About S.J. Miller

Hello! I'm Shirley J. Miller - new author and writer of Last Flight Out - and I am happy to share a little about myself with you here.

I've always liked writing. I find it relaxing, and in my younger days I used to win first prize every year in the Town's Library Essay Competition. Of course, all the essays were short fiction stories. However, none of those stories were about the mob, or anything to do with Chicago at all. 

Since all my aptitude tests suggested that I should go into writing, it was no surprise when I ended up working for major Advertising Agencies.

I started my career in Tennessee working for a small in-house agency within the fast food industry.  I wrote newspaper ads, radio & television scripts... all directed toward the consumer. I then moved on to a Chicago Advertising Agency for a few years, and finally ended up in Los Angeles as a marketing & communications manager.

The corporate side of advertising was challenging, to say the least, but I got to write promotional copy for golf tournaments (golf is dear to my heart, by the way), dealer and sales incentive trips to world-class vacation destinations. Of course, I had to inspect some of these locations to make sure they were suitable. Well, somebody had to do it!

During all this time, I dreamed of writing mystery & suspense novels, not necessarily about the Chicago mob and their ilk, but I had little time to spare. It really was a passion of mine, though, so I wrote a little here, and a little there, but made little headway. For some reason, though, the thought of writing a story about the Chicago mob and its mobsters just wouldn't go away.

Eventually, I was able to get out of the hustle & bustle of the advertising industry and reflect on days gone by while lounging on my deck - overlooking a lake - accompanied by my two darling Silky Terriers in the California sunshine. This afforded me the opportunity to finally devote the time to pursuing a life as a full-time author.

What was I going to write about, I asked myself. Yep, you guessed it... stories about mobs, gangsters and the Chicago underworld of sex and intrigue.

As a new author, I decided to self-publish my first book - mainly because of the expense of having a major publishing house do it for me, and also I wanted to learn just how the self-published book system worked.

Last Flight Out is a fictional story about a career girl in Chicago who gets caught up with the local mob - some of the mobsters even threatened her life. What starts out as an adventure quickly becomes a series of life-threatening adversities, that in the end, leave her with a fierce desire to escape it all. If you like mobster books, this could be up your alley.

Ring of Deception was just recently published.  It's a murder mystery solved by two sister who just happen to be close to both murders - one set it Seattle - the other at the very same time in London.  All investigations begin as the girls arrive in London.  If you like Nancy Drew type stories, this could be a good book for you.

Golf Tips for Ladies is an e-book published - just because I love golf - and wanted to share my experiences and knowledge of the game.  It's full of tip and tricks to improve your golf game.