Date: September 29, 1997, 6:00 PM (PT) (Login Now)

Moderator: "We're pleased to have with us tonight Sidney Sheldon. Mr. Sheldon created popular TV Series such as Hart to Hart, I Dream of Jeannie, and the Patti Duke Show. He is winner of an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and an Edgar Award. Recently, he worked his magic in his fifteenth novel: THE BEST LAID PLANS. Welcome Mr. Sheldon!"

Moderator: "We describe Third Agers as active older adults who are championing a new vision of aging characterized by a sense of accomplishment and fresh beginnings. How do you feel about being a Third Ager?"

Sidney Sheldon: "Well .. when someone says "the alternative" ... i like it!! i'm very grateful that i've been alowed to live this long and remain creative."

Marywp: "How many hours a day do you spend writing?"

Sidney Sheldon: "I start usually about 9 in the morning and I work until 6pm ... and if I can't sleep at night (which is often) I go to the office and spend a few hours working. I work 7 days a week."

Seesaw: "Mr. Sheldon, I have always been interested in the formal education of an author. Do most successful writers that you know have a degree in Creative Writing?"

Sidney Sheldon: "I didn't know there was a degree in Creative Writing I had 6 months of college and I know that some very important writers never went to college."

cardinal: "Mr Sheldon can I ask how old you are?"

Sidney Sheldon: "Last February I turned 80."

Terrier: "What author do you read for enjoyment?"

Sidney Sheldon: "I like EL Doctorow alot and Tom Wolfe."

Moderator: "How much time do you spend researching before you start a new book?"

Sidney Sheldon: "Ooh... 6 months to a year I won't write about a meal in a restaurant ... anywhere in the world unless i've had that meal in that restaurant So I research everything very very thoroughly."

Moderator: "You could tell us more about your latest book."

Sidney Sheldon: "Yes the latest book which just came out is called "The Best Laid Plans" The opening line of the book is written in the diary by a very intelligent beautiful woman and it says "today I met the man i'm going to marry" the last line in the first chapter in the book is written in her diary and it says "i saw him today and he looks happy, i'm glad because before i'm finished with him he's going to wish he'd never been born" the story goes on from there."

Moderator: "Your characters always get what they deserve in the end. Do any of your characters ever get away with their evil deeds?"

Sidney Sheldon: "Yes ... in a novel of mine called "If Tomorrow Comes" there is a beautiful conartist who completely gets away with what she's doing."

Shelley: "Where do most of your ideas come from? Surely you haven't always written from experience."

Sidney Sheldon: **LOL** "No one knows where ideas come from I think they are "given" to me! And i'm very grateful for that."

Seesaw: "When did you know that you wanted to be a writer?"

Sidney Sheldon: "Always!!! I sold my first poem when I was 10 years old ... to a children's magazine and i'm lucky to have known at a very early age that I wanted to be a writer."

Terrier: "How many books have you written and which one is your favorite?"

Sidney Sheldon: "The Best Laid Plans is my 15th novel and I think it's one of my favorites along with "The Other Side of Midnight"."

Seesaw: "Do you do extensive outlining...or just let your novels flow?"

Sidney Sheldon: "I let my novels flow."

Cardinal: "Do you travel a great deal outside the USA?"

Sidney Sheldon: "Yes ... as I said ... I research my books and they take place in most of the countries of the world ... so my wife Alexandria and I travel extensively!"

Moderator: "What is the most exotic place you have ever gone to do research?"

Sidney Sheldon: "I would say Morocco!"

cardinal: "Where are you researching your next book or have you already done it?"

Sidney Sheldon: "I'm writing a new book now called "Tell Me Your Dreams" and I have done nearly all the research The last bit of research will take place in Quebec City and I'll be flying there next month."

Moderator: "Can you give us a taste? of what the book is about? And do you speak French?"

Sidney Sheldon: "Yes it's about three women murderers Just enough to make myself misunderstood!!"

odeejay: "How many of your characters in your books have parts of your personality?"

Sidney Sheldon: "Uhhh I think in perhaps every book there is a character that has part of my personality I hope those are the nice characters!"

Moderator: "You say you get your storylines from life. Are you one of those who eves drops and takes notes at cafes on pieces of napkins?"

Sidney Sheldon: "Noooo not at all!! My characters and stories comes from my imagination."

Moderator: "You seem to have a great love for women. All of your books have very strong women characters. To what or whom do you attribute your strong view of women?"

Sidney Sheldon: "I hate the cliche of the "dumb blonde" ... that if a woman is beautiful she must be stupid so I write female characters who are attractive who are as good at whatever they do that any man might be and to retain their femininity My mother was that kind of woman My wife, Jorja, who died was that kind of woman and so is my present wife, Alexandria I know alot of women like that and I love women!"

Seesaw: "What words of advice would you give to writers who are just starting out."

Sidney Sheldon: "Write!! Don't let anyone discourage you don't listen to the ones that say "no"."

Moderator: "What were the obstacles you ran into when you started writing?"

Sidney Sheldon: "Well I first started writing movies I came to Hollywood when I was 17 years old There were then 8 major studios and I went to the gates of each one of them and said to the guards there I'm Sidney Sheldon: Sheldon ... I want to be a writer! Who do I see? .. and they all said the same thing you don't see anybody. it was during the depression and I had come to Hollywood from Chicago, My mother gave me 3 weeks to find a job or go back home. My time was just about up when I heard about Readers who synopsized stories for busy producers, I wrote a synopsis of "Mice and Men" ... and sent it to all the studios And 3 days later ... i was working at Universal as a reader for $17/week. I would get up at 3 a.m. and work on my own original stories. four of them were turned down, the fifth one sold and at 18 I was a screen writer."

Moderator: "What were the low points of your career? Were there any?"

Sidney Sheldon: "Oooh I had alot of low points! I had a broadway play that everyone thought was going to be a smash and it was a disaster!! I've had years when I was out of work and couldn't get a job fter I won an academy award."

Moderator: "What was the turning point or milestone in your career?"

Sidney Sheldon: "I would say when i wrote "The Other Side of Midnight"."

Seesaw: "You said earlier that you wrote a poem when you were young...Have you ever published a book of poems?"

Sidney Sheldon: "No, I haven't."

cardinal: "When writing do you use pen and ink or are you into word processors?"

Sidney Sheldon: "Neither!! I dictate my books to a secretary. She types it up ... the first draft can come to 1000 or 1200 pages I take those typed pages and go to page 1 and begin to rewrite and I will do that for up to a year until the book is as good as I can renovate it! Until then my publisher doesn't see a word."

Moderator: "How do you know when your book is finished?"

Sidney Sheldon: "When I can't think of anything to make it better."

Jgee: "Do you have children and are any of them aspiring writers?"

Sidney Sheldon: "I have one daughter, Mary, she's written several novels and they've been published and she's very good!! One of her titles is "Perhaps I'll Dream of Darkness" and she's written a book of Meditation."

parrot: "WIll you new book become a TV movie?"

Sidney Sheldon: "We're in negotiation now .. the Best Laid Plans will either be a theatrical film or will be made for television."

Moderator: "What is your daughter's name so we can look for the book?"

Sidney Sheldon: "Mary Sheldon."

Moderator: "Any ideas of who will star in the TV show or film for your book?"

Sidney Sheldon: "No .. when I write a novel I don't think about casting."

Moderator: "Hart to Hart was one of my favorite TV series. Did you have any idea how successful it would become?"

Sidney Sheldon: "No ... no one every really knows whether something is going to be a success when I wrote my first novel "The Naked Face" I was positive that I was going to break every publishing record that every copy of my book was going to be sold .. to make sure that didn't happen I went into a bookstore and bought a copy that's become a ritual every since when ever a new book of mine comes out .. I always buy one copy!"

Moderator: "Did Aaron Spelling produce Hart to Hart, and did he approach you to write for him?"

Sidney Sheldon: "I created Hart to Hart at Columbia Pictures and the networks passed on it 2 years later the network told Aaron that they wanted to do a show about a sophisticated couple he remembered the script I had written and the network bought it."

Moderator: "What was your favorite to create: Hart to Hart, I Dream of Jeannie, or The Patti Duke Show?"

Sidney Sheldon: "That's like asking which is my favorite child ... I cannot answer that!!"

Moderator: LOL

Sidney Sheldon: "They were all wonderful experiences!"

Moderator: "What is involved in creating a show?"

Sidney Sheldon: "The most difficult part is to find an idea that hasn't been done Because television makes up so many millions of hours that it seems as if every idea has been done Once you get a fresh idea ... you develop it so that it is exciting or funny or warm depending on what the idea is Then you give it to an agent ... and hope that the network wants to buy it! However More than half of every pilot that is sold to a network is cancelled the first year. elevision is a very competitive business."

Moderator: "Did you have shows that failed or got cancelled?"

Sidney Sheldon: "One, a show called "Nancy"."

Moderator: "Why did it fail? What was it about?"

Sidney Sheldon: "It was about the daughter of the president of the USA who fell in love and married a veterinarian. As to why it failed, I don't know!"

Annabel: "Do you have input when it comes time to audition for parts in your story?"

Sidney Sheldon: "It depends on how busy i am I've produced alot of movies and television series but if i'm working on a new novel I don't have much time for anything else."

Bill37: "Where are today's writers coming from?"

Sidney Sheldon: "They are coming from everywhere .. every walk of life! The problem is that the publishing industry ... like the motion picture industry is at a point where they don't want to gamble on new gentlemen .. they're looking for blockbusters and it's very difficult for an unknown whether it's a writer or actor .. or director to get a chance. The average income of a novelist is $3500 a year."

cardinal: "To what do you attribute your obvious mental fitness and alertness - hard work or some secret elixir."

Sidney Sheldon: **LOL** "I exercise 3 times a week I eat carefully and I live sensibly!!! Also .. I think an important part of living long is enjoying life and appreciating what you've been given."

Seesaw: "What do you do for fun and enjoyment outside of writing?"

Sidney Sheldon: "I like to travel!!!"

cardinal: "Outside your family who is your best friend/soulmate."

Sidney Sheldon: "Well I have alot of friends in the picture business ... because that's where I grew up Curt Douglas is a good friend Sidney Sheldon: Marty Allen Steve Allen Sid Caesar .. those are some of my friends!"

Moderator: "Steve Allen did a chat with us too and it was wonderful."

Sidney Sheldon: "Ooohhh he's great!! I love Steve!!"

Moderator: "That's a neat group of friends. Sid must be fun to spend time with too!"

Sidney Sheldon: "Oooh sure!!"

Moderator: "Tell them they're all invited to chat with us."

Sidney Sheldon: "And I'm very fortunate in the friends that I have! **LOL** okay .. I'll be happy to!"

parrot: "Your stories flow so well. It keeps readers embraced in the scenes. How does one write this way?"

Sidney Sheldon: "Very carefully!!!! Ummm ... I make sure as in "The Best Laid Plans" to fool the reader! with constant twists and turns. I don't cheat them ... the clues are always there but they have to go back and look for them at the end of the book. Alot of people who have read "The Best Laid Plans" have told me that they were completely stunned by the ending. It wasn't at all what they expected!!"

Moderator: "I've read Best Laid Plans, It was a fast read and I couldn't put it down!"

Sidney Sheldon: "Well .. thank you, I'm delighted!! I find it very hard to come across a book that I can't put down! When i'm reading in bed at night .. and getting sleepy I'll look ahead to see how many pages there are until the end of the chapter and it could be 5 or 6 pages .. so I'll read on and when I come to the end of the chapter I'll put the book down and go to sleep! I try to write my books so that when the reader comes to the end of a chapter he or she has to turn just one more page!"

Moderator: "That's how I felt...I was hooked. I had to turn the page...I had to finish it."

Sidney Sheldon: "Good!!! That's always wonderful to hear ... because it shows that I succeeded in what I tried to do!"

Moderator: "What did you win your Oscar for?"

Sidney Sheldon: "I won my Oscar for the best original screen play for the "Bachelor and the Bobby Socks"."

Moderator: "Who are your Heroes/Heroines?"

Sidney Sheldon: *sigh* "There are sooo many!! People who work for peace, people who try to save the ecology, people who care about other people, who worry about the homeless. those are the people I love!"

Moderator: "What is your favorite charity or cause?"

Sidney Sheldon: "I'm involved in a dozen different charities and it's difficult to pick out one single one ... because all of them are very worthwhile. The only thing one has to be careful of is that some of the biggest charities charge such a large percentage for their own services instead of giving it to the people that need it! That I think one should always check and find out how much the charity takes for itself and you may be in for some surprises!"

cardinal: "Do you have any outstanding ambition?"

Sidney Sheldon: "I told you that i'm working on a new novel I have an agenda of eight projects ahead of me ..."

Moderator: "Wow."

Sidney Sheldon: "My next one is an autobiography ... then another novel a broadway musical ... a broadway drama, a motion picture, country songs and a few other things. And when I get through that list ... I'll make a new list!"

Moderator: "Country songs?"

Sidney Sheldon: "Yes I write lyrics i started out as a song writer!"

Moderator: "Any songs we'd recognize? Who sings them?"

Sidney Sheldon: "No .. I did some songs for the Patty Duke show, but nothing people would know."

Moderator: "Who is your favorite historical figure?"

Sidney Sheldon: "In recent times ... I would say Winston Churchhill, in older times I would say Abraham Lincoln."

Moderator: "Why Winston Churchill"

Sidney Sheldon: "Because I think he was a man of destiny. If he had not been in charge of England .. when Hitler came along ... I think England might have been taken over. He gave the English the will to fight, and to win!! He was a remarkable man! A brilliant statesman, a wonderful writer, and an excellent painter."

Moderator: "What do you consider your greatest achievement?"

Sidney Sheldon: "My family!"

cardinal: "What sells books today - the writer or publicity."

Sidney Sheldon: "The book is what sells books if you have alot of publicity for a bad book people will rush out to buy it and then tell their friends how bad it is and the book will die! What makes a book a success is word of mouth people telling other people that they enjoy it! And that's true not only in books, but of movies and plays!"

Moderator: "Are you going to do a follow up book with the character Dana Evens from your latest book?"

Sidney Sheldon: "I have no plans to ... but I like her very much! She's idealistic and bright and courageous. My kind of woman!!"

cardinal: "Here in England reading is becoming fashionable (if that is the right word) again is it the same in the USA."

Sidney Sheldon: "That's a difficult question to answer there's so much competition now because of television and the internet but I hope that people will always read! Because ... without that, we will all lose our heritage."

Moderator: "Last question...What are your words to live by? Your Motto?"

Sidney Sheldon: "Always plan ahead!"

Moderator: "We want to thank you for coming! We really enjoyed you. Would you come back again some time?"

Sidney Sheldon: "I would love to!!! I would like to thank all my readers for their loyalty ... and that "The Best Laid Plans" is dedicated to you for your appreciation!"

Moderator: "Your book is available to our site visitors in the chat area. I personally recommend it. Thanks again for coming."

Celebrity Chat with Sidney Sheldon © copyright. Third Age Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission.