| Q: Sherrie, you've written several books now. | | | | books do you like to read? How do you choose |
| When did you write your first book? | | | | what you're going to read next? |
| A: Ten years ago I was reading Stephen King's | | | | A: I do read for pleasure, I love to read a wide |
| book On Writing, at the end of the book he | | | | variety of books. My large to-be-read stack |
| suggests a writing exercise. I took the suggestion; | | | | consists mainly of books suggested to me by |
| the result was my first novel, Order of Protection. | | | | friends. I just finished, The Dust of 100 Dogs by |
| I was 36 years old and thought I couldn't write | | | | A.S. King. I am rereading, The Hidden Messages in |
| because I couldn't spell. I still can't spell but 19 | | | | Water by Masaru Emoto and David A. Thayne. I |
| books later it is dawning on me that I can write. | | | | am reading the final draft of, Don't Risk Your |
| Q: Which do you find leads you to your best | | | | Recovery by Nan D. and Judy K, which I have |
| writing, your triumphs, or your tragedies? Do you | | | | been promised will be available by the end of this |
| write from joy or pain? | | | | year. I have also just started reading, Crone: A |
| A: I love to write witty, fun things. I love twists in | | | | Meditation on Womanhood by Mira Leighton. |
| plot and dialogue that make people laugh, but I do | | | | Q: What has been the most significant poem (or |
| write my strongest work from grief. My collection | | | | book of poems) in your life? |
| of poems Elissa: Queen of Carthage was written | | | | A: When I was quite young I remember reading, |
| when undisclosed mental illness tore my | | | | "Enoch Arden" by Tennyson and thinking, "What a |
| relationship in two is the most powerful of my | | | | great way to tell a story." Poetry carries the |
| writing to date. It is such a direct transfer of | | | | meat and the bones of the tale inward, very |
| emotion, I had someone jump up while I was | | | | much the same way that music does. It was a |
| giving a public reading from that book and he | | | | salient moment for me; I think I was all of seven |
| yelled, "Stop, stop, I can't take anymore!" it was | | | | or eight. |
| quite dramatic. Still I prefer to write when I am | | | | Q: What project are you currently working on? |
| happy, but writing is a tonic when I weep. | | | | A: I am writing two novels right now. One is an as |
| Q: Who has been the biggest influence on your | | | | yet untitled novel, about older adults finding love in |
| writing? | | | | a physical therapy rehab, after suffering tragic |
| A: Oh, dare I say this, the voices in my head | | | | loss at the hands of drunk drivers. The other |
| influence me...I mean the characters in my head; | | | | book is the second in the Hollands' Adventure |
| they push me. Also the pull of my audience | | | | series, which is off world, YA villain-free fiction. I |
| influences me. I began writing in earnest, when at | | | | am also completing the illustrations for my new |
| age 36, I realized I could write stories and read | | | | children's book, What the Birdies Told Me About |
| them aloud to my mother, over the phone and | | | | You, a rhyming picture book I wrote as a |
| they made her smile. What purer delight is there | | | | fundraiser for St Jude's Children's Hospital. I am |
| in this world than making someone smile? | | | | hoping it will be finished by late October 2009. |
| Q: Do you read for pleasure? If so, what kind of | | | | |