Author to Author: Sherri Hayes

I met Sherri at the Texas Book Festival this year, and this coming spring, we'll both be at Ohioana. She's a lovely person. Enjoy the interview, and don't forget about the drawing for the ebook package! The Rafflecopter is at the bottom of the post.

Sherri is the author of four novels: Hidden Threat, Slave (Finding Anna Book 1), Need (Finding Anna Book 2), Behind Closed Doors (A Daniels Brothers’ Novel), and a short story, A Christmas Proposal. She lives in central Ohio with her husband and three cats. Her mother fostered her love for books by reading to Sherri when she was a child. Stories have been floating around in her head for as long as she can remember, but she didn’t start writing them down until five years ago. It has become a creative outlet that allows her to explore a wide range of emotions while having fun taking her characters through all the twists and turns she can create. When she’s not writing, she can usually be found helping her husband in his woodworking shop.



Facebook
Twitter
Website

Ten Questions

1. Who's your favorite author, and why?

My favorite author is Diana Gabaldon. I love her Outlander series. She has this amazing ability to create complex characters, and intertwine their lives, believably, with historical events.

2. If you could have a conversation with one of the characters in your most-recently released novel, which one would it be and why?

I spend so much time with my characters—I feel I know most of them inside and out. The one character that is probably an exception to that in my latest release, Need (Finding Anna, Book 2) is Diane Cooper, Stephan’s aunt. She stays in the background most of the time, trying to mend the wedge that has grown between her husband and the nephew she helped raise. It would be good to hear from her perspective, the family situation, and how she’d like it to resolve itself.


3. Where do you get the ideas and inspiration for your characters personalities?

I always base my characters personalities on their histories. Just as in real life, what a person has experienced affects who they are and how they react to things.


4. What is the best thing (in your opinion) about being a writer?

I love seeing the story unfold. I don’t plot my stories. When I begin a story, I decide on a starting point, sit down, and write. Many times, I’m just as surprised by the twists and turns in the stories as my readers are.

5. How did you find your agent/publisher?

My publisher found me. They were just starting up, and looking for authors. After reading one of the stories I’d posted online, they asked if I had anything I’d be interested in submitting to them. Two weeks later, I had a contract. I’ve been with them now for over two years, and have my fifth full-length novel set to release in February.


6. What's the best piece of writing advice you've been given?

Write for yourself, no one else.


7. Biggest mistake you've made as an author?

I don’t think I’ve made any big mistakes, thankfully. Little ones, sure, but nothing major.


8. What would the lead character of your latest novel want for Christmas?

Since my last book is part of an ongoing series, I’m going to be a little vague and say that Stephan would want his heart’s desire for Christmas. As to what that is…you’ll have to read the books to find out. ;)


9. Favorite Christmas music?

I like the classics. There’s nothing like Bing Crosby or Nat King Cole singing holiday favorites.


10. What was the best gift you ever received?

The best gift I ever received was probably a boom box. Yeah, I’m dating myself, but that’s what they were called. I love to sing, and it had large speakers, a tape player, and it was portable. I used it for years.

Thank you, Sherri!

You can find Sherri's books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, TWCS and iTunes

-<<O>>--<<O>>--<<O>>--<<O>>--<<O>>--<<O>>--<<O>>-

Author to Author Giveaway!

Prize pack of ebooks:
Legacy of a Dreamer by Allie Jean (16+)
Lessons Learned by Sydney Logan (16+)
Ghostwriter by Lissa Bryan (16+)
Behind Closed Doors by Sherri Hayes (16+)
Fifty Shades of Jungle Fever by L.V. Lewis (18+)
Riverbend by Andrea Goodson
Serial Summer by Angel Lawson (18+)
MORE by T.M. Franklin
Valerie, Daughter of the Dragon by Robert S. Fuller, Jr.
Ghosts of our Pasts by N.K. Smith
My Only by N.K. Smith
The Six by K.B. Hoyle
Damaged Goods by Alexandra Allred

Please note, the 18+ titles will only be awarded to a winner eighteen years or older.

a Rafflecopter giveaway