I was just profiled in the Hampton Roads Writers newsletter by Penny Hutson. Here's the piece:
Author Spotlight* |
|
|
 |
Author, history professor, and former journalist, Dr. Nigel Sellars, was born in Birmingham, England but emigrated as a child with his family to Quebec and then to Oklahoma in the United States at the age of nine. He spent most of his life there. In fact, much of his historical works are about the state of Oklahoma. His article “Almost Helpless in the Wake of the Storm” is about the 1918-1919 Spanish flu epidemic in Oklahoma. That piece won him an award as the best article in The Chronicles of Oklahoma for 2004.
|
A prolific and diverse writer, Dr. Sellars’ work includes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, short stories, book reviews, articles, and various other pieces. He’s always loved history and writing and successfully melded the two into a satisfying lifelong career.
|
| As a reporter he won several awards, including sharing an Associate Press/Oklahoma News Editors award for covering the infamous Edmond Post Office mass shooting, from which the term “going postal” originated. |
Although he eventually left the field of journalism to become a professor of history, he firmly agrees with the famous Ben Bradlee of the Washinton Post, who is known for referring to journalism as “the first rough draft of history.”
|
So far in his career, Dr. Sellars published a total of seven books, including three novels, a short story collection, and two self-published ones on Smashwords titled Stacy and the Monkey King, a children’s book written for his late niece, and a humorous fake biography chapbook titled Edgar Rice Krispies: Mangler of Adventure. His historical monograph titled Oil, Wheat & Wobblies was published by the University of Oklahoma Press.
|
Although he hasn’t published any fiction lately, his banner year happened in 2020 with several pieces, such as “Terminal Eyes,” published in Amazing Short Stories; “A Dark Desire,” published in Sirens Call, Fall/Halloween 2020; “And Now the News,” in 365 Tomorrows online; and “In the Z Unit,” in the Indiana Horror Review - just to name a few.
|
He’s currently working on several exciting projects, including a true crime work titled Poisonous, in the fashion of Erik Larsen’s Devil in the White City, a novel titled Elfhunter, and a few science fiction novels. His completed horror story, “Prairie Gods,” is set in a small Nebraska town were Dr. Sellar’s family lived for a year under less than pleasant circumstances. The town in the story is plagued by prehistoric and Native American monsters and an evil brotherhood trying to revive the Old Ones. Sounds delightfully creepy and intriguing.
|
His advice for writers attempting publication for the first time is this: “Never give up. Keep plugging away. Write, and keep writing. Don’t wait for inspiration. Writing is hard work, but the results are rewarding.”
|
| Thank you, Dr. Sellars for being an active participant in HRW and at our yearly conferences as an author and instructor. We look forward to reading your next piece. |
|
