Author Life with Marius Shovlin

We are honoured to work with as many authors as we do at Pegasus Publishers – each with their own stories to tell. Their worlds are singular, their characters are relatable, and their creativity truly knows no bounds.

This is Author Life, a feature on the Pegasus Blog that opens the door to each of our author’s creative process and previous literary experience, offering you – the reader – an opportunity to learn a little about the mind, or minds, behind the novel.

 Marius Shovlin is the author behind the adorable animal adventure ‘Snowy returns for a holiday’.

 

 

What are the three most important things you have accomplished, aside from publishing a book?

 

First of all, my wife and three children are very important to me and I consider my family a great achievement and privilege. Secondly, in my younger years (late 1970s) I built a one-man working hovercraft, which in west Donegal turned a few heads. Thirdly, I once had the opportunity to visit and spend a week on an island in the South Pacific. I think the wish to visit the South Pacific was influenced by reading about the travels of Robert Louis Stevenson in the Pacific and eventually settling on the island of Samoa. I would have liked to visit Samoa but that was not possible.

 

 

In your own life, what influences and inspires you to write?

 

 Telling stories about life experiences and the characters I met along the way. Also researching local history. One of my favourite radio programmes is Sunday Miscellany which is broadcast on RTE Radio 1 at 9.30 on a Sunday morning. This is a programme where people are invited to submit short articles, and if accepted they are read on air. It is a fantastic programme which I have been listening to for the last fifty years and which very much inspires me.

 

 

What book or author has had the biggest impact on you and why?

 

I enjoy researching local history and enjoy reading books based on history. While I have no particular author I do like reading the works of Damien Lewis and Ben Macintyre. I like the level of research they carry out. When it comes to children's books Beatrix Potter is my favourite author and in particular The Tale of Peter Rabbit. I also admire Beatrix Potter's life outside writing and the simple life she lead in the Lake District.

 

 

How would you summarise your book?

 

Three old friends, a bear, the family dog and the family cat, are reunited after a few years apart. They share stories, relive old experiences and create new adventures. The book is about true friendship and trust.

 

 

What were your first experiences with writing?

 

 Writing an article for the school magazine and having it accepted and printed, and my English teacher telling me that there was a creative streak in me.

 

 

In your opinion, what are the key ingredients for a good story or novel?

 

The key ingredients for a good story or novel are to write what you know about and use life experiences.

 

 

How long do you spend writing every day?

 

I don't write every day. I am retired and writing is a pastime for me. It was always in the back of my mind that I would write, but over the years I never seemed to have time with work and family. The act of writing is getting the ideas down on paper. For me the ideas generally come while doing outdoor activities.

 

 

How long did you spend writing this novel?

 

 

 

I started to write this novel while I was still working and as I already stared I never seemed to have time to sit down and put my ideas down on paper. Once I retired, had the time and put my mind to it, I finished the book in about 3 months.

 

 

What was the most challenging part of writing this book, and what did you learn from writing it?

 

While all the ideas and the format for this book was going around in my head for a while, I could never come up with a suitable and exciting ending. I don't remember where the ending came from, but I do remember it took a while, and probably came into my head while working in the garden.

 

 

What did you find most helpful when writing this book?

 

I am going to say something now that is going to make no sense to the younger generation and especially the children of today. What I found most helpful was modern technology and in particular the word processor. I was brought up in an era of typewriters which didn't allow for mistakes, correcting spelling errors, changing sentences or paragraphs. Once you typed something on paper, the only way you could change it was to scrap it and start again. When you read something back now and it doesn't sound right, you simply delete the offending sentence, word or letter, change it and move on.

 

 

What writing advice would you offer to your younger self?

 

 Be patient, don't force it, put your ideas down on paper and relax. It will come together.