Why do I write?
The short and most succinct answer is—family and emotions. Don’t those two words always go hand in hand? Now, for a more detailed explanation:
My writer’s
biography states, “The writing bug first snagged Cheryl through her penning of
a personal essay, for which she received an award and publication.” The essay’s subject was—what do you wear to
bring your daughter to a detox facility?
Of course all the turmoil leading to the actual event were tied up in my
feeble attempt at humor while discussing a most difficult situation. In all honesty, like most writers, I actually
began writing many, many moons before this situation. I wrote in an attempt to make sense of the
myriad of emotions swirling, begging for my attention. Did you also feed teenage angst and
confusion to the fire bowl in your bedroom?
Many more
moons later I began to spin small threads of family life through fiction
writing and found my short stories fit within the Southern Gothic genre. Why? Because
while I live and have raised my family in Oregon, the place my father’s family
roots began, my upbringing—age two to eighteen—is buried deep in Southern
Louisiana where my mother’s family lineage began and still resides. I visit there often. It is home to me and is where most of my
stories are set.
When I started
writing short fiction stories about my childhood home it was for my children
and grandchildren. I never dreamed they
could one day be published. I simply
enjoyed writing them with the intention of leaving twisted, embellished stories
about a culture my progeny would never experience. But my writing tribe had other plans…
Veya Marie St. James has vowed to never again set foot on the Island of her birth—a strip of land buried deep in the swamps of southern Louisiana. Her childhood memories are rampant with ancient superstitions and the bizarre rituals of her estranged mother. Veya long ago rejected that life and those beliefs, but when a mysterious illness threatens her daughter's life, it all leads to the Island. Veya swore she would never go back, but the Island calls to her, and now it's calling with her daughter's voice.
The writing bug first snagged Cheryl Owen-Wilson through the penning of a personal essay, for which she received an award and publication. Today what drives her writing life is Southern Gothic fiction. Since her biological roots are buried not only in Oregon, but also deep in the bayous of Southern Louisiana the genre is a natural fit.
When not writing she can be found at an easel covered in oil paint. “When I write I usually have painting in mind to go with the story. The same holds true when a painting forms, a story generally follows.” In that vein one of her paintings is featured on the ShadowSpinners: A Collection of Dark Tales, book jacket. You can find her short story: Swamp Symphony, in the book’s collection. This is Cheryl’s first published novella.
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