Sheila Bender

One of the great perks of being a radio show host/writer is the people you meet. As I have mentioned before, I met a lot of wonderful and exciting people at the Erma Bombeck Convention this past April. (Going to great writers conferences is another perk.)
Meeting Sheila Bender was a privilege. I am pleased to announce that I just finished an interview with Sheila that will air May 22nd.
Sheila came from a family that believed women should have careers so they can support themselves if the need arises. She comes from my generation so the choices in careers were limited to nursing, teaching, and secretarial work. Unlike me, Sheila chose teaching and stayed a teacher until her kids were born. Her true passion, however, was writing.
After being home for a few years her need to write took over. It started with wanting to have just one poem published. Soon after it was one short story, then a memoir. Ten books later and whole lot of short stories and personal essays, Sheila now writes AND teaches the art of writing.
And she's really good at it. I went to her session at the EBC and learned so much in that short space of time. She even gave us an exercise to do in order to get the right side of our brain functioning.
In her books, Sheila gives you all sorts of tips on the craft of writing. She also has a website:http://writingitreal.com. There you will read about a writers conference in Port Townsend that she founded and runs. You will also learn about Sheila's online magazine, online writing courses that she teaches, and a slew of other valuable info for writers. She even has sample essays of her own.
If you are looking for writers conferences to go to this summer to try your hand at writing or to just hone your skills more, I highly recommend The writing it Real Conference. There are only 50 people allowed to go which means the one to one time will be awesome. For more information about registering go to the website or call Sheila personally at 1-3603857839.
I'm happy to announce that Sheila has graciously agreed to come on the show once a month to discuss books and critique several of them, showing us how the times we live in has changed the way we write. It's going to be great so listen in!