Today The Writer Power will be interviewing fiction author Sharon Srock.
MARYANN:
Hi, Sharon. Welcome to The Write Power. It’s great to have you with us today.
SHARON:
I can’t thank you enough for your warm welcome.
MARYANN:
Sharon, please tell us a little about yourself and how you came to be a writer.
SHARON:
I’ve been a reader all my life, but writing was never my dream. I remember cringing in English classes when a single page paper was due. One night I went to bed a reader and woke up determined to write a book. I was very involved in Star Trek fandom, had some short stories and poetry published in a fanzine here and there. My first full length project was a Star Trek story. Now, I’m Pentecostal, so you’ll have to work with me here…One night, about 25 years ago, we were in a revival. The evangelist, who didn’t know me from Eve, spoke a word of prophecy over me. In paraphrase… “I’ve put a pen in your hand and a light by your side. Use it for me.” Well, at that point in my life the only Christian writing I knew about were lessons or theological works of non-fiction. That didn’t seem like me, so I stopped writing altogether. Three and a half years ago, a new employee stopped by my desk to introduce herself. In the course of the conversation, she mentioned that she was a writer. I told her that that was my dream at one time. She gave me the oddest look and spoke five words that have changed my life. “You gave up too soon.” That night I started writing Callie’s story.
MARYANN:
Praise the Lord! What an amazing testimony of how God works in our lives! Sharon, in what genre do you write and for what target audience? Why did you choose this genre?
SHARON:
I write women’s fiction. The only explanation I have is that at 56, I just have a lot of life that needs to bleed out on the paper.
MARYANN:
Describe your writing day for us.
SHARON:
I work two jobs in addition to the writing, so every day is a little different. There is no designated writing time. Breaks, lunch times…it all becomes writing time when the story is flowing.
MARYANN:
Where do you get your ideas?
SHARON:
I wake up with them. The beginning and the end, at least. It’s my job to fill in the middle.
MARYANN:
Are you a plotter, a pantster, or a combination of both?
SHARON:
If there is anything more extreme than a pantster, that’s me.
MARYANN:
Tell us about your latest book entitled Callie and any others of your books you’d like to discuss. Just so our readers know, Callie is the first book in a series called The Women of Valley View.
SHARON:
Callie’s spirit is broken after a child she was trying to help is murdered by his abusive father. Little Sawyer would still be alive if she’d minded her own business, wouldn’t he? God refuses to allow Callie’s life to be defined by undeserved guilt and blame so he places her in a situation she can’t walk away from. Iris and Samantha Evans need help and Callie is the tool God wants to use. When she steps out in faith and begins working to reunite these girls with the father who abandoned them ten years ago, Callie discovers that God is rescuing her right along with the Evans family.
MARYANN:
What do you see as the goal of Christian fiction?
SHARON:
I think just to touch hearts in a positive way. Maybe to provide some wholesome entertainment in a world that needs wholesome.
MARYANN:
What future projects are you planning or working on?
SHARON:
Callie is the first in a series of 6 planned books. Terri’s story is in edits, Pam is in revision on my desk, then Sam, Kate, and Karla.
MARYANN:
What one piece of advice would you give to an aspiring novelist?
SHARON:
To believe in themselves and their dreams. To be teachable and to find a good critique partner. Oh wait. That’s three.
MARYANN:
Thank you so much for being with us today, Sharon. It has been a pleasure!
SHARON:
Totally my pleasure!
MARYANN:
You can purchase Callie at http://www.pelicanbookgroup.com/ec/callie. You may also learn more about Sharon’s books by visiting her website at The Women of Valley View.