Guest Post: Sinead MacDughlas

Welcome to I Love My Authors!! 

Today we have the UBER Sinead MacDughlas with us! I have come to know Sinead quite well over the last year and have come to respect and love her dearly!! Stick around because there is a Giveaway at the Bottom!!

Sinead MacDughlas is a Canadian writer whose main addictions are words, music and coffee. A recovered high school drop-out, Sinead has spent much of her adult life moving around the province of Ontario and working at various jobs, including: taxi driver, advertising graphic designer, library clerk, short order cook, industrial cleaner and retail product consultant for a chain of beauty salons. In November of 2011, she finally achieved a lifelong dream of being a published author. Her debut is a self-published collection of short stories and poetry, The Unscheduled Stops.

Mrs. MacDughlas' first full length novel, Learn To Love Me, was signed by one of the fastest rising new Independent Publishers, Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing, and released on August 10, 2012.

Sinead's most recent work, Best Served Bloody, was just published by Vamptasy Publishing on October 21, 2012. This Halloween themed novelette serves as more than mere entertainment. All proceeds from the sale of Best Served Bloody will be donated to the East Lancashire Hospice in the United Kingdom.

 

Guest Post

Why an Author?
As long as I can remember, I've had something to say. Actually, if you ask my Mom, I had a lot of somethings to say. According to her, I began talking at eleven months of age and didn't stop, even to breath, from then on.

I suppose that's part of why I became an author. I'm driven to express myself. I'm compelled to share my viewpoint. There are more than a few professions that would allow me to talk endlessly  in order to do that. Lawyers, politicians, radio hosts, spokespeople, TV hosts and lecturers mostly rely on their verbal skills for their careers, but I was destined for none of these things.

See, most of those people are relaying facts (well, except perhaps the politicians — and possibly some of the lawyers, but you get my point).  The first indication that such careers were not for me was probably Mary Ellen … or Mary Anne … something like that.  Mary Ellen was my imaginary friend and she went everywhere with me. She was shy and pretty, dainty and graceful, all the things I was not.  Though I no longer remember her exact name, I can still picture her face in my mind's eye.  I even remember the day she died.  It was traumatic. My very large uncle sat on her, and crushed her to death. I was inconsolable.

Yes, I had a twisted sense of reality, and humour, as a child. ;P  The point is, the creation of fiction was etched in my psyche long before I'd given any thought to future career options.

Although I was a well-known chatterbox, I always had a battle with stage-fright, too.  Put me in a small group and ask me to tell a story and I'll do so with enthusiasm. Put me on a stage in front of thirty or more people and ask me to tell a story and I'll still do it. In the latter instance, however, it will be a battle to keep my knees from knocking together, my tongue from wrapping around my teeth and my eyes from rolling back in my head.

I've worked for years to overcome my stage-fright, joining school choirs, going to Karaoke and participating in annual public speaking contests. Crazy right? The thing is, I know where the stage-fright comes from and the source has long since been eliminated. On top of always being the smallest, nerdiest, neediest kid in school; on top of always being the new kid in school, I also had a dental glitch. My two front teeth had a huge gap between them, giving me a permanent lisp. Even worse, the more I tried not to lisp the more pronounced it became, causing me to stammer and stutter as well. Thank goodness my Grade Two teacher recommended me to a speech therapist who helped me overcome the issue, although being one of the 'special class' kids did nothing for my social ranking as an outcast at the time.

You can add to these factors my overwhelming urge to help people. I was always hyper-sensitive to other's pain and fear. In the course of my life I've been drawn most to those people that society deems damaged. My strong senses of sympathy and empathy have forever driven me to try to 'fix' people. Age and (I hope), wisdom have taught me that I have neither the means, nor the professional skills to counsel others, but I still feel the need to let people know that they are not, ever, alone. Someone out there loves them. Someone out there understands their pain, fear and sorrow. Someone out there cares.

When I was eight years old, I had to write a daily journal for school. Being a bookish child, with few friends my age and no after-school activities, my daily entries were rather dry. With permission, I began to write a series of short stories about a 'super-dog', roughly based on my Grandparent's Pomeranian. "Peaches the Superdog" helped children with problems remarkably similar to those of my classmates. The teacher was impressed and encouraged me to keep writing. It was then that I realized what I wanted to do with my life. I would be an author.

It took me thirty-two years of stumbling through life before I finally took the plunge. It was a monumental battle against self-doubt and self-reproach, but I made it. My words are finally reaching out to people!

Since then I've found a home with one of the fastest-rising independent publishers to hit the industry: Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing. There I've found a family of fellow authors who share my passion for both writing, and for doing good things for others. While their charitable efforts aren't always shouted from mountaintops, each of the CH&BB authors gives all that he or she can to bring more than just entertainment to the world. It's a home away from home like no other, and I'm so grateful to have it.

Useful links for Sinead MacDughlas

Facebook Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/SinMacD.Writer?ref=hl
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SinMacD
Google +: https://plus.google.com/u/0/107511848516702489145/posts
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5339441.Sinead_MacDughlas
Shelfari: http://www.shelfari.com/sinmacd
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Sinead-MacDughlas/e/B0074CIPV8/
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/SinMacD
Author Webpage: http://www.author.sinmacd.ca 

Blog: http://www.author.sinmacd.ca/blogging.html 

Publications:
The Unscheduled Stops - self published
Purchase Links:
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/The-Unscheduled-Stops-ebook/dp/B00727M6S8/  Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Unscheduled-Stops-ebook/dp/B00727M6S8/ 
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/101241 
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-unscheduled-stops-sinead-macdughlas/1107956624
Webpage: http://www.theunscheduledstops.sinmacd.ca

Learn To Love Me: Crushing  Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing
Purchase Links: 
http://www.amazon.com/Learn-Love-Me-Sinead-MacDughlas/dp/0987861840/ 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Learn-To-Love-Me-ebook/dp/B008UYQNJ0/  
Webpage: http://www.learntoloveme.sinmacd.ca 

Best Served Bloody: Vamptasy Publishing
Purchase Links: 
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Best-Served-Bloody-ebook/dp/B009UTYWOC/ 
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Best-Served-Bloody-ebook/dp/B009UTYWOC/ 
Webpage: Still to come. ;)

Now for thre Giveaway!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway