Sharon Srock: An Author's Lessons From Her Writing

Everyone's Story is pleased to host author Sharon Srock. This is Sharon's 2nd appearance on this blog (see her first visit here) and it's an awesome thrill to have watched Sharon on her journey from debut author to multi-published author. Sharon offers a reading excerpt from her novel TERRI and answers a few questions for us. Please join us this week for some fun, and if you have another question for Sharon leave it in a comment. We'd both love to here from you.

Book Giveaway:
Sharon is offering to one randomly chosen commenter one copy her novel THE WOMEN OF VALLEY VIEW: TERRI. The winner will be announced here on Friday, August 16th, between 4-6 PM EST. For convenience, please leave your contact information within your comment. Thanks! 

Blurb of Terri:

Despite a bustling day care center and a new foster child, Terri Hayes hungers for a family of her own. Then a plumbing mishap leaves her homeless and questioning God’s plan. Steve Evans’s gracious offer of his basement apartment as a temporary solution is an answered prayer.

Steve is a successful writer and a good father, but Terri is horrified when Steve’s book research leads him to a harsh confrontation with the parents of her foster child. She needs to distance herself from Steve, but her efforts fall short as his two scheming daughters plot to make Terri their new stepmother.

Will harsh words and sneaky plans drive Kelsey’s family further apart and put a wedge between Terri and Steve? Or does God have another plan in store?

An excerpt of Terri for your reading pleasure:

The Women of Valley View: Terri by Sharon Srock

Terri Hayes chewed her bottom lip and prayed. Outside her windows on this sunny Friday afternoon, the Oklahoma summer persisted in spite of the September date circled on her calendar. Her hands sweated, and she clasped them behind her back. She would have raked them through her hair, but she wanted to telegraph calm and collected, not the nervous anticipation churning like ocean waves in her stomach. The weeks of preparation, the evenings spent in class, the hours of prayer, all came down to this.

The curly black head of her visitor disappeared under the kitchen sink. Terri heard grunts and clanks as the woman shifted and examined the contents of the cabinet. Her visitor stood and yanked the top of her crisply tailored suit back into place, her stern face thoughtful as she scribbled notes on a clipboard.

Despite Terri’s desire for calm, her lip chewing graduated to nail biting. Had she missed something? “Ms. Wilson, I…”

Cindy Wilson held up a hand. “Please, Ms. Hayes, I prefer to conduct my investigation uninterrupted. We’ll discuss my findings when I’m done.”

 Terri swallowed her comments with a nod and trailed behind the imposing African-American woman whose job it was to poke and prod into every corner of Terri’s home. She ran through her own mental checklist as they proceeded from room to room. Outlets covered, medicines locked away, cleaning supplies stored out of reach, covers on all of her trash cans. A second perusal of Ms. Wilson’s expression produced no further insight. Pass or fail? Terri shook her head. I wonder if this woman plays poker.

Terri opened the door to the larger of her two spare bedrooms. The odor of fresh paint drifted out to greet them. This was the pride of her summer. She motioned her guest inside, aching to point out the highlights of what she’d worked so hard to accomplish, but she held her peace in the face of Ms. Wilson’s strident and silent inspection. More notes on the clipboard, murmurs, and hums. Approval or disapproval? How can I tell?

Inspection completed, Terri followed her visitor back to her sunken living room and made an effort to gain some control over the situation. “Have a seat, Ms. Wilson. I have iced tea or soda if you’d like something to drink”

“No, thank you.” Ms. Wilson sat on the sofa and studied her notes. Her pen tapped an annoying beat as she read. Terri took a chair across from her and waited in helpless anticipation.

“It says here that your decision to apply to our program was motivated by a television show. Can you clarify that for me, please?”

Terri clasped white-knuckled hands in her lap. “It was a documentary. I cried for the whole hour. It broke my heart to see so much to be done and so few people willing to make a difference.”

“So this is an emotional decision on your part?”

“Yes…I mean no. I—”

Questions for Sharon

I met you as an about-to-be debut author. Now, your third title is about to be released. What advice can the published author Sharon give the pre-published writer Sharon?

To slow down and enjoy the moment. I'm closer to sixty than I like to think about and, for me, there's been a certain urgency with every step of the journey. That first contract, the first edits, holding that first book in my hands. There are times when I've allowed the joy of those things to be overshadowed by what comes next.

There are just so many little steps that have to be followed to launch a book. It can be a lot overwhelming and a little pleasure stealing. When TERRI released last spring, I was still trying to promote CALLIE. I am so NOT good at being the person at the front of the room.

So breathe, enjoy the step you're taking today and let tomorrow's step happen tomorrow.

Do you keep a particular reading audience in mind when you write your stories? What makes you gravitate toward this readership?

I really don't. When I started CALLIE, I just knew that I wanted to appeal to a broad readership so I wrote in characters from age twelve to sixty.

I'm going to share a secret with you. I don't read much women's fiction. I'm more of a romantic suspense, mystery, courtroom drama type reader. So the fact that I write women's fiction remains a mystery and surprise. I've got readers that are men, kids as young as twelve, and women in their eighties. I'm amazed and all I can say is that it's a God thing.

What life lessons have your "ladies" (your characters) taught you? Any surprises?

Every book has yielded a surprising lesson to the author.

CALLIE taught me that God isn't satisfied with us parking next to our past failures, or successes. If we're parked, we aren't moving, if we aren't moving, we aren't growing.

TERRI taught me to trust in God's plan for my life, even if it felt wrong. He wants us to move from point A to point B, but the journey is rarely in a straight and predictable line.

PAM taught me lessons in forgiveness that I'm still processing.

SAMANTHA is teaching me lessons in endurance. Not so much in the story I'm telling, but the writing has been more of a challenge this time. But, we're getting there.

THANKS!!!!!

Sharon's Ah-hahs To Tweet:

Learn how new author Sharon Srock made journey from debut to multi-published. (Tweet This)

Everyone’s Story new #Giveaway: Sharon Srock’s THE WOMEN OF VALLEY VIEW: TERRI (Tweet This)

Discover why Sharon Srock has such a diverse reading audience. (Tweet This)

Bonus: Sharon, and her publisher, Pelican Book Group, have a bonus for you. Just click here.

Author Bio:

Sharon Srock went from science fiction to Christian fiction at slightly less than warp speed. Twenty five years ago, she cut her writer's teeth on Star Trek fiction. Today, she writes inspirational stories that focus on ordinary women using their faith to accomplish extraordinary things. A member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, Sharon serves her local chapter in the role of treasurer. Sharon lives in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma with her husband and three very large dogs. Her books include: The Women of Valley View: Callie and The Women of Valley View: Terri, both of which are currently available. The Women of Valley View: Pam will release in early 2014.

Connect with Sharon here:

Blog

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

Paula Vince: What Is The Function Of Our Fiction?

Everyone's Story warmly welcomes award winning inspirational author Paula Vince. Paula writes faith-inspired fiction set in her native beautiful Australia, stories that one can relate to no matter where one lives. One of many pluses and blessings of hosting guests is learning so many new and helpful insights. For instance, check out Paula's Fiction Writer's Creed. Paula is also offering a Giveaway of her novel BEST FORGOTTEN to two lucky winners. Below is an excerpt for your reading pleasure. Paula is looking forward to your comments.

Book Giveaway:
Paula is offering to two randomly chosen commenters either a print or ebook edition of her novel BEST FORGOTTEN. The winner will be announced here on Friday, August 9th, between 4-6 PM EST. For convenience, please leave your contact information within your comment. Thanks! 

Here's an excerpt of Paula's BEST FORGOTTEN for you to enjoy: 

BEST FORGOTTEN by Paula Vince

Prologue

His eyes blurred with tears, Reverend Barney Wills drove along the steep winding road. The rugged cliff loomed dark ahead and a tatter of cloud obscured the pale moon. His bedside vigil had gone on much longer than expected. It was after midnight.

He was thinking of Maud’s last words and planning how he would break the news of her death to his parishioners when a figure shot out of the scrub and barrelled onto the road in front of him. Barney had a transient image of a wraith-like form in dark clothes with wild black hair flying everywhere. The apparition wheeled around to face the headlights. Its pallid face was petrified. As he slammed his foot on the brake, the thought flashed through Barney’s mind that this might be the Grim Reaper.

When he thought it over later, he was ashamed of his jumble of impressions born of superstition and horror stories. Barney thought he’d left those hang-ups behind in his youth. Perhaps in this case they were wishful thinking. Bowling down a vampire or zombie was preferable to the unthinkable concept of seriously hurting a human being. But his front bumper-bar hurtled the figure off its feet, lifted it high onto his bonnet and pitched it onto the road. Tyres screeching, Barney jerked his steering-wheel as the car careered into the roadside scrub.

His hands shook violently; he took three attempts to open his door. His quivering knees were almost too weak to take him to the prostrate figure. He sank to the ground, staring at the white, unconscious face. A trail of blood gleamed on the pale chin. The teeth had bitten deep into the flesh of the lower lip.

Oh God, what have I done?

With all that wild, flowing hair, the person could have been any gender, but something about the raw-boned form indicated this was a young man. The limbs were too lanky and the shoulders too broad for a female. A silver stud glimmered in the centre of his bottom lip and a shiny row lined his left earlobe. He wore dark jeans and a black T-shirt featuring a skull dripping blood from a sharp set of fangs. The painted blood was almost as bright as that dribbling from his lips and Barney’s stomach twisted.

He realised the man was barely more than twenty years old. God forgive me, I’ve killed him! I’ve killed him!

Barney knew never to move an accident victim but he picked up the youth’s wrist to search for a pulse. At first he felt nothing but the creaking of his own arthritic fingers. Then as he held his breath and forced himself to stay rigid, he detected a strong pulse. Please stay alive. God, please keep him alive. ‘Hold on, young man, hold on.’ He scrambled to his feet, stumbled to his car and fumbled in the glove box for the mobile phone. His unsteady fingers punched in the number of Emergency Rescue.

‘Hello, my name is Barney Wills.’ He cleared his raspy throat. ‘Reverend Barney Wills. There’s been an accident. I’m on Mount Barker Road near Eagle on the Hill. You know, the old Freeway. I collided with a runner. I tried to stop but I couldn’t.’ His lips trembled more than his jelly-legs and he had to muster all his will-power to remain coherent.

Then there was nothing to do but wait. He returned to kneel by the young man. What are you doing here, anyway? Why are you out in the middle of nowhere long after midnight dressed like the devil himself? Barney realised he probably couldn’t have avoided the collision even if his mind had been focused on the road.

A tremor passed through the young man. His eyelashes flickered and he tried to scramble up. Barney shot out a restraining hand. ‘No, no! Stay where you are. You’ve been hurt.’

Barney watched the youth’s bright blue eyes focus on his clerical collar.

The boy flinched and jerked his arm free. He tried to rise again but staggered back with his head in his hands, apparently knocked over by a wave of dizziness. 

‘You mustn’t get up. Please listen to me. You’ll be okay. An ambulance is on its way.’ Barney’s voice sounded crackly and unconvincing, even to himself. ‘I…I hit you with my car. You came from nowhere. I’m terribly sorry. I can’t tell you how sorry I am. What’s your name, son?’

The youth’s eyes screwed up, perplexed, as if he’d been asked a difficult question. Barney wondered if he could understand English.

‘I don’t know.’ The boy’s voice was thick with blood and confusion and he turned to spit a red wad onto the bitumen.

Barney’s blood chilled. The sound of approaching ambulance sirens filled him with heady relief.

Questions for Paula

As an author of “Australian-based Christian fiction” what do you strive to achieve as the common denominator for all readers to experience and enjoy?

I love to highlight the beauty and bounty of my country and its people. We have such a lot going for us. We are blessed to live in a wide, warm land full of contrast and colour, yet sometimes we feel removed from the rest of the world in a sense that is more than geographical. This is partly because of our location, so far south on the globe, and perhaps partly because we were so recently settled as a nation in the mid nineteenth century. We sometimes get the feeling the rest of the world may not be clued-up about what we’re all about down here, yet based on some lovely feedback from international readers of my books I sense an interest and fascination with Australia. My books serve a two-fold purpose. They reveal our culture to the rest of the world in a fun way, and also give local readers something familiar to settle down with when we feel like it. Australian stories have their own distinctive flavour.

Many of us are descended from brave, resilient settlers who left everything they knew to set up new lives in a strange, harsh land at the bottom of the world. I like the sparks of boldness and forbearance still evident in many of us who are their descendents, mixed with our own style of humour. I like that to come out in my writing.

Our unique flora and fauna are wonderful and often handy to weave into my plots. Some international readers have mentioned my ‘Australianisms’ which they think are interesting and quaint. I like them to come out in my stories too, even though they are usually unintentional. And I’m delighted that the increasing availability of eBooks has helped to lessen that gap between Australians and the rest of the world. I hope it continues.

Would you like to highlight your Fiction Writer’s Creed?

One day, I started to ponder the purpose of my occupation. What is the function of the fiction that I and other authors write? We like to believe there is more to our writing than just creating satisfying stories. Of course we want to take readers through the gamut of emotions, but it’s not all for the sake of making them laugh and cry. I sensed that the emotional response is a means rather than an end in itself, but couldn’t quite pinpoint what my work was leading to.

I was reading Matthew 13 in The Message Bible, and suddenly it was all clear to me. The purpose of our fiction is all tied in with the reason Jesus gave His followers when they asked why He liked to tell so many parables. His motivation is the same as ours.

It’s to create readiness, nudge people toward receptive insight, create fertile ground for readers to have ‘a-ha’ moments of their own. I understood that my novel writing is a bit like preparing a garden bed for magnificent flowers to bloom. 

I wondered if other writers had come to the same conclusion. Writing is an engrossing, time-consuming job with many challenges, and we often sacrifice more lucrative occupations to pursue it. I wanted some sort of creed to hang above my desk, to encourage me to keep my chin up and stick to it. I was surprised when I couldn’t find one so I made up my own. It turned out to be a list of eight features, and you are all very welcome to share it if you’d like a creed too.

http://www.justoccurred.blogspot.com.au/2011/05/that-fiction-authors-need-creed.html?pref=fb

Which of your characters are you most like? And which would you never want to be like?

Even though I’m sure I put bits of myself into all of my main characters, I think I have a special spot in my heart for my young men. It’s always been an enjoyable challenge for me to get my head inside a masculine mindset, so I’m always really pleased when I carry it off to my own satisfaction.

I am similar to Blake Quinlan, a main character of “Picking up the Pieces” for his uncertainty and lack of confidence in expressing himself. That attribute is possibly why I started writing in the first place.

I also feel I’m like Courtney Lockwood, the hero of “Best Forgotten” who wakes up with total amnesia. As he searches for his old identity, he initially gets a picture of himself as someone he doesn’t like at all. Eventually he comes to sympathise with his old self, a young man who was vulnerable and reactive to outside feedback and disapproval. He learns that he used to take other people’s perceptions of him on board and let these form his self image. Like Courtney, I was a bit like that and needed to learn about my identity as a child of God, and that I didn’t have to let other people’s perceptions of me shape my own.

The character I’d least like to be like may come as a surprise. I’ve written many misguided and villainous characters but the one who stood out as someone I’d least like to be is an old lady from “The Risky Way Home”, one of my earliest novels. I chose her because I can see how easy it may be for any one of us to follow a similar path.

Henrietta Bowman, a sour, elderly lady, is about to die. Although she never realises it, the reader may sense that her miserable life was rooted in her attitude. She’d had enough blessings to make her happy and content, but chose to look past them and focus on the resentment and self-pity, which she was also arguably within her rights to claim. Focusing on the cruel twists of life that upset her created a self-fulfilling prophecy. It became true that her whole life had been sad and unfulfilled, but equally true that others who had suffered similar setbacks called themselves joyful and blessed. Our lives are as happy as we choose to emphasise.

Paula's Ah-hahs To Tweet:
Everyone has a story: Learn of author Paula Vince’s faith-inspired fiction set in Australia. (Tweet This)

Paula Vince: "… a story has…power to touch readers' hearts in ways other genres do not” (Tweet This)

Award wining author Paula Vince teaches about: Fiction Writer’s Creed. (Tweet This)

Win inspirational author Paula Vince’s novel BEST FORGOTTEN. (Tweet This)

Author Bio:

Award-winning author, Paula Vince loves to evoke tears and laughter through writing fiction. She stirs her stories with mystery, romance, drama and suspense to create something delectably special. A wife and homeschooling mother of three children, she resides in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia, a beautiful spot for inspiration with its breath-taking scenery and four distinct seasons.

For over ten years, Paula's aim has been to provide quality faith-inspired fiction set in Australia. Her quest started way back when, as a Uni student, she discovered the writing of American Christian fiction authors. Her passion is to provide the same enjoyable reads highlighting her own country.

After years of plodding on with minimal return, as Australian-based Christian fiction was regarded as something of an oddity, Paula's efforts are beginning to bear fruit, at last. Her novel, "Picking up the Pieces" won the religious fiction section of the 2011 International Book Awards.

Her novel, "Best Forgotten" was the winner of the 2011 CALEB Award in the fiction category, and also recognized as the best overall entry for the year, chosen over memoirs, devotionals and general fiction.

She is delighted that her books are now available for international readers too.

Connect with Paula at:
Website
Blog
Amazon Page
Goodreads Author Page
Facebook Page
Twitter

Elinor Mavor: What We Accomplish In Life Is Never Done Alone

Everyone's Story's viewership is for readers, writers, and everyone in-between. We're honored this week that Elinor Mavor is visiting, filling any gap between illustrator and editor. Elinor, a multi-talented woman, shares with us one of the key secrets in life. With her extensive history and a heart of gold, she looks forward to your comments. Plus, check out her very special, dynamic Giveaway that will definitely spice up your mid-summer!

Giveaway:
Directly from Elinor: "I would like to donate a rolled print of any piece of artwork in my Fine Art America galleries. To browse through the paintings, see artist websites." Leave a comment for Elinor in the comment section of this blog if you'd like to win a print. For convenience, please leave your email address within the comment. The winner will be announced on Friday, August 2nd.


                    Becoming an Illustrator/Editor by Elinor Mavor

I think I was born with a sketchbook in one hand and a book to read in the other.

As a little kid I was always walking around with my sketchpad, pausing to draw pictures of whatever crossed my path, mostly my cats. Sometimes people became the focus especially when my family and I went to meet my father at the train station in downtown Chicago on Friday nights where we always had to wait for what seemed like hours. Capturing the passing parade in pencil sketches filled my pages, induced some giggles between me and my sister who was doing the same thing, and caused the time to melt away.

Majestic Lion
Copyright by Elinor Mavor
All rights reserved

Heavily entwined with this obsession was the fact that I read everything I could get my hands on, which can eventually predispose a reader to have a razor-sharp eye for how someone else’s words are presented. I had a curious and diverse reading list it seems to me as I look back on it: Dicken’s Oliver Twist; Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; Grimm’s Fairy Tales; Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre; plus all of the L. Frank Baum books about Oz. It definitely leaned toward the dark and fanciful side.

I never imagined I would one day be making a career doing these things because my life took its own direction for quite awhile before I was ready and able to grab the reins. After graduating from Brown University, marriage and motherhood consumed my energies for the next decade. Then, divorce and single motherhood moved me from east to west and changed my course from housewife with two small boys to working mom and all the attendant problems. Reflecting on those years, I give myself kudos for handling my situation in a fairly reasonable manner. It forced me to quickly grow as a person and certainly made me a much stronger person as well. Having family nearby was, of course, an enormous help.

Baba Yaga
Copyright by Elinor Mavor
All rights reserved

Through one family member I found work as a secretary in the tiny office of a man who sold electronics to engineers. He discovered that not only could I write, but that I could draw quite well. A highly imaginative person, he had been dreaming about inventing products, plus producing and marketing them. What he found in me was the perfect partner to launch these ideas into reality with two small companies: Jeffords Industries and subsequently, Specialized Advertising Company. Bob Jeffords and I worked together on all of this for the next several years.

After that I ran my own small service bureau designing and producing menus plus brochures for travel and other types of businesses. Through my son, Scott, I met a man who hired me to edit and art direct two science fiction pulp magazines, which kept me busy for four years. Also, Scott brought me in to help him illustrate one of the only early video games that did not involve shooting things: The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes. Since he always told me he learned everything about the art business from me, it was an immense pleasure to see him working with Electronic Arts on a project and an even greater experience to have him call on me to help him get the job done.

Victorian Room for The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes
Copyright by Elinor Mavor
All rights reserved

All of those years added up to what amounts to a very intense education in my various fields of endeavor. Finally, it occurred to me that I wanted to specialize and not have to continue doing everything from designing, writing, illustrating and assembling an assignment for print production. I decided to go after just freelance illustration assignments. Well, it simply didn’t quite work out that way. Requests for designing and editing kept presenting themselves to me and I couldn’t refuse. So I now see myself as a “Freelance Illustrator/Editor” and if more is needed, I will probably rise to the cause.

Scene from The Mop Doll Family
Copyright by Elinor Mayor
All rights reserved  

Case in point: I just finished editing, designing and illustrating a charming 24-page storybook for Constance L. Cote, an American writer who lives in Ecuador. The book teaches a life lesson about prejudice in a gentle, funny story about a family of Mop Dolls and what happens when some mischievous little twin boys switch name tags at a banquet. Here is the aristocratic, evil Mrs. Moppafella who was forced to sit next to a poor soul named Mr. Scrub-Mop.

It’s fun to glance back like this, as well as to look forward to what the future may bring my way. And I have learned that what we accomplish in life is never done alone. Other people are very much involved. As, of course, is God. When I was a small child I saw on my grandmother’s bedroom wall a framed embroidery that said: “God helps those who help themselves.” I have never forgotten that. 

Elinor's Ah-hahs To Tweet:

Meet Elinor Mavor, talented illustrator & editor, on Everyone’s Story. (Tweet This)

Artist Elinor Mavor offers print of her artwork as a Giveaway. (Tweet This)

Why does Elinor Mavor believe “God helps those who help themselves”? (Tweet This)

How did artist & editor Elinor Mavor end up illustrating a video game? (Tweet This)

Author Bio:
Elinor Mavor has worked as art director for an ad agency, editor and designer of various books and a restaurant magazine plus writer of radio commercials and local magazine articles. She ran her own business producing illustrated menus and brochures for various products and businesses, and she served as editor and art director for Amazing Stories and Fantastic Stories, two famous old pulp science fiction magazines, from 1978 to 1982. A special treat was working with son Scott digitally illustrating a famous early Electronic Arts video game, The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes. Presently she is a freelance illustrator/editor working with authors such as science fiction novelist Emily Devenport, children’s book writer Constance L. Cote and travelogue and thriller author Michael Edwards. Her blog, Mavor Arts, showcases her own artwork plus interviews and artwork of emerging and established artists from around the world. 

Connect with Elinor at:

http://www.mavorarts.com

http://linkedin.com/in/elinormavor

http://behance.net/elinormavor/

https://twitter.com/ElinorMavor