About Phyllis Smallman

I live in two beautiful places, Salt Spring Island, a small island off the west coast of Canada, and on the mangrove coast of Florida. It's Florida that has captured my imagination, maybe because there are just so many characters there and it's a place where anything could -- and does -- happen. You just have to read the morning paper to have a story.

For me, writing is imagination coming out to play with memory. And it doesn't even have to be my memories, so be careful what you tell me.

I've been addicted to mysteries since childhood; from Trixie Belden to Agatha Christie, I loved them all. They explained what happened when greed, love and jealousy got out of hand. Mysteries transported me to worlds far from my own and took me safely into danger.

My favorite mystery is always the one I'm working on at the moment because I basically write the books I'd like to read. And since I never quite get it right I always have to go back and do it again with a new story.

Sherri Travis is a woman I'd like to know. I'd like to walk into the Sunset, late in the afternoon after a long day of writing, and order a glass of wine. I'd listen to the conversation and then go home to write down everything I heard. Don't we all have this perfect place in our hearts?

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Writing on Salt Spring Island