Wearside author Sheila Quigley will be giving a talk at the venue which inspired the location for her new crime novel.
Sheila will be discussing her latest book, The Sound of Silence, at National Glass Centre, on Saturday, January 16, at 10.30am in The Glass Yard.
Sheila is one of the region’s most popular crime writers, rising to fame in 2001 through a fiercely contested auction for her first two books, ‘Run for Home’ and ‘Bad Moon Rising’ which resulted in a six-figure deal signed with UK publisher, Random House.
Sheila lived on the Homelands Estate in Houghton-le-Spring near Sunderland, opposite a field which became the fictional location of the council housing estate in her Seahills books. The Sound of Silence is the 7th book in the series.
A mum-of-four, grandmother-of-nine and great-grandmother-of-three, Sheila was recently voted in at number seven in WH Smith’s Best Crime Authors of All Time, voted for by readers, finishing above Silence of the Lambs writer Thomas Harris, recently deceased PD James and Jack Reacher creator Lee Child.
Her fictional lead detective, DI Lorraine Hunt, has struck a chord with fans with her strong and tough female persona, and was even voted No.10 in the book retailer’s top fictional detectives poll.
Sheila, a former factory worker, is also the author of the more recent DI Mike Yorke series which has received praise-filled reviews from crime fiction fans.
In September 2010, Sheila published the first of a trilogy of novels featuring DI Yorke and his sidekick Smiler, a psychic street kid.
Last year, Run for Home and its sequel Bad Moon Rising were adapted for the stage by fellow Houghtonian, actor Derek Lawson, who directed the plays at the town’s Zazz Theatre, in Newbottle Street.
There will also be a question and answer session with Sheila and a crime quiz in which the winner will receive a free limited edition of The Sound of Silence.
To book a place at this FREE talk at National Glass Centre, Sir Tom Cowie Campus at St Peter’s, contact Visitor Services on 0191 568 9700.