Sheila Horne - Sunshine Girls Review by Elli Davis, Sales Representative, Royal LePage

Summer is just around the corner, even though it may not seem like it, and that means it's time to start stocking up on light, relaxing reads. Whether you plan to spend your free time on the beach, at the cottage, or simply getting a breath of fresh air at your local park, it never hurts to have a good book on hand. Sheila Horne's Sunshine Girls is the perfect quick and easy read for your relaxation plans. Told through the eyes of Toronto-born Ella, Sunshine Girls is like Sex and the City but about 20-something Canadians during the 1970s rather than 30-something New Yorkers around the 2000s. It's fun, sexy, and not afraid to touch on important social issues along the way.

Having recently been dumped by her long-time boyfriend, Ella is on the hunt for a new man. But finding one that lives up to what she has in mind proves harder than expected. From nice guys that just aren't quite right to guys who want nothing more than sex, she has her work cut out for her.

When Ella decides to spend her weekends up in Wasaga Beach with her friends — the sexually adventurous Raynie, the ready-to-settle-down Meg, and the chilled-out Jessie — all kinds of adventures take place. The four of them are ready to spend their summer hitting the bars, meeting boys, and making memories. But what starts out as four friends looking for fun times soon turns into a coming-of-age story as their lives begin to take unexpected turns and they face challenges they can't ignore.

The story takes note of some of the important social changes of the times, such as the gay rights movement, but it mostly focuses on Ella's experiences as she changes from relatively carefree young girl into a woman with real world concerns. In this way, though, it does deal consistently with the subject of the women's liberation movement on a more personal level. Ella and her friends' ideals are constantly at conflict, as they were raised to believe they needed a husband to be happy and established — but in the evolving world of the '70s, this once-steadfast concept is starting to shift. Which set of ideals will win out for Horne's young heroine is an interesting parallel to the women's rights movement being fought for on a larger scale across Canada.

Horne's style is perfect for a fun summer read. She paints a clear and interesting picture of the characters' surroundings and interactions without getting bogged down in pages of description. She also does a lovely job portraying four very believable young women and the fallout that can happen when life throws unexpected events their way. All in all, Sunshine Girls is an easy and enjoyable read.

The only downside to the book being such a quick read is it leaves you wanting to know more about Ella and what she decides to do with the new challenges that have come her way. She faces so many less-than-stellar men (to say the least) as well as some serious life-changing experiences, so you can't help but want to know more about what she'll do next. Horne introduces us to four incredibly different but equally interesting young female characters that develop beautifully over the course of the book. We only wish we could get a clearer picture at the end of where they'll be in a few years. Perhaps a sequel is in order?

The most intriguing aspect of Sunshine Girls is without doubt the period it takes place in. You'll feel transported back to 1973 Toronto as Horne subtly adds in little throwbacks that will constantly have you going, "I remember that!" Remember back when the only way to tell if someone who was picking you up that you couldn't hang out was to leave a note on the door, since cell phones didn't exist? Or when offices were filled with the sounds of typewriters and adding machines rather than the beeps and rings of computers and printers? You'll be taken back into the era when everyone smoked and a woman aspiring to more than finding a husband was only just starting to be considered a possibility.

If you're familiar with Toronto, you're sure to get an extra thrill from mentions of walks along the Danforth and tobogganing in Riverdale Park. If you weren't around to experience life in the 1970s or you haven't spent much time in Toronto, don't worry. Horne paints a clear and captivating picture of the city and its surroundings at that time, so young and old, Torontonian or not, can all enjoy Sunshine Girls.

You can get the hard copy or Kindle version at amazon.ca or get a copy for your Kobo at chapters.indigo.ca.

Sunshine Girls

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=sunshine+girls+by+sheila+horne

What A Drag. Words by Sheila Horne. Music by 3X. Mark Teixeira guitar. Louie LeCoche drums. Joe Spina bass. Chris Nicols Sax.

You Know You Are A Writer When...

The question: “How do you know you are a writer?”

My answer:  

You know you’re a writer when you dissect a sentence for an hour and decide it can be taken two different ways. Then spend the next hour wondering which way the author meant it, and is it a trick. When you read grammar books. When you write a story in two hours then re-write it for the next six months. When you look up the definition of a word in three different dictionaries. When the Thesaurus becomes your best friend and “Thesaurus it,” your favourite phrase. You know you’re a writer when you make up lives for strangers. When you take traits from five people and make one character. When you have stacks of filled notebooks and empty ones waiting for their turn. When you have an abundance of pens and pencils. When you read, not for relaxation but to look at sentence structure and style. When you start writing at eight in the morning then realize it's six in the evening, and you haven't eaten all day. When the only light on is the one in your writing room and the rest of the house is in darkness. You know you’re a writer when you’d rather spend the day with your fictional characters than with anyone you know. When you feel you can't deal with your characters’ problems anymore. When you are able to kill your little darlings. When you step back to do what's right for the story and not what you want. You know you are a writer when you detach from words and use the simple ones that mean more than the impressive big ones. When you have files and files of stories in your computer, binders on bookshelves, mounds of printed work in a cupboard and in file drawers. When you can remember exactly where you put the paper with a sentence you wrote three years ago, but you can't remember an appointment made last week. When you grow a thick skin. When you can accept critique. When you question your writing. When you don’t give up. When you step out of the box. When you get rejection or acceptance letters. Most important, you know you are a writer when you sit down and write.

                                                                                                                           

January 2014

Polishing the Jumbled Mess by Sheila Horne

Pages and pages of words, thoughts and ideas flow into sentences and paragraphs. It’s raw like a piece of wood or slab of stone waiting to be shaped. That’s when the writer turns into a sculptor and picks up their tools. There are many writing tools needed and I can tell you about all of them. But this isn’t about structure and rules. This is about what I consider the four most important tools a writer needs to start crafting their work.

With my words on the page, the first tool I use is intuition. It tells me how to approach the jumbled mess I’ve written. Where I should start, where I should make the first cut. Then I pick up the second one, trust. Along with intuition it’s important. It tells me to trust myself, and not listen to my critical voice.  Once I see what’s happening on the page, I turn to training. The know-how gained through education and experience. It’s knowing when to move or delete paragraphs and sentences.What works and what doesn't. The last and hardest tool to use is the polisher. It's stepping back, detaching from the work and doing what's right for the story.        

Writing is a Commitment.

Writing is a commitment. I think of it as a job. I'm at my desk in my writing room at eight every morning. While drinking my coffee, I play a few word games to wake up my mind. Then it's onto a fifteen to thirty minute writing exercise. This is done in a notebook and by hand. I'll pick a word from the dictionary, or a book or I'll write a phrase, such as, I remember. Once I start, I don't stop. I go with the flow of my mind and follow it with my pen. I might begin with the tree in my front yard and end up in the jungle of South America. It doesn't matter. At some point I know I'll return to my yard. But if I don't that's okay. I do not edit at this time. I don't even think about grammar or correct words. Once I'm finished the exercise. I close my notebook, put it away for two weeks and move onto to whatever project I'm working on. Around noon I either stop writing or I have lunch and continue. There are times that I get lost in my writing. I'll start at eight and the next time I look at the clock, it's five in the afternoon. I have to admit I love those days. Of course, there are what I call "submission days." I find it takes time to submit a story for publication, at least for me. I review, edit and sometimes re-write a paragraph or sentence. Once I'm ready to send it, it's a matter of printing out the submission requirements, reading, re-reading them and checking to make sure I've covered every detail including the word count.This can take a few hours but it's worth the work. 

I also carry a small notebook and pen in my purse in case I need to jot down an idea, a piece of dialogue or description. To me, there is nothing more frustrating than being out, visualizing a great scene or writing the perfect paragraph in my head and not having anything to write it down on. If I don't it disappears.  

Happy writing.