Ask the Author: Sherri A. Wingler
Answered Questions (10)
Sherri A. Wingler
Hi, Tawana! I'm thrilled you loved it. You made my day! Feral Moon is half finished as we speak. I'm shooting for release by February of 2018. (Sooner, if I can possibly manage it.) If you want to stay up to date of new releases, the best way is to friend me on Facebook. You can also sign up for email alerts on my website: www.sherriwingler.com and follow me on Amazon. I look forward to hearing from you!
Sherri A. Wingler
I'd love to go to Hogwart's. Rowling created a fantastic fictional world. As for what I'd do there... I'd save Professor Snape, of course!
Sherri A. Wingler
Thanks for asking, Aina. I'm absolutely thrilled that you're enjoying my series so far! To answer your question, I'm running a little behind schedule because I stopped writing for a bit and spent all summer renovating a house I just bought. The good news is, the house is in one piece and I've been back to work on the series for the last month. Right now I'm looking to release book 3 around July or August 2016. That gives me plenty of time to write it and edit.
I'm actually working on book 3 and 4 together (since it's all basically one large story,) but I'm doing most of the work on 3. If you come find me on Facebook I can keep you posted in a more timely manner. (Also I just love making friends with people who have read my books. They already know I'm slightly off my rocker, so there's no surprises for them. Lol.) https://www.facebook.com/authorsherri...
I'm actually working on book 3 and 4 together (since it's all basically one large story,) but I'm doing most of the work on 3. If you come find me on Facebook I can keep you posted in a more timely manner. (Also I just love making friends with people who have read my books. They already know I'm slightly off my rocker, so there's no surprises for them. Lol.) https://www.facebook.com/authorsherri...
Sherri A. Wingler
First, thank you, Patricia for reading my book. I absolutely love hearing from happy readers. My answer is actually two parts. This may get lengthy, so I'm sorry ahead of time!
Keep in mind, I've wanted to write, practically, since I learned to read. Life has a way of getting in the way, sometimes, but when I hit the milestone birthday of 40, I decided to just do it. The worst thing that could happen was that nobody would read it. So I sat down and thought about the books I like to read (paranormal, young adult, romance) and it was a natural fit that I should write in that genre. I didn't want to do a vampire book because, as much as I love them, the market is flooded.
So I needed someone a bit different. Angel fiction is gaining popularity and I love reading it. Asher popped into my head. I saw him as very old, and very proper. He's Death. He doesn't judge, he just does his job and moves on.
Of course, I also needed a girl. I bounced ideas off of my best friend constantly while writing this book, and everything since. We came up with Izzy. She needed a bestie, so Gwen came along. Izzy and Gwen have our personalities and traits. They're very loyal to one another and I love that about them.
To one degree or another, all of the characters have some of my traits. Even Fate, as crazy and vindictive as she can be:) I had a lot of fun writing her.
The surprise character was Grim. He absolutely wasn't planned. He just showed up one day while I was typing and honestly, throughout the entire book, I didn't know which way he would go until the end. I didn't know if he was a hero or a villain. As it turns out, he's a bit of both, but mostly he's a trickster.
The element of Greek mythology just sort of leaked in because that was my fun-time reading in junior high and it just stuck with me. (I know, I was a wild child.)
Now for the 2nd part of my explanation, and this is the core of the truth. I got a review from someone who dropped her rating from a 4* to a 3*, which is fine. It's not what any author dreams of, but everyone is entitled to their opinion. What struck me and stayed with me was, she said something along the lines of "if someone would dare intervene in my life... we'd have some serious talk." I'm paraphrasing, of course.
That got me to thinking about Death interfering in someone's life. In the life of a young, over-achieving high school kid. Which is when I realized that Death had intervened in my own life at 17. I lost my mother, and everything kind of derailed for a bit. (20 years, give or take.) Death can and will change everything. So without meaning to, I took one of the biggest tragedies of my life and twisted it into something kind of beautiful. At least I hope so.
I hope this answers your question, Patricia. If not, find me on Facebook under Author-Sherri Wingler. I'd love to hear more from you.
Thanks again!
Keep in mind, I've wanted to write, practically, since I learned to read. Life has a way of getting in the way, sometimes, but when I hit the milestone birthday of 40, I decided to just do it. The worst thing that could happen was that nobody would read it. So I sat down and thought about the books I like to read (paranormal, young adult, romance) and it was a natural fit that I should write in that genre. I didn't want to do a vampire book because, as much as I love them, the market is flooded.
So I needed someone a bit different. Angel fiction is gaining popularity and I love reading it. Asher popped into my head. I saw him as very old, and very proper. He's Death. He doesn't judge, he just does his job and moves on.
Of course, I also needed a girl. I bounced ideas off of my best friend constantly while writing this book, and everything since. We came up with Izzy. She needed a bestie, so Gwen came along. Izzy and Gwen have our personalities and traits. They're very loyal to one another and I love that about them.
To one degree or another, all of the characters have some of my traits. Even Fate, as crazy and vindictive as she can be:) I had a lot of fun writing her.
The surprise character was Grim. He absolutely wasn't planned. He just showed up one day while I was typing and honestly, throughout the entire book, I didn't know which way he would go until the end. I didn't know if he was a hero or a villain. As it turns out, he's a bit of both, but mostly he's a trickster.
The element of Greek mythology just sort of leaked in because that was my fun-time reading in junior high and it just stuck with me. (I know, I was a wild child.)
Now for the 2nd part of my explanation, and this is the core of the truth. I got a review from someone who dropped her rating from a 4* to a 3*, which is fine. It's not what any author dreams of, but everyone is entitled to their opinion. What struck me and stayed with me was, she said something along the lines of "if someone would dare intervene in my life... we'd have some serious talk." I'm paraphrasing, of course.
That got me to thinking about Death interfering in someone's life. In the life of a young, over-achieving high school kid. Which is when I realized that Death had intervened in my own life at 17. I lost my mother, and everything kind of derailed for a bit. (20 years, give or take.) Death can and will change everything. So without meaning to, I took one of the biggest tragedies of my life and twisted it into something kind of beautiful. At least I hope so.
I hope this answers your question, Patricia. If not, find me on Facebook under Author-Sherri Wingler. I'd love to hear more from you.
Thanks again!
Sherri A. Wingler
Inspiration is like lightning; sometimes it strikes and it is a flash of brilliance that is breathtaking to behold. The sad truth is that if I waited for inspiration to strike, I'd never get anything written. I usually carry a small notebook around for those times when it does hit (always while I'm doing something exciting like the dishes or the laundry!). Then I spend an hour every night rearranging my notes and adding pages to my story. That's not very inspiring, but even if it's bad in the first draft, it gives me something to edit. By the 8th or 9th edit it usually looks something like a story.
Sherri A. Wingler
The best thing, and maybe also the worst thing, is that I spend a lot of time in my own head. I have entire conversations with characters and some of the things they come up with surprises even me.
I've also met some incredibly nice people from all over the world through social media because of writing my book. It's been an incredible experience.
I've also met some incredibly nice people from all over the world through social media because of writing my book. It's been an incredible experience.
Sherri A. Wingler
A few things gave me the idea. First, I turned 40 last year, and I think this may be the turn my midlife crisis took:) I started thinking about death, and more specifically, the embodiment of Death. Asher just sort of developed from there. Also, when I was a kid, I read heavily in Greek/ Roman mythology. I wanted to explore the aspects of Fate and Time. Finally, and not surprisingly, I love to read paranormal fantasy, so it just seemed natural that I would write in that genre. I love vampires, but I think they've been done to death. Pun intended.
Sherri A. Wingler
At the moment, I'm working on book 2 of The Immortal Sorrows series, Wings of Shadow. I'm also playing around with the plotting board to book 3, as yet untitled.. For those of you who have read the first book, you can expect Grim to get his own book very soon! He's such a fun character to write, it would be a shame not to give him a chance to tell his own story.
Sherri A. Wingler
My advice is to read "The Elements of Style and Editing," before you begin to write. You can break the rules of grammar, but first you should learn what the rules are. Get comfortable editing, because you'll be doing a lot of it. Never rely on spell correct to find your mistakes. Learn the difference between to, too, and two. (That's my biggest pet peeve of all.)
Sherri A. Wingler
Writer's block usually happens when I've taken a wrong turn in the plot, or I try to make myself write something that I don't want to. To deal with it, I usually go back to my plotting board and start working on a different part of the story. That sounds strange, I know, but it frees up my subconscious to work on the problem that originally caused the block. Some scenes may have to be cut. It's harsh, but sometimes it helps. Eventually, all pieces of the story come together like a giant puzzle. If all else fails, something can always be blown up!
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