Talkshow Thursday: Welcome Back, Sherri Stewart!

Talkshow Thursday: Welcome Back, Sherri Stewart!

I'm thrilled to welcome Sherri Stewart back to my blog. Listen in and learn more about Sherri's writing journey and her latest release.

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

The first time I ever thought of writing a book was when an idea came to me while sitting in a hotel room in Phoenix waiting for my husband to finish with the trainers conference he was attending. I quickly typed a few paragraphs of a story line on my laptop and saved it into a file.

A few weeks later, I was talking to a student in a journalism class I taught, and I told her about my idea. She scoffed, “That book’s already been written.” Deflated, I put the idea of the book aside until three years later, when my husband lost his job and with it his health. I’d been volunteering at a law firm as a new attorney at the time, and ideas about cases I was working on reignited my desire to write a book about them. That led to my first book, and thirteen years later I’m writing my 24th.

How did you learn how to write?

I always hated writing when I was a kid. I was the ninth grader who spent more time counting my words to reach the minimum number required, rather than trying to write an original story. But I loved teaching English—I was one of those strange people who adored diagramming sentences. Looking back, it was law school that turned me around. Having to write hundreds of timed essays engendered in me the confidence to be creative. After writing my first book, I joined Word Weavers, a Christian writers organization. Through editing other writers’ works, I learned the conventions of fiction that weren’t taught in my high school or college.

What is your favorite thing about being a writer?

My favorite thing about writing is research. I love to visit the towns in my books, sample their food,

walk their streets, and listen to their sounds. For Secrets Dark and Deep, I visited Zürich, stayed at the same hotel my main male character stayed at, enjoyed fondue and Swiss chocolates, and visited the opera. Last spring, for my most recent novella called An Uncommon Gift, I took a transatlantic cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Barcelona, trying to imagine what it was like for a young woman to travel by ship back in 1910. Even when I can’t travel to my books’ locales, YouTube is a viable source of information.

Which of your books is your favorite?

My favorite book is A Song for Her Enemies, which I wrote in 2021. My hero has always been Corrie ten Boom, who hid Jews in her bedroom closet during the Holocaust. I wrote a fictional version of Corrie’s story from the point of view of one of the Jewish women who hid in her house. For the book, I traveled to Haarlem in the Netherlands, and even visited the concentration camp where Corrie was taken. Though loosely based on her story, my book took on a life of its own, and God gave me a sign that I was to write the book. I published the second book in the series in 2023—What Hides behind the Walls, and I’m writing the third and last book in the series at the present time—In the Presence of Her Enemies.

Can you share a real life event that inspired your writing?

In my book, Secrets Dark and Deep, Maddie has a secret she’s buried so deep she can’t remember it. Then a note appears on her desk at the news station from an anonymous person who calls himself Absalom. He warns her that he knows her secret and vows to exact revenge. Thus follows a race to discover her secret before he finds her. I also have a secret that I’ve blocked—something that happened in eleventh grade, but I have no desire to find out what it is.

What was the best money you spent as a writer?

Travel. I’ve always loved to visit new places. In my twenties I was a flight attendant, and I wrote the book, Très Chic, a fictional account of my own experiences. After my husband died five years ago, traveling helped me grieve. Since then my son and I have been to Paris, Amsterdam, Zürich, Maine, Texas, Rhode Island, Boston, and most recently Spain and Portugal. Everyone of those places have provided the settings for my books. How do I afford it with the meager royalties I make? I run an editing business, which keeps me busy.

How do you improve your writing?

It’s hard to believe but grammar changes often. I keep up-to-date by checking with the Chicago Manual of Style for my editing business. I also attend writers conferences and am part of an online writers group that meets once a month. You’d think that an editor could edit her own work. Not in the least. We writers are too close to our own work to see our mistakes. When I edit my books, my eyes autocorrect my mistakes, so I don’t see them. It takes other writers to hone my skills.

How does God inform your writing?

I am a pantser, which means I write by the seat of my pants. I don’t have an outline from which to write each day although I have a general idea how the book is going to end. I write 500 words a day six days a week, and I depend on God to lead my writing. I’m always amazed on where He takes me. Things I never thought about take shape before my eyes. My characters are believers but flawed, and the obstacles they encounter drive them to God again and again. Most of my readers are also believers, but many aren’t, and I hope they’re inspired to seek a relationship with Jesus Christ.

About Secrets Dark and Deep

TV anchor, Maddie Caldecott, has a secret so deeply buried within that she doesn’t remember it. But the man called Absalom knows her secret, and his threats to exact his revenge are becoming more and more intrusive. As an investigative reporter, Maddie can dig out the truth of any story, but she can’t unearth the secret she’s blocked until it’s too late. Police Detective, Brody Messner, is at his wits end. How can he protect Maddie if she resists his every suggestion? His need to protect her has become personal. From Orlando to Zürich, he follows her, trying to stay one step ahead of her assailant—all of his notes to her, and the song. 

Purchase link: https://bit.ly/3OYSFjM

About Sherri:

Sherri Stewart is a woman of faith who loves all things foreign—whether it’s food, culture, or language. A former French teacher, her passion is traveling to the settings of her books, sampling the food, and visiting the sites. She savored boterkoeken in Amsterdam for A Song for Her Enemies, and crème brûlée in Paris for its sequel, What Hides beyond the Walls, and raclette in Zürich for Secrets Dark and Deep. A widow, Sherri lives in the Orlando area with her dog, Lily, and her son, Joshua, who always has to fix her computer. As an author, editor, blogger, speaker, and Bible teacher, she hopes her books will entertain and challenge readers to live large and connect with their Savior. Join, chat, and share with her on social media. http://www.stewartwriting.com/blog

Photo Credits:

Fondue: Pixabay/Annette

Arc de Triomphe: Pixabay/Lagrange