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Sheryl Monks

Goodreads Author

Born

in The United States

Website

http://www.sherylmonks.com

Twitter

sheryl_monks

Genre

Fiction

Influences

Ann Pancake, John Ehle, Robert Morgan, Pinckney Benedict, Ron Rash, Fl ...more

Member Since

June 2016

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/sherylmonksauthor

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Sheryl Monks is the author of Monsters in Appalachia, published by Vandalia Press, the creative imprint of West Virginia University Press. She holds an MFA in fiction from Queens University of Charlotte. Her stories have appeared in Rkvry Quarterly, Electric Literature, The Butter, The Greensboro Review, storySouth, Regarding Arts and Letters, Night Train, and other journals, and in the anthologies Surreal South and Eyes Glowing at the Edge of the Woods: Contemporary West Virginia Fiction and Poetry, among others. Monsters in Appalachia is a Weatherford Award finalist, a Southern Independent Bookstore Alliance Award finalist, and a Foreword Indies Book finalist. She writes short stories and novels and blogs on a variety of topics from her h ...more

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Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Sheryl Monks The stories in my forthcoming collection Monsters in Appalachia came about slowly, over the course of a decade or so when I was learning how to write …moreThe stories in my forthcoming collection Monsters in Appalachia came about slowly, over the course of a decade or so when I was learning how to write short stories. I'm still learning, but I had no real idea when I set out what kind of collection I was writing. I thought I was writing a collection of stories about girls, but as I experimented with styles of writing and voices, I found myself wanting to try more stories from different perspectives. Many of the stories are quite moody because I love darker, grittier realism. I spent the formative years of my childhood in rural West Virginia, a place I've always loved for its wild beauty. I now live in North Carolina, but I have lots of fond memories of WV, and I find my mind going back there when I write.

For some reason, my imagination often imbues those WV stories with a darker veil. I think maybe it's because WV has always broken my heart. There's a lot of beauty and good, hardworking people there who seem to get caught up in a failed economy that leaves them few options. It's fertile soil for conflict in storytelling and a way for me to express some of what I feel about the place.

Some of the stories were inspired by crazy dreams I've had, such as the title story, for example, which is about an elderly couple who find themselves living in the end days. There's no deer, no rabbit, no wild game left to hunt. All that's left are monsters.

A lot of the stories touch upon themes of good and evil, right and wrong. Appalachia is often pegged as being backwards, especially in regards to matters of faith. Part of what I hope the collection does is illuminate the complexities of the culture. I wanted to play a bit with some of the stereotypes, ask readers to look again at the people and places. I'm often frustrated when I hear people disparage Appalachians (and others) as lazy, stupid, dangerous, or what have you. People are always so much more than we can see from the surface of their lives. I hope my characters capture some of that in this book.(less)

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How do you deal with writer’s block?

Sheryl Monks Writer's block is a bit like the boogeyman to writers, a figment of our own worst fears, a monster of our own fashioning. I don't believe in it much a…moreWriter's block is a bit like the boogeyman to writers, a figment of our own worst fears, a monster of our own fashioning. I don't believe in it much anymore because I know that the power at the tip of my pen is stronger. (less)

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Sheryl Monks’s books

Average rating: 3.67 · 235 ratings · 37 reviews · 5 distinct works • Similar authors

	Monsters in Appalachia: Stories 3.61 avg rating — 204 ratings — published 2016 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Surreal South '11 by Laura Benedict (Goodreads Author) (Editor/Contributor), Pinckney Benedict (Editor/Contributor), Rose Bunch 4.38 avg rating — 16 ratings — published 2011 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ghostly Lighthouses From Maine To Florida 3.55 avg rating — 11 ratings — published 2005	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Press 53 Open Awards Anthology by Kevin Morgan Watson (Editor), Sheryl Monks (Goodreads Author) (Editor) 4.25 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2008 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Run, Little Girl by Sheryl Monks (Goodreads Author), Kyle Minor (Goodreads Author) (Foreword) 3.50 avg rating — 2 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Sheryl Monks…

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Sheryl Monks's Blog

The Case for Moral Imagination: Why Stories Still Matter

In a world that rewards outrage and oversimplification, storytelling remains one of the last places where nuance survives -- where we can sit with ambiguity long enough to see that goodness, like truth, is rarely one-sided.

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Published on November 08, 2025 17:44

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Sheryl is Currently Reading

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The Magnetic Girl

by Jessica Handler (Goodreads Author)

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Jul 06, 2022 03:09PM

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Sheryl’s Recent Updates

Sheryl Monks wrote a new blog post More on Pity and Fear in Fiction Previously posted on my old blog 50 shimmering pages. You might also enjoy “The Intersection of Pity & Fear: A Look at Endings in Short Fiction.” Octo Read more of this blog post »
Nov 14, 2025 04:23AM · like