most of all, encouragement. And I just love hearing all the different ideas people have for their books and stories. I’ve yet to hear a truly bad idea.

Now not all these books will be written. As anyone who has finished a novel knows, it takes a lot more than a good idea to write a book. And even if you’re able to write out a first complete draft (which is a huge accomplishment) then editing it takes more work that the actual drafting.

Despite all these facts, I’m always thrilled when I talk to budding writers about their story ideas. We are storytelling creatures. It’s how we make sense of this crazy world we live in. And I, for one, hope the stories just keep coming!

              FIVE CORNERS: THE MARKED ONES by Cathi Shaw

Growing up in a sleepy village untouched by distant wars and political conflicts, it was easy for Thia, Mina and Kiara to forget such horrors existed in the Five Corners. That is until the dead child is found; a child that bears the same strange birthmark that all three sisters possess. A Mark their mother had always told them was unique to the girls. Kiara's suspicions grow as their Inn is soon overrun with outsiders from all walks of life. Strangers, soldiers and Elders who all seem to know more about what is happening than the girls do. After Mina barely survives an attack in the forest, the sisters are faced with a shattering secret their mother has kept from them for years. As danger closes in around them, the sisters are forced from their home and must put their trust in the hands of strangers. With more questions than answers, Kiara finds herself separated from everyone she loves and reliant on an Outlander who has spent too much time in army. She doesn't trust Caedmon but she needs him if she has any hope of being reunited with her sisters and learning what the Mark might mean.

BUY Five Corners: The Marked Ones HERE:
PUBLISHER AMAZON BARNES AND NOBLE

Cathi Shaw lives in Summerland, BC with her husband and three children.  She is often found wandering around her home, muttering in a seemingly incoherent manner, particularly when her characters have embarked on new adventure. In addition to writing fiction, she teaches rhetoric and professional writing in the Department of Communications at Okanagan College and is the co-author of the textbook Writing Today.

Twitter: @CathiShaw
Facebook
Tumblr