Yeeeeellloooooo, and welcome to another 3Q’s!

One thing I’ve quickly discovered doing these 3Q’s, is that a number of authors live near me. And I’ve also realized that I’ve not met any of these authors in person haha!

So, that brings us to today’s 3Q’s with Shelly Campbell, an author and illustrator who lives about three hours south west of me! Good grief. Really need to start visiting people!

Welcome, Shelly!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?

Shelly: My writing time can go one of two ways. If I sit in my office with the comfy chair and the dual screen computer, inevitably, I get sucked into important stuff like research and social media, and I’m lucky to squeeze out a handful of words in a few hours. Luckily, I am the proud owner of an ancient Compact Mini notebook that barely maintains the capability to run a word processor. Trying to open the internet on this old gal takes hours. I back up documents religiously while using this little computer because I’m certain that every day might be its funeral, but it keeps chugging along giving me the capability to write with less distractions in a variety of locations, like out in my backyard under the pergola listening to birds, or in the living room, reclined in the La-Z-Boy in front of the fireplace.

I write on my days off in the mornings while it’s quiet and my kids are in school, but I’m a slow starter, and often morning sessions culminate with the imprint of the keyboard on my forehead and pages upon pages of progress that consists of only a few repeated letters 🙂 My best editing is done at night with headphones on, a healthy Spotify list of instrumental music–lyrics distract me–and the dual screen computer humming away. I tend to prefer editing to writing, so I usually stay up far past my bedtime tweaking phrases and polishing scenes, as opposed to hammering out first drafts.

When I’m on a deadline, I try to complete at least 1000 words per day and when I’m not, I consider any words hit the page and stick there to be fine progress indeed.

Steve: Out of all your releases, do you have a character you could write about forever?

Shelly: That’s a great question! You know, it’s the supporting cast, the ones who were only meant to be foils for my main characters that tend to roost in my head and demand I tell more of their stories. In my past and upcoming works, I’m tempted to expand on Tanar, James, and Vinton. None are main characters, but all know how to get into my MC’s heads and push them in directions they need to go.

People who accomplish great things often do so with this huge support system behind them that is mostly unseen, but so incredibly essential. I could write forever about the Sam Gamgees of the world, but not so much the Frodo Baggins.

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!

Shelly: My newest release, coming out on August 16th, I’ve cowritten with a friend. Knowledge Itself is a YA post-apocalyptic sci-fi set in western Canada–not far from where your Mastodon takes place actually, Steve! We just finished hammering out the back cover blurb:

After solar flares wipe out electrical grids worldwide, a small community survives by selling data recovered from decrepit hard drives and rare books. Nostalgic for the days of big business, the commune’s founding members call themselves Corporate and micromanage everyone.

Raised into the hustle, Iris Ecosia’s ADHD brain rebels at Corporate’s strict structure. It’s not all bad though. She attracts the attention of Robert Lycos, the son of one of the Shareholders, but their relationship comes to a crashing end when she loses focus at a critical moment and a vital piece of equipment is destroyed.

The mistake plunges her into debt. Corporate demotes her to an indentured gardener. Her romance with Robert dissolves. Worse, there are no paid sick days in the post apocalypse. So, when Iris’s whole family falls ill, starvation is soon knocking on their door. Meanwhile, the Shareholders live like tycoons.

Iris and her family are not alone in their poverty or their impotent rage at the corporation who keeps them poor, hungry, and dependent. An underground revolution intent on toppling Corporate wants to recruit her. She can still do big things if she joins them, but if she’s caught, the Shareholders won’t stop at destroying her. They’ll go after her family too.

I think people should read it because it is a neurodiverse Canadian post-apocalypse story and you don’t run into those very often. Plus, it was gratifying writing something that kids with ADHD can see themselves reflected in. Megan King and I had a blast writing it and are diving into the second book of the series as we speak.

Interested readers can pre-order Knowledge Itself here: https://books2read.com/u/4jgYdY

Steve: Bonus Question! Did you have a favorite wrestler as a kid?

Shelly: We only had three local channels on TV growing up, depending on how you aimed the ole aerial antenna–not dating myself at all–and one of the channels broadcast WWF wrestling. My cousin was a huge wrestling fan and insisted we view matches at full volume with the living room floor lined with as many couch cushions and pillows as possible, all the better to emulate play-by-plays in proper boisterous fashion.

My favourite? André the Giant, without a doubt. The man was legendary. Although, I must say, I liked him better in The Princess Bride 🙂

Thanks so much for having me on, Steve. It is an honour!

If you want to find more work from Shelly;

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Shelly-Campbell/e/B0929GWGL8

Website: shellycampbellauthorandart.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShellyCFineArt