Shirley Skidmore is a retired teacher from Montreal, Quebec. She was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and grew up in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. She graduated from Summerside, PEI and then spent an adventurous year as an airline stewardess. She flew on airplanes that landed on sand, ice and water besides the usual tarmacs. Shirley grew to love the Canadian North and the small islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence like the Magdalen Islands and the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon near Newfoundland. There is a possibility that this part of her life could show up in a future book.
She went on to McGill University in Montreal and this led to many happy years as a teacher. She loved travelling and managed to visit many parts of the globe. Eventually she moved to the West Coast town of Sooke on Vancouver Island. The amazing scenery on the Island with its ambiance and sense of peace made writing possible.
Shirley is now finishing her third mystery novel- next year be on the alert for- Murder on Whiffin Spit. She has enjoyed being a mentor for Crime Writers of Canada and this has led to plans of doing it professionally.
Writing Connections
The Sooke Scribblers
Shirley founded the Sooke Scribblers in 1998. She had felt the need at that time to be able to communicate with local writers. The group has flourished and grown and we all enjoy and benefit from intelligent conversations, challenging homework and positive critiquing. Feeling the need to encourage writing among young people, the Scribblers have held a yearly writing contest at the local high school. It is a popular event for the students and their interest has increased yearly. Winners receive monies that the Scribblers have obtained through grants and the publishing of anthologies. These may be bought at the Sooke Museum. The local art community has embraced the Scribblers and have included them in Sooke Cultural Mapping.
If you live in or around Sooke and are interested in joining the Sooke Scribblers or want to know more about them please contact Shirley.
More Writing Connections
Romance Writers of America are a non-profit organization that promote writing contests, seminars and workshops to promote the genre of Romance. Shirley plans to join the Vancouver Island Chapter this summer.
Crime Writers of Canada are a national non-profit organization for Canadian mystery and crime writers. Their mission is to promote Canadian crime writing. Their yearly convention is called Bloody Words and will be held in 2011 in Victoria, British Columbia for the first time. Shirley is on the steering committee and is the Manuscript chair.
Federation of BC Writers is a non-profit organization which contributes to a supportive environment for writers in British Columbia.
