About Cheryl
Hi!
I’m Cheryl Lawson. I also go by my married name, Bezuidenhout. I am an artist, photographer and writer living in Nova Scotia, Canada.
I have made art in various mediums, and across multiple themes and industries my whole life. Creative variety is a life-long passion and interest, and I’m always looking for new ways to express myself creatively. I currently pursue a range of creative outlets from digital drawing, photography, fan art, all the way to fiction writing, always finding ways to build on what I’ve done before.
In the last twelve years, I’ve pursued a long-held passion for writing. This change from being a full-time graphic designer, expands on years of experience (going back to 1997). Over the years, I’ve been called upon to write, and sometimes edit, corporate and inhouse magazines and newsletters.
I write regularly and have independently published several books in various genres since 2014. I have sci-fi thriller novels, sci-fi horror novellas, romantic suspense, and a photo-poetry book available for sale. In my fiction, I enjoy writing suspenseful, character-driven stories set in well-imagined settings, such as a beleagured underground city on Mars, or enormous Ark-size vessels travelling in deep space. I am currently working on a series of photography and poetry/prose books that celebrate nature, the world around us, and plan to explore other themes I like in future works in this series.
If you have any questions about my work as an artist or as a writer, please use the contact form to send me a message.
Thank you for visiting my art and writing website. Be sure to browse the galleries and stories I have loaded for your pleasure.
Cheryl
Highlights
The WFNS Booktoberfest held on the second weekend of October this year (also the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend) was a wonderful opportunity to present my sci-fi books to Nova Scotian readers. This book fair-type event was busy (the Halifax central library is an amazing venue) and I sold a number of books while also making great author connections.
In September, I participated in my first in-person event in Nova Scotia, the Sackville Geeky Market. It was a great weekend and the book sales were encouraging.
The Romance of Flowers is a beautiful homage to the beauty of flowers and gardens in all their splendor. Explore a vivid and rich world of flowers and pollinators through Cheryl’s own photography, which serves as the primary inspiration for the poetry and musings that accompany it.
It’s an absolute pleasure to still sell paperback copies of my books, and doubly-pleasing when someone buys all five available titles in one haul. Here’s a photo received from the buyer who was thrilled to add these books to their new bookshelves.
Doing the work and learning the craft can be even more lonely than writing, so it’s wonderful encouragement when you get a virtual “high five” from the course creator, in this case, Harlan Coben, when you post about the course on Threads social media. Coben is the creator of some pretty amazing best-selling thrillers, and some TV adaptations. His course is simple to follow and what’s really great for me is it feels like I am vibing with almost everything he says, which is positive affirmation for my writing.
Hello Threads social media!
After leaving Twitter (before it became X), I took a break from social media and moved across country from British Columbia to Nova Scotia. In July 2023, I created a new social media account on Meta’s Threads (an offshoot of Instagram).
The experience has been overwhelmingly positive so far (let’s hope it stays that way!) and I have great engagements with writing and art communities.
Thompson Nicola Regional Libraries hosted a virtual talk I gave on science fiction, 2020.
That time I got a comment from Star Trek Official on a fan artwork!
Kamloops Society for the Written Arts 2020 virtual Write-A-Thon.
Booth at Kelowna Comic Con, 2018. As a side note, this is the year Denise Crosby from Star Trek TNG spoke to me at my booth.
Kelowna Comic Con, 2019, where I launched the paperback version of Storm At Dawn.
National Geographic feature of my photo for the Photo of the Day in June 2014.
It’s always a pleasure to catch the eye of an account from an organization or celebrity. In this case, Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine from Star Trek Voyager) reposted a fan art post which included a drawing of her, among other women of Trek.
Literary Heist magazine requested to publish a drawing I did in 2019 called Birdbox in the Birches.
Local TV station interview to promote the launch of We Are Mars, 2018.
Surrey International Writer’s Conference book signing event
Book signing at Indigo, Southpoint (Surrey, BC) early 2019.
Book signing at the Barriere Festival, 2018.
An art exhibit with some of my watercolours is seen on the local news, 2019.
I’ve recently had the incredible opportunity to contribute art and photos to an awesome collection of accessories and merchandise at the Tanya Packer Store. It helped me explore the merchandising side of my art business.
Art commission for a return client of a character named, Cindy, in the third of his books. I love working on character art for books and really enjoyed making this artwork.