Welcome to my second home ... my
computer ... and my writing pages.
I'm a busy children's book author,
Gold Medal IPPY winning co-author with my bestselling author / husband, J.
Robert Whittle (Whispers Across Time 2008) and a Gold Medal IPPY winning publisher
(Loyalty's Haven 2007) with ten books to my credit.
The covers above will take you to each
of my own books but I hope you'll stay here awhile and find out a bit more about me, how these books came to be
and also discover Robert's bestselling novels.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, yes I do have Irish roots.
Hence the
leprechauns above who are the stars in my kids' books, the
Moonbeam Series. These
are chapter books about
leprechauns who slide down moonbeams into children's dreams ... and the
children are my grandchildren. They're perfect for 4-9 year olds and great non-scarey
bedtime reading. Such fun to be an author!
My life has
been a long series of amazing circumstances beginning with the twinkle in my
father's eye, his accidental death on a training flight during WW2 five
months before my birth, and my mother's struggle as a
young war widow supporting her parents and raising a daughter in Victoria,
BC Canada. I didn't
realize just how tough those times were until much later in life just before
I started my own publishing company and began producing historical novels,
but I digress ...
Those
who visit Victoria, BC (an internationally popular tourist haven) and the Pacific
Northwest understand why I have
never wanted to live
anywhere else. I'm a mom, a grandmother and a great-grandmother! I also
have an affinity to cats and have usually had one in my life. For the past
few years it's been Sam, a dear boy who came to us as a special six-year-old
who needed a home. He made
himself quite comfortable with us, talks to us regularly giving his
instructions, and chastises
us fiercely when we return home from out-of-town craft shows where we sell our books!
I don't want to bore you but to find out more about me, how I met
Robert and
why we do what we do, by request I have now posted my own bio.
When I published the first of our books, holy smokes, we were surprised when people
wanted more! That was in December 1998 and today, my job description
reads "award winning author and publisher/editor/webmaster/marketing guru!"
Who would have known!
After I
introduced Robert to the world as author, J. Robert Whittle,
(now healthy again after a life-threatening staph infection for 3 years)
life became an amazing roller coaster ride. We marketed the books in local stores and farmer's markets then discovered the many craft shows that were happy to feature
'the oldest craft in the world.' It was a blast meeting his wonderful fans,
being congratulated, and yes, making some money (or what would be the point)! Even in those first few years, we knew our books
were travelling to over 40 different countries (we got their address!).
The challenge of producing one book had developed into a huge labour of love as we branched out to larger markets and
more distant craft
shows.
Nine years later (2007), I have been responsible for producing 8
novels (3 of them bestsellers), 2 fairy stories and various audio products.
When I stop long enough to think about it -- THAT IS bloody miraculous --
excuse me a minute while I pat myself on the back!!
Thanks to the
loyalty of our thousands of devoted fans, we've come such a long way and for two 'oldies'
(I'm not quite an official senior yet!) that is pretty amazing. To know that our books have been responsible for
putting such joy into people's busy and complicated lives, makes it all
worthwhile.
| "Your
whole life is a rehearsal for the moment
you are in now." Judith Malina |
Many of our readers return to Victoria every year or two to look up my
charismatic and handsome husband at his market stand in downtown Victoria at
Bastion Square. They are usually looking for the new book as each year I have
tried to publish
either a book or an audio product. This helps to keep
Robert and his fans happy but many say he should be home writing so we could
publish two or more books a year! However, we still need to sell them, so
markets are a necessity and Robert loves to meet his public. Don't worry, I have
many more books and stories on my computer! We hope to continue for awhile
longer.
June 2008
Update - We've now won 2 Gold Medals in the Independent Publisher Contest
(IPPUs) for best book of fiction Canada: West (half of Canada) for
Whispers Across Time (2008) and Loyalty's
Haven (2007), Book 3 in Robert's Victoria Chronicles Trilogy.
So, if you are a writer or are thinking of writing or self-publishing, you might be wondering what advice I
could have for you! Check out my
writer's page
and our long and informative reference page of
links.
Thanks for reading this long
dissertation. There's even more personal stuff here if you care to look
around. Good luck with
your writing, publishing and/or recreational reading!
Best regards,
Joyce Sandilands
