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Emily had a goal when she was 15, she would have a daughter named Marquel and write a novel titled "Marquel." She accomplished both and more.
Emily was a protege of the late master of the pulps or paperback originals, Harry Whittington. Emily interviewed Whittington during her days as a feature writer for the Clearwater Sun daily newspaper and its weekly division. They became friends and he taught her how to plot and gave her approval of the original outline and sample chapter for "Marquel" shortly before he died in 1989.
After Whittington passed away, Emily challenged herself to write as her mentor did and wrote a chapter a day and finished the novel "Marquel" in 52 days. For more details on the novel's history read: http://www.thefilmmom.blogspot.com/2012/10/why-book-trailer-now.html
Fast forward, a second daughter, Blair is born and Emily and husband Tom focus on raising their family. Both daughters are now grown and work in Hollywood. So this might be an example of art imitating life or the reverse?
A devoted Catholic, Emily is rekindling her love for writing and has just completed the movie script for "Marquel" and a young adult paranormal series appropriately named after her youngest child, "St. Blair: Children of the Night."
When Emily isn't working as a marketing consultant or writing, she enjoys antiquing and producing short films.
Reviewed by Ankita Shukla for Readers' Favorite
In The Diary of St. Blair by E.W.Skinner, Blair is a teenager who has been blessed with certain abilities. She is able to communicate with supernatural beings. Archangel Michael pays her frequent visits and urges her to write about the divine visions that appear to her every now and then. However, she is reluctant about his request for reasons unknown to her. According to the Archangel, writing about her visions would prove to be extremely important as those would guide that generation in defending against demons. She is curious as to how, when, and where would these visions prove to be fruitful, but Michael does not provide her with any details.
The book is written in the form of Blair's journal entries. Her musings are funny, cute, creepy, and thought-provoking. Everything that a teenager might wonder about is presented with a relatable authenticity. While reading her entries, I believed with all my heart that this was a teenage girl's diary, who is still trying to figure out her place in the adult world. What separates her from any other teenager is her ability to see and communicate with angels and spirits. Unlike most other teenagers, she is drawn towards the church, Bible, and spiritual discussions. Her views on religion, war, human behavior etc. are extremely powerful, inspiring, and thought-provoking. There is so much wisdom packed into this quick read that one can learn a lot just by reading it once with an open heart and mind.
Blair's character is portrayed with such care that she not only passed muster as a teenager, but also managed to make a connection with me as a reader. She forced me to think, giggle, anticipate, and reconsider my priorities. The best part of the whole book is that the author did not get stuck with only the paranormal part and mixed many other "teenage troubles" into Blair's journal that made reading it exciting and entertaining. There is so much depth, diversity, and teenage musings in The Diary of St. Blair by E.W. Skinner that it is a must-read on a slow afternoon.
