The Southern Roots Sheila Athens Admits Provoke Her Soulful Writing Career

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Kristi Leonard [: 00:00:00

Welcome to Author Express. Thanks for checking us out. This is the podcast where you give us 15 minutes of your time, and we give you a chance to hear the voice behind the pages and get to know some of your favorite writers in a new light. I'm one of your hosts, Kristi Leonard, owner and host of Writers in the Wild Retreats, nonfiction voice over artist, and president of WFWA. I'm excited to share with you a little about today's guest.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:00:31

Sheila Athens writes women's 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. She loves quiet spaces, eccentric people, and the little band of rider hikers who walk at sunrise on a regular basis. After growing up in the Ozarks, she moved to Florida sight unseen with the man who would become her husband. She's a boy mom, a former vice president of human resources, and a proud introvert. In her latest book, Neena Lee Is Seeing Things, John F. Kennedy, Jr. asks Neena for her help. The problem is he's been dead for 25 years.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:01:21

Welcome, Sheila Athens. I'm so lucky that you're the one who gets to be my first interview. Makes me so happy. And I have to say, I'm happy that I'm one of the rider hikers.

Sheila Athens [: 00:01:34

Yes. Yes. I'm happy to be here. I'm happy to be one of the rider hikers too.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:01:38

That's so awesome. We always start with the same question. Tell me the most interesting thing about where you're from.

Sheila Athens [: 00:01:47

So, in the intro, it said that I grew up in the Ozarks in Springfield, Missouri, which is true, but I've actually lived in Jacksonville, Florida for more time than in Springfield, Missouri, so I'm going to talk about Jackson.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:02:00

Okay.

Sheila Athens [: 00:02:01

And the thing that I think is interesting, and this is a little bit self-serving because it has to do with the book as well, is that when people think of Florida, they think of a lot of things. They think of Disney or they think of cruise ships or they think of, you know, South Beach, a very urban kind of modern environment, but Jacksonville, Florida is right on the Georgia border, and it's much quicker for me to get to Savannah, Georgia, for example, than it is for me to get to Palm Beach or Fort Myers or somewhere like that. And so, our part of Florida is really more like the south.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:02:40

Yeah.

Sheila Athens [: 00:02:41

Than it is, you know, I'd say from, like, Orlando south is Florida.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:02:46

Right.

Sheila Athens [: 00:02:46

And people from other parts of Florida think that Jacksonville is really South Georgia. So, you know, I think that's interesting because we are not the same Florida that people think of when they think of Florida.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:02:58

Yeah. I went to college in Tallahassee, and we used to say it's Georgia with the Florida ZIP code.

Sheila Athens [: 00:03:04

Oh, that's a good thing. Yeah.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:03:05

Yeah.

Sheila Athens [: 00:03:05

Absolutely.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:03:05

Yep. Very similar. So, what is something about you that other people find hard to believe? Let's get to know you a little.

Sheila Athens [: 00:03:14

So, my intro that you read kind of gave it away, but I'm very much an introvert. But people who know me, people who've met me in person have trouble believing me. People, you know, I still have people from high school write me and say, why are you posting this introvert stuff, Sheila? You're not an introvert. And, you know, I was a vice president of human resources for 25 years. You have to do training sessions, you have to speak in front of crowds, you have to talk to people all day long. So, people who know me in other venues think I'm an extrovert. Even in the writing community, I'm kind of seen as somebody who does a good job of connecting with people.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:03:55

Absolutely.

Sheila Athens [: 00:03:57

So, I don't portray myself outwardly as an introvert, but I'm very much one of those people who has to hide in my little lair and recover after I've had a lot of time spent with people.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:04:09

Yeah. I've heard that that's like a good definition for people to understand what an introvert is. Sometimes it's a person who can't be around other people, but mostly, it's about where you get your energy. And you know me well because we're friends. I am the opposite of an introvert, and I get my energy from being around people and doing things and being out in the world. And I have a daughter who's an introvert, so I totally understand what that's like. Like, she's extroverted when she's around people, but then she needs to go hide in a room just like you said.

Sheila Athens [: 00:04:44

Right.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:04:44

Yeah.

Sheila Athens [: 00:04:45

Right.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:04:45

Yeah. That's so interesting. Well, now we get to the part that I really love to talk about, and I have read the book, which is Neena Lee Is Seeing Things. And I'm so excited to say that it is so good. I literally couldn't stop reading it because I got so immersed. The thing that I am so excited about is the place, and we'll get to that. But we always start with this question, how would you summarize your book in 1 sentence so people know what we're talking about?

Sheila Athens [: 00:05:16

So, it's what you read in the intro, and it's John F. Kennedy, Jr. asks Neena for help. The problem is he's been dead for 25 years.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:05:25

It's such a unique idea. I love this. So, I don't want to give spoilers or anything away. So, tell me, how did you even come up with this idea for the book?

Sheila Athens [: 00:05:37

So, you've read, I think, and I assume many of the listeners have read, Sarah Penner's, The Lost Apothecary.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:05:44

Love that book.

Sheila Athens [: 00:05:46

Which had a fabulous premise. It was about apothecary in the 1800 that would only sell tinctures and other products to women who wanted to poison their husbands.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:05:58

Oh my.

Sheila Athens [: 00:05:59

Yeah. And I thought that's such a great premise. And I think at the time that I was coming up with my premise, Sarah's book had sold in multiple territories and, you know, was just doing gangbusters. I'm not sure it was even out yet, but everyone knew it was going to be a big one.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:06:14

Yeah.

Sheila Athens [: 00:06:15

And so, I thought, you know, I need something that's a premise like that, a great premise that maybe is a little otherworldly, you know, not something that's a 100% rooted in reality.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:06:30

Right.

Sheila Athens [: 00:06:31

And then I was driving down to I95, and I saw a sign to Cumberland Island. And for your listeners who don't know, Cumberland Island was the site of the wedding between John F. Kennedy, Jr. and Carolyn Bissett. And the reason they chose Cumberland Island, it's accessible only by ferry. A lot of it is a national seashore, so a national park, and there are only about 50 people that live on the island.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:06:59

So cool.

Sheila Athens [: 00:06:59

And John F. Kennedy, Jr. had been there once before and commented that it was the only place the paparazzi hadn't followed.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:07:08

Right.

Sheila Athens [: 00:07:08

Because, you know, this is a guy that paparazzi followed him everywhere from the time he was a child. And so, when I think of Cumberland Island. I think of John F. Kennedy, Jr. And that started kind of mulling around in my head, and I thought, well, what if because that's such a special place to him, what if his ghost came out? And then that's kind of how Neena Lee came about.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:07:31

It's just the most creative, fun. It's and it's such a soulful book. It's got so much going on. There are so many layers, yet it has this really interesting sort of thought-provoking premise, and it really just keeps you going. So, I really do hope that people get to read it and enjoy it as much as I did.

Sheila Athens [: 00:07:55

I love that you used that word, soulful. That's like, makes my heart connect. Thank you.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:08:00

Really. No. Seriously. The books that I really am drawn to are the books that have lots of layers. So, there's obviously the main story, but then there's all the other layers. And I think you did a really, really good job of weaving in all of those little side stories and connecting things. As a writer myself, I know that that is a challenge. So, you did it very well.

Sheila Athens [: 00:08:27

Thank you.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:08:28

You're welcome. Do you remember when you first decided you were going to write a novel?

Sheila Athens [: 00:08:33

Yes.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:08:33

Tell me about it.

Sheila Athens [: 00:08:35

So, I was in my early 40s, firmly entrenched in corporate America. Was going through one of those periods where I had too much stress, there was a lot of office politics, you know, it was just wearing me down, and I thought, you know, surely there has to be better life out there somewhere. So, at 42, I asked myself, what do you want to be when you grow up? And I've always been a reader and I decided that I wanted to write books. And I remember specifically that we were sitting in a pizza place at the bar because there were no seats, and I told my husband, I want to be a writer.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:09:16

Wow.

Sheila Athens [: 00:09:17

And he's like, okay. I took another bite of pizza. You know? I think he didn't think I was serious. And then I went to Barnes and Noble the next day because it was near my office, and I bought about $100 worth of writing books, none of which I ever read.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:09:32

Oh my gosh. You're kidding. They probably look nice on your bookshelf. Right?

Sheila Athens [: 00:09:37

Yeah. And I know this is supposed to be a short podcast, but let me tell this other quick story. So, the very next morning, I was driving to work and I listened to my local NPR station, and there was an AD about the Amelia Island writer's festival.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:09:53

No way. Talk about the world giving you.

Sheila Athens [: 00:09:56

Which is right up the road for me, and I'm like, the world is telling me I'm supposed to be a novelist because the very next day, I hear an AD for a writer's festival that's 2 weeks from then. So, I went to it and the rest is history.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:10:08

That is amazing. How many books have you written?

Sheila Athens [: 00:10:11

I've probably written 5 or 6 manuscripts, and I've had 2 published, which is about part for the course. I mean, that's about normal.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:10:19

And you have another one coming out, I understand?

Sheila Athens [: 00:10:22

Mae Van Dorn's Perfect Storm is coming out in September of this year of 2024.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:10:27

I saw the cover. It's such a good cover. Do you want to tell us a little bit about that one, or are you not ready to talk about that one yet?

Sheila Athens [: 00:10:34

Well, I don't have the blurb in front of me, but basically, it's about a woman who lived in Tallahassee and her life imploded in a “perfect storm”. And she is forced to move to Jacksonville Beach to live with her estranged brother, and there's a lot about why they're estranged and how they mend that relationship. But she's also an atheist who because she can't find another job, goes to work for the founder and minister of a mega church.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:11:06

Oh my gosh.

Sheila Athens [: 00:11:07

And kind of what that leads to.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:11:09

That sounds awesome. I know it's going to be amazing.

Sheila Athens [: 00:11:12

Thank you.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:11:13

So, where is the best place for folks to find you if they're looking for you online?

Sheila Athens [: 00:11:19

At my website, which is Sheila, SHEILA, Athens, just like Athens Greece, .com. So, sheilaathens.com. You can get to my bio links and my social media from there. So, that's the best kind of centralized one.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:11:35

What surprised you most about your writing career?

Sheila Athens [: 00:11:39

Oh, what surprised me most about my writing career? I think that those who aren't writers think of writing novels as an art, and it certainly is.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:11:51

Right.

Sheila Athens [: 00:11:52

Both an art and a craft. But when you're an author, you're also an entrepreneur. You're running your own company. You're doing your own marketing. You're doing your own accounting. You know, you're doing everything. So, that notion of writers going off into the woods alone on writing retreats and practicing their craft is only somewhat true. The rest of the time, you have to do all the other stuff. And so, you know, I've been reading a lot of books lately on entrepreneurship and that kind of thing because you have to run your own business.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:12:26

Yeah. Absolutely. And for those who don't know, Sheila used to be a book coach, so she understands a lot about the writing, both the back end and publishing books, the marketing, and all of that kind of stuff. Do you want to talk a little bit about your book coaching?

Sheila Athens [: 00:12:42

Sure. I was a book coach through Author Accelerator. Many people will recognize that name. I actually started being a book coach for them before their book coach certification came about, so I was kind of grandfathered in, but I also mentored the first group of people who went through that certification process, so I'm certainly familiar with it. I started book coaching when I was still working in corporate America because I thought it would be a great way to learn. You know, there's no better way to learn than by critiquing other people's work.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:13:15

Yeah.

Sheila Athens [: 00:13:16

And I also thought, at the time, my late husband and I had a cabin in the North Georgia mountains. I thought, you know, when I retire from corporate America, that would be a great kind of part time job to have from my deck in the north Georgia mountains.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:13:30

That's so awesome.

Sheila Athens [: 00:13:31

But I decided after about 5 or 6 years of book coaching to put my business on hiatus and focus on my own writing because I just wasn't having enough time to focus on my own writing.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:13:41

Which is why you have a book in January and another book coming out in September. We could all learn something from you. So, the last question we always ask the same question to everybody, what book, or story inspires you the most?

Sheila Athens [: 00:13:58

Years ago, I read a book called The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. And if you are someone who thinks they might have an inkling of an artist inside you, I highly recommend that book. And I still go back to that book, which is very dog eared and highlighted. It's got post it flags, and I still go back to that book and refer to it because she's like, you know, the goddess of showing you how you can have a writer's life.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:14:28

That's such a great one. I actually haven't read that one, so I need to go back and do that. I've heard, I know. I hear it from so many people, and I just haven't done it yet. Terrible.

Sheila Athens [: 00:14:37

You definitely need to read it. I would loan you my copy, but it doesn't leave my house.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:14:42

No problem at all. Well, thank you so much, Sheila. You made my first podcast pretty easy, and you're such an easy person to talk to. And I definitely want everybody to go out and get her book because it is really, really good. Thanks for being here.

Sheila Athens [: 00:14:59

Thank you. It's been great to be here.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:15:02

Thanks for joining us. We hope you take a second to give us stars or a review on your favorite podcasting platform, and we'll be here again next Wednesday. Follow us on Instagram at Author Express Podcast to see who's coming up next. Don't forget. Keep it express, but keep it interesting.