I lived a very full and exciting life growing up in New York City. When I was two, my mother took me to a modeling agency and my show business career started. I stayed in the business for 22 years. During that time I appeared on Broadway; magazine covers; television shows and commercials; fashion shows and national magazine ads.

At the age of eight, I became a competitive ice skater and figure skated for more than 20 years. I managed 40 hours of practice every week and eventually became a gold level skater.

My background helped me with my writing in many ways. It taught me how to find the time to do what I wanted to do, even if I was busy. It gave me many experiences to write about. It taught me the discipline to “stick with it” even if I didn’t feel like it. All of these traits are necessary for a writer to master her art.

I was always interested in writing but didn’t pursue it seriously until I was married and had three young children. My marriage was not going well and I needed a way to vent my emotions. One day I sat down and wrote a number of poems about how I was feeling. Those first poems were very depressive, but they helped me feel better. As I improved emotionally, my poems became easier to read; they mirrored my emotions. Thanks to my poetry I was able to lift myself out of the doldrums and start to learn about the craft of writing.

During this time I started submitting my poems to various publishers and, to my surprise, many of them were accepted for publication. There is nothing quite like seeing your work in print. It was a dream come true.

Ever since that time I have been a serious writer. My life is spent writing, submitting my work, and taking writing classes to learn all I can about this craft I love so much.

I am a member of various writing organizations such as the Poetry Society of America, Women In The Arts, The National Poet’s Association, Poets’ Guild, The National Authors Registry, and International Society of Authors and Artists.

My poems have appeared in various anthologies published by Drury’s Publishing, Armadillo Press, Amherst Society, and Golden Apple Press, to name a few.

I have received various awards from  Iliad Press, “Sunday Suitor,” DDDD Publications, Hayden’s Publications, Homespring Press, and “Se La Vie.”

For me, writing is pure magic. I lose track of time when I sit down with my pencil and start putting my ideas on paper. I also feel that writing is a beautiful way to share myself with the world by letting other people read about my hopes, thoughts and dreams.

There is no doubt that becoming a good writer takes determination, dedication, and a lot of hard work – but I think that it is well worth the effort. In my opinion there is nothing more rewarding than the art of the written word.

I currently live in Euless, Texas with my husband Gail.

Sheila B. Roark
P O Box 1392
Euless, TX 76039

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