Author Day with Sherry Gloag

Why don't you start with telling us a little about yourself? What genre do you write in and why?

Multi-published author Sherry Gloag is a transplanted Scot now living in the beautiful coastal countryside of Norfolk, England.  She considers the surrounding countryside as extension of her own garden, to which she escapes when she needs "thinking time" and solitude to work out the plots for her next novel.  While out walking she enjoys talking to her characters, as long as there are no other walkers close by.

Apart from writing, Sherry enjoys gardening, walking, reading and cheerfully adnits her books tend to take over most of the shelf and floor space in her workroom-cum-office.  She also finds crystal craft work theraputic.

Were you an avid reader as a child? What type of books did you enjoy reading?

One after the other I picked up every childhood illness going, so yes I had plenty of time to read.  I read David Attenborough, Gerald Durrell, Georgette Heyer, Doreen Tovey, and when I discovered them, as many romance novels I could lay my hands on.

Tell us a bit about your latest book, and what inspired you to write such a story.

Duty Calls is about consequences arising from past actions.  The hero, Rafe Hawk, has built up a successful career and is happy with his independence and financial status.  But the past has a way of catching up with you at the most unexpected times.

A stormy night, an escape from a potential killer, and help from ‘the enemy within’ come back to haunt Rafe over a decade later.

For the heroine, Trudi Delaney, the consequences of her own past actions has her fleeing, with the perceived enemy, when an unexpected opportunity presents itself one stormy night.  Against the odds she survived that night and has a living memory to remind her every minute of the day.

When Duty Calls, both have to balance duty with family loyalty.

Did your book require a lot of research? How long does it take to write a book for you?

No, I deliberately chose a theme, plot, conflict and goals that could work without doing too much research.  If I remember correctly the first four chapters ‘arrived’ quickly, then the book stalled, so I went off and did other things.  After a few months everything came together again and it took another month to complete the first draft.  The rest took several weeks over an extended period to complete.

If you could have any vice without repercussions, what would it be?

This is difficult :-) Every cause has an effect. LOL  But I think travelling the world would be my choice here.

If you could have been the servant to any famous person in history, who would that be and why?

Jane Austen.  I love her writing and she travelled quite extensively for a woman of her times.

What so you see for the future of publishing and e-books?

With the sales of e-books increasing at 80% the future of publishing is in a major ‘flux’.  The major houses no longer control the market in the same way they used to.  And authors are no longer prepared to tie themselves to a publishing format that too long held on to their old ways.

The combination of the internet, entrepreneurs willing to start up their own e-publishing business, and extremely talented authors previously unable to crack into the publishing market the world of publishing and e-books can only flourish.

Yes many of the new e-publishers collapse without trace fairly quickly, but there are plenty of strong vibrant companies out their with a large portfolio of authors who are creating or have brought substantial reader following to ensure a steady future for both author and publisher.

In a market moving, changing, reshaping itself as fast as the current publishing and e-book market is now, those who fail to keep up will fall by the wayside.

Will paper books disappear?  I don’t think that’s possible for a long time yet.  To do that every reader in the world will have to have access to a computer, and that’s not likely right now.

Which of your characters do you love/hate/fear/pity the most and why?

I love Trudy Delaney, from Duty Calls, because against the odds, she looks life in the eye and defies it to defeat her.

I pity Bella in Duty Calls because she faces the inevitable with dignity and serenity and yet can do nothing to change her destiny.

There is a character in Duty Calls that some characters fear but I’m not saying more about them here.

There is not character in Duty Calls that I hate.

Do you get along with your muse? What do you do to placate her/it/him when she/it.he refuses to inspire you?

There are times when there is major fallings out with my muse.  No we don’t go at it ‘hammer-and-tongs’ because she just ups and ‘hoofs-it’.  That is so frustrating!

When she goes awol, I play around with short, short stories, until she gets over her snit.

Do you have another book in the works? Would you like to tell readers about your current or future projects?

I have two more wip’s, one is a Regency that I began during NaNo 2009, and the other is another ‘Hawk’ story.

Have you ever experience weird cravings while you write? If so, what kind?

Not so much ‘weird’ as unfortunate.  When I get stuck with a project – whatever it is – I tend to hit the biscuit (cookie) box.

Which do you prefer:

Denim or Leather on a man/woman/significant other?
Denim.

Irish or Italian accent in a man?
Irish  - I have to say that I had two Irish ‘In-Laws’

Dark eyes or Light eyes?
Dark – or green of any shade.

Sleeping bag or Bed?
A bed, every time :-)

Dinner or Movie for a first date?
Dinner, I’m not a movie fan.

Coffee or Tea?
Tea.

If you got three wishes from a genie, what would they be? (They can be silly, serious or in between).
The ability to learn easily.
The ability to dance.
The ability to eat whatever I want, without the inevitable consequences :-) LOL

Sneak peek into DUTY CALLS

Available at Black Opal Bookstores

Blurb:

She’d saved his life…

Rafe Hawk refuses to accept the inheritance, of a large English estate, and the title that goes with it, after his birth father’s death because the man chose duty over the woman he loved and their son.

So when he finds himself temporarily living at Kinsale Hall, he’s not prepared to trust anyone associated with the place, including Trudi Delaney and her daughter.

So why, when he looks into their eyes, does he suddenly remember a woman who vanished without a trace after saving his life one stormy night ten years earlier?

Now he could destroy hers…

Instinct warns Trudi Delaney the arrival of the contemptuous American architect at Kinsale Hall will change her life forever. Especially when she discovers he spends so much of his time in areas of Kinsale Hall off-limits to visitors.

Eleven years after escaping from her psychotic husband with a stranger, she’s still plagued by nightmares of events she can’t remember. Events such as, who fathered her beautiful daughter?

Now, more than a decade later, she is confronted by another stranger. Will this one destroy everything she holds dear?

~ ~ ~ ~

Excerpt:

“Only Daniel Kinsale and his solicitors knew I’d arranged to meet him. No one knew I changed my schedule and arrived in England a week earlier than expected, and yet Denny Cadmore somehow discovered both my plans and identity.”

Rafe glared at his parent. “Given those facts, tell me why I should stake a claim on a god-forsaken English estate, when everything and everyone who means anything to me is here in Boston?”

The drone of the old-fashioned overhead fan broke the ensuing silence. The oppressive heat stalked through the room sapping the energy from anyone or anything in its path.

“Rafe you’re making me dizzy, sit down and stop prowling round the room.” His mother patted the cushions beside her. “How many times do I have to tell you, you were born from love, not lust? Whether you like it or not, you are the legitimate heir to your father’s estates.”

A shaft of sunlight caught a few silvery streaks in her blonde hair.

“But born out of wedlock,” Rafe snapped, before realising the words queued up for release.

“Yes, out of wedlock,” she sighed. “I’ve never denied it, nor have I stolen your entitlement to your birth name. Your birth father…” she paused for a few seconds, “…Daniel, loved me.”

She continued on a wistful note, “…I’ve explained why he felt duty bound to uphold his family’s expectations. Nor that you were unintended. Having you gave me reason to survive without Daniel. You are from the man of my heart.”

Rafe’s free hand crashed down on the table sending the letter floating to the floor. “If he loved you so much, how come another of his bastards crawled out of the woodwork? One whose birth certificate proves he’s ten days younger than me? How come that same bastard damn near sent me to my grave?

Explain that if you can!”

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You can buy Duty Calls: http://www.blackopalbooks.com/bookstore/

Publisher: http://blackopalbooks.com/wordpress/?page_id=222

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004NBZL10 in e-book and kindle.

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Also Available:- The Wrong Target, a short Valentine story that is both stand alone and part of the Cupid Gone Wild Anthology, is available at eTreasures Publishing http://tinyurl.com/6dyen5a in e-book and kindle

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My Debut novel, The Brat, is available at The Wild Rose press http://tinyurl.com/6g8pomj in print and e-book as well as Amazon.com And in kindle at Amazon.co.uk

 Sherry’s website: www.sherrygloag.com

Sherry’s Blog: http://sherrygloagtheheartofromance.blogspot.com/