Sally Gutteridge

3rd Place Runner-up in GGP's 2013 'Flashy Shorts' Competition with her Flash Fiction entry The Geriatric Ward.

Tell us a little bit about you:

I am a freelance writer of Non Fiction publications based on the care, welfare and training of dogs. I am a runner up in the writer of the year competition 2013 hosted by the writers bureau and love animals. I enjoy writing fiction and to improve on this is my next goal!

What do you like most about your craft?

I love being able to paint a picture with words that will touch the emotion of someone else reading those words.

What inspires/influences you?

Stephen King inspires me. Not that I even write in his style, but his writing comes first then the positive results of it come later on.

What are you working on at the moment?

I am currently writing for clients across the globe on EBook and website content based on my canine experience. I am also beginning to write short fiction to take a break from a novel I drafted in November during National Novel writing month. I am also beginning an Open University degree course in October to refine my style and qualify in language and creative writing.

We at Good Guy Publishing are mad on books, what are you reading at the moment?

Katherine Webb, She has only published three books so far and each one I have not been able to put aside, her third is sitting beside me now, open at page and waiting to be picked up!

Which three books would you list as your favourite all-time reads?

Oh my, there are so many! I loved IT by Stephen King and I also adored Ash by James Herbert which got mixed reviews. Nineteen minutes by Jodi picoult really hit me hard too. Oh I cannot commit to this question.

What are your hopes for the future?

To write, that’s all I can say.

Do you have any advice for anyone wishing to follow in your foot-steps?

Read books, read life, and read your own experiences before you write.

Where can you be found online?

http://sallyatthelodge.wix.com/gutteridgedogwriter#

 Ramona Heikel

Tell us a little bit about you:

I grew up in Denver, Colorado, and after the agonizing experience of obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering Mathematics and the joy of living in San Diego for two years, I moved to Calgary, Alberta, where I have lived now for over 28 years.  My two sons and daughter-in-law live here, and I have a 17-year-old cat who loves to walk on a leash.  I currently work for an engineering company as an engineering assistant, tutor children in school subjects, and tutor adults in English as a Second Language.  My hobbies and interests revolve around books, church, photography, hiking, thrift stores, attempts at drawing and playing the piano, volunteering, and making healthy chocolate things with no sugar.

What do you like most about your craft?

It enables me to let my imagination run wild, creating interesting and humorous characters, predicaments and happy endings.

What inspires/influences you?

Books that change me for the better, brighten my life and make me laugh inspire me to build stories that do the same.  Learning inspires me to teach, and to educate using my stories.  Knowing how much people are hurting and struggling inspires me to write messages of hope and healing.

What are you working on at the moment?

I am preparing my self-published print book Adventure Math Stories for electronic publication, looking for homes for my children’s stories and activities, writing book reviews for new and old books, posting on my (and others’) blogs and writing new pieces from writing prompts (which is how “I Guess I Robbed a Bank” got started!).

We at Good Guy Publishing are mad on books, what are you reading at the moment?

I am currently reading Nature Nuggets (a gem from a used book sale, published in 1955, about spiritual lessons in nature), A Flickering Light (a historical novel by Jane Kirkpatrick), an old book of folk tales, Poems for a Good and Happy Life, Then Sings My Soul (stories behind the hymns), a number of books about writing and publishing (including Writer’s First Aid and The Write Brain Workbook), and various children’s books.

Which three books would you list as your favourite all-time reads?

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis; Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman, by Richard Feynman; and Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen.

What are your hopes for the future?

My writing goals are to publish more of my children’s stories and activities; revise and publish my contemporary fiction novel; write practical, helpful, educational and encouraging blog posts, consistently and with more focus; and try to find a way to turn a lifetime of journals into something useful.

Do you have any advice for anyone wishing to follow in your foot-steps?

Yes, here is what I would say:  Who you are and what you think is important.  You have a unique gift for the world and there are many people whose lives will be better for reading your words.  Discouragement and rejection are some of the job hazards of a being a writer, so try not to listen to the voices inside you that tell you “it’s no good”.  Connect with other writers, and keep writing and revising and sending out your work.

Where can you be found online?

Happilywriting.com