Sheree Zielke

She has interviewed rock stars, one-percenter bikers, Hollywood hot-shots, and homeless Joes around the world.

She has traveled extensively across North America, and has visited Australia, Africa, the Amazon, the United Kingdom, Italy, Greece, Hawaii, and the Caribbean.

She has been a crime reporter, a murder mystery theatre producer, a photographer, and a digital camera instructor.

She resides in western Canada, but is happier on the road. Martha's Vine is Sheree Zielke's first novel.

In her own words:

As a little girl, I read "The Boxcar Children." I knew then that I would forever be addicted to stories about survivors, those resourceful souls that soldier on, regardless of how dismal their circumstances, making do, and making their own brand of sunshine.

I have always been a writer, always carried a pencil and a notepad, and have always made a living with the written word, but I wasn't quite sure about writing a book... until 1995; that's when I started Martha's Vine.

The book was shelved repeatedly until finally, in 2009, I met a new friend (a fellow photographer on Flickr.com) who agreed to read the book as I wrote it. Other Flickr friends/photographers stepped in, too... some as readers, one as a editor, and one as a brilliant graphic artist.

The book has nothing to do with photography, but it has a great deal to do with surviving. It is set in my province of Alberta where I currently reside. Practical things I learned as a Manitoba farm girl have found their way into the book.

As an ex-reporter, I love studying people, understanding what they think, what drives them, what motivates them, what makes them love, what makes them hate, and what they will fight for.

I strive to meet interesting people outside my sphere of influence. Recently, I made the acquaintance of the chief of the Hell's Angels motorcycle club, Sonny Barger. I also interviewed the man who heads up the Bandidos club in Las Vegas as well as the COC (Conference of Clubs).

I feel so strongly about the validity of Martha's Vine as a gripping tale, that I thought Hollywood should know about it, too. So I gave a copy to the King of Hollywood, blockbuster director, James Cameron.

I don't live a charmed life, but things do tend to fall into place for me when I work hard enough. When I believe hard enough.

I invite you to believe in me, too. And I thank you in advance for both your purchase of Martha's Vine and your subsequent review posted here on Amazon.

Please enjoy!

Blessings,

Sheree

For more information on Martha's vine... www.marthasvine.com