Sherry Derr-Wille Talks Weather as Setting

This week we’re going to find out a little about author Sherry Derr-Wille. November’s theme is ‘Weather as Setting’ so Sherry will share her thoughts on this plus share a little about herself and her writing.

Sherry lives in a mid-sized Southern Wisconsin with her husband of 46 years, Bob, whom she deems a saint for putting up with a crazy writer.
With three children, seven grandchildren, more book signings than she can sometimes handle, she puts out four to five books a year and loves writing in her hot pink office.

Beverley: Do you think using weather can be part of a setting?

Sherry: Most Definitely
Beverley: Do you think adding weather to a scene can add emphasis to the scene?
Sherry: Yes
Beverley:  Can weather add to the emotional contact with a reader?
Sherry : Of course, it does
Beverley: Do you know any authors who use weather in their books?
Sherry: Yes
Beverley: Have you ever used weather as a setting in any of your books?  If yes, tell us how.
Sherry: In MISTAKEN IDENTITY, the heroine returns to Wisconsin on Christmas Eve in the middle of a blinding snowstorm. In MURDER IN THE MEADOW Rhonda has to investigate a murder that took place during a spring snow storm while the victim was spreading manure.
Beverley:  Anything else you’d like to add about the use of weather in a book?
Sherry: I think It sets the scene knowing what it’s doing outside. If the weather is dark and damp it gives the hero/heroine a reason to be depressed.
Beverley: Which genre or genres do you write or prefer to write?
Sherry: It depends on my mood. At present I’m working on a futuristic, a historical and a crime story. In the past I’ve written romance (every genre except regency), erotica, family epics, and murder mysteries.
Beverley: What prompted you to write in the genre/s you do?
Sherry: I write what I feel like at the moment. The crime story is one I wrote several years ago and recently revived. The historical was prompted by driving past the Rock River and seeing the characters asking me to write their story. The futuristic was inspired by the show ANCIENT ALIENS.
Beverley: What genres do you enjoy reading?
Sherry: I love reading Native American stories, time travel, and historicals.
Beverley: I’d love to hear what you think of the present genres, how they’ve been affected by self-publishing and where you think they might be headed.
Sherry: I think more authors are thinking outside the box and have heroes and heroines have become unconventional. I think this is an exciting time for writers, but I do feel everyone should be edited professionally. I once met an author who had her book self-published. When I asked her who her editor was she informed me she was so good she didn’t need an editor. WHAT? I’m an editor and I need an editor.
Beverley: How long have you been writing?
Sherry: I started when I was a sophomore in high school so I would have to say 55 years. I signed my first contract in 2002 and my first book was published in 2003.
Beverley: Who influenced you the most in deciding to become a writer?
Sherry: My sophomore English teacher, Earl Brockman, told us if we got an A on the first test we could sit in the back of the room and write for a year. I wrote my first book in that class and since no one told me to stop the assignment, I didn’t.
Beverley: What obstacles did you have to overcome to begin creating your work?
Sherry: When I was still working, it was finding the time to write. Later it was finding someone who was interested in reading and publishing it.
Beverley: What gets your creative juices flowing?
Sherry: Anything from something I see to a dream.
Beverley: What will stop your creative muse the quickest?
Sherry: What people don’t understand is it takes 15 minutes to get into character and 15 seconds to get out of it.
Beverley: What do you have for breakfast?
Sherry: When I worked it was cereal and juice. Now it’s whatever I fix. Some mornings, it’s onions cooked in butter in the microwave. Beverley: What do you wear when you are writing?
Sherry: Whatever I happen to put on that morning.
Beverley: Where do you do most of your writing?
Sherry: In my recliner.
Beverley: Do you have a favorite cartoon character? Why?
Sherry: Any of the ones from the 50’s and 60’s Why? They were strictly for entertainment. Today you have to think too hard when you watch them.
Beverley: Who would you love most to meet 'in person' and why?
Sherry: Any of the women from GMA. I watch every day and admire all of them. Had I been asked this question several months ago, I would have said, Brian Olson, the meteorologist from my favorite local morning newscast, but I was able to meet him and we have become friends.
Beverley: If you had an unexpected free day what would you do with it?
Sherry: If I could afford it, I would have lunch with a friend.
Beverley: What are you working on now?
Sherry: I just submitted my Crime Story, BLOOD RELATIVES, to a publisher, but now I am trying to finish my Native American historical, SKY EYES, and my futuristic, RETURN OF THE ANCIENTS.

Blurb for Mistaken Identity:

Katelyn Devereaux needs a vacation. More than a vacation, she needs to put Denver behind her as well as the man who wants her as his wife and the birth family who is insisting on finding her.
A secluded cottage on a lake in Wisconsin sounds like the perfect spot to get away—or is it?
Seth Miller knows the reason that he mistook Katelyn for Genean is his knowledge that his best friend’s wife was adopted by strangers at birth. Of course he can’t change the facts that Genean and Katelyn are sisters, especially after he learns that the company she wants to visit in Wisconsin is owned by Genean’s brother, Randy, and her husband, Brad.

Excerpt for Mistaken Identity:

   Sunlight shimmered across the lake and it glistened as though it had been scattered with diamonds. As she stood there in awe, taking in the beauty from the cottage, the dock invited her into the picture of beauty. Taking her sketch pad and pencil with her, Katelyn Devereaux walked across the lawn and sandy beach until she reached the pier. Settling into the deck chair, she gazed out across the water.
   It was such a beautiful morning. She was so glad she’d taken the advice of her friends and accompanied Suzie Branch to this secluded Wisconsin lake. She certainly needed a vacation and could think of no place more relaxing than this quaint cottage hidden away in a different world.
   In the distance a loon called to its mate, waited for a few moments for a reply and called again. This was the kind of peaceful exchange she had not taken the time to listen for in months. She knew nature was all around her back home, but there never seemed to be time to sit and listen for it. In Denver she was nothing more than a machine pumping out sketches for her clients, and on occasion, playing the gracious hostess for Martin.
   No, I don’t want to think of the daily grind of running the Devereaux Agency, nor Martin Collier’s marriage proposal. I need this time to figure out just who Katelyn Devereaux really is.
   Katelyn turned away from the peaceful scene before her. Why can’t my life be this peaceful?
   You know why, Katie. The sound of her father’s voice within her head caused a tear to escape from the corner of her eyes. She’d lost both of her parents at Thanksgiving and never really gotten over their deaths. The only thing that kept her from going completely over the edge was work, work and more work.
    I don’t think I can do this, Daddy. I don’t love Martin. I haven’t even given himan answer concerning his proposal. Maybe I’m not cut out for the wife thing. Even if I did marry Martin, I wouldn’t be a wife, not in the conventional way. With him gone so much, life as his wife would be no different than life by myself.
   Katelyn’s thoughts came as a shock. Never before had she admitted her true feeling for Martin. More than anything else in the world, she wanted to be a little girl again without all the problems of being a responsible adult. Back home in Denver, her life had become too complicated to allow her to rest. For the past eight months she’d been running the Devereaux Advertising Agency, and then there was Martin Collier’s marriage proposal. The fact she had just learned of the fact she was adopted, only added to the crazy quilt her life had become over the past few months. Perhaps if her parents had told her the truth the shock wouldn’t have been so profound but they hadn’t. She’d learned of her adoption only days after their funeral.

Buy Links:

Publisher’s website: http://www.classactbooks.com/component/virtuemart/cat-murder-mystery-suspense/mistaken-identity-252013-04-29-03-34-26-detail?Itemid=0

Amazon: htt://www.amazon.com/Mistaken-Identity-Sherry-Derr-Wille-ebook/dp/B019DHOIXAps/
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mistaken-identity-sherry-derr-wille/1007570905?ean=2940152524833
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/600615

You can find Sherry at:

Website: www.derr-wille.com
Blog: www.derr-wille.blogspot.com

Don’t forget to check back next week for another author interview.