Lit Chat Interview with Author Sheila Athens

A First Coast Romance

Sheila Athens writes smart contemporary fiction set where the South meets the Sunshine state. Her stories are about women seeking to find the peace we all deserve. Readers are drawn to her work because they believe that everyday heroes can make a difference in our world.

Featured Book: Mae Van Dorn's Perfect Storm

All thirty-four-year-old Mae Van Dorn wants is to live alone. But she soon finds herself living with her estranged brother in a town she’s never been to and working for the founder of the local megachurch, though she’s as misanthropic as they come. An added benefit of the job: Ezra Watts, the handsome construction company owner who’s remodeling the deck at the pastor’s waterfront mansion. Between her brother’s mysterious past, the pastor’s potentially illicit dealings and Ezra’s on-again-off-again flirtations, Mae’s life spins out of control…and that’s all BEFORE Hurricane Carly makes landfall in Jacksonville Beach.

Check out Sheila's work from the Library: https://jaxpl.na4.iiivega.com/search?pageSize=20&pageNum=0&sorting=relevance&sortOrder=asc&searchType=everything&query=sheila%20athens&universalLimiterIds=&materialTypeIds=&collectionIds=&intendedAudienceIds=&literaryFormIds=&agentIds=&conceptIds=&language= 

After growing up in the Ozarks, Sheila Athens moved to Florida—sight unseen—with the man who would become her husband. Thirty-five years later, she’s still on the shores of the Atlantic, grateful that her two grown sons and their families live nearby.

After many years as a vice president of human resources, she now spends her time ensconced in her quiet little lair, where she reads, writes and communes with the ducks who live on the lake right off her back porch. She loves quiet spaces, eccentric people and the little band of writer hikers who walk at sunrise on a regular basis. To sign up for her newsletter or to schedule a book club visit (either in-person or virtual), go to SheilaAthens.com.

Interviewer Jessica Hatch has a passion for writing genre-blind, character-first fiction. Her work has appeared in such publications as Writer’s Digest, The Millions, Fast Company, Neutral Spaces, and Surely Magazine, among others, and her freshman and sophomore novels were published by Hachette UK’s Bookouture imprint. Before becoming an author, Jessica worked and interned in New York trade publishing institutions Writers House and St. Martin’s Press. She lives in Jacksonville, Florida. Find her at jessicahatch.com.

More Recommended Reading

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SHEILA RECOMMENDS

Looking for other authors of Southern fiction? Sheila recommends Karen White, Sarah Addison Allen, Mary Kay Andrews, and Kristy Woodson Harvey.

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