Oshawa, Ontario Feb 15, 2019 (Issuewire.com) - Wendy Hewlett is a self-published Canadian author set to release Runed, the third book in her Taylor Sinclair Series, on Tuesday, February 19th. She’s spent most of her life living in Oshawa, Ontario although she was born in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Ms. Hewlett states that most of her book sales come from the U.S. or the U.K. and that’s something she would like to change.
“Most of the crime fiction/women sleuth novels I’ve read are set in the States. How refreshing is it for Canadian readers to have a series set right here at home?”
Hewlett’s love of writing began at a young age and her high school English teacher encouraged her to pursue a career in writing. She enrolled in the Journalism program at Durham College in Oshawa then dropped out at the end of the first year as it just wasn’t the kind of writing she wanted to do. “I don’t regret that year though,” she says. “It gave me a great foundation in spelling and grammar.” It was after she was laid off from her job as a Security Supervisor with Securitas at General Motors during the economic upheaval in the late 2000s that Hewlett began writing creatively.
“If I hadn’t been laid off back then, I may never have started writing novels. Maybe that’s a consolation to the workers facing the closure of the GM Oshawa plant. It’s devastating to lose your job, but when that door closes, others open. In my case, it was more of a blessing in the end.”
Hewlett recently obtained her diploma in Creative Writing with high honors. Her instructor told her that only the top 1% of authors succeed and she is in that bracket, although that doesn't guarantee success.
“That statement was both encouraging and discouraging,” Hewlett admits. “Succeeding in a writing career in Canada is next to impossible. The U.S. and the U.K. seem to have more opportunities available to self-published authors and they also have a lot more literary agents and publishers than we do here in Canada for those who wish to publish traditionally.”
Hewlett says she enjoys writing strong female characters overcoming trauma or hardship. The first two books in the Sinclair Series deal with the main character, Taylor Sinclair, coming off of the streets of Toronto and beginning to heal from her childhood trauma. “The highest compliments I’ve received are from women who’ve written to me after reading the books to say they found them instrumental in their own personal healing and recovery. That was something I really didn’t expect. One reader emailed me after reading Saving Grace and thanked me for her emotional freedom. That was powerful.”
Those comments have inspired Hewlett to strive to continue to motivate and inspire women through her writing. “I honestly wrote the books for entertainment purposes, but the response I’ve received taught me just how powerful and life-changing words can be.”
To learn more about the Taylor Sinclair Series and Hewlett’s upcoming novels, visit her website at wendyhewlett.com.
Media Contact
Wendy Hewlett wendy@wendyhewlett.com 905-576-1368 311 Rossland Rd. E., Oshawa, ON L1G 2X2 http://wendyhewlett.com
