A passion for writing and for the sea has earned a Moncton writer one published novel and a second ready for print.

Annabel Sheila,of Stephenville on the west coast of Newfoundland, spent the last three or four years writing lyrical poetry and short stories.

Her first novel, Sketches of Destiny, tells of the adventures of a gifted young artist who meets a mermaid and of his subsequent quest to save the ocean.

It was launched last month and should be available in Canada through major book chains in a few weeks.

The book was a joy to write, she says adding she's anxious to have her second novel in print.

Her second book is about a young man who finds the treasure hidden by his great, great grandfather, a pirate, on a small island off the Newfoundland coast. Except for the treasure part, the story has meaning for Annabel Sheila, whose great-great grandfather, Etienne LeBlanc, was a pirate, she said.

Annabel Sheila has written lyrical poetry published in Bread n' Molasses Magazine in Miramichi, along with a children's book, Tell Me A Story, which was published last year. Proceeds from that book were pledged to the Moncton Kiwanis Club to help provide education and protection against AIDS for children in the Caribbean.

Copies of the book are by contacting the author at Click here

Annabel Sheila says she is already thinking of novel number three, which surely will have something to do with the sea.

"I've always loved language, words," she says, explaining she's been an avid reader all her life but it was only later on that she was able to realize her dream of writing and began jotting down her thoughts for all to enjoy.