Sisterhood of the Traveling Blog Week 4 Featuring Sherrie Henry

I am pleased to welcome Sherrie to my blog. I want to take a moment to say, I think Sherrie is a very talented writer. I've had the pleasure of sharing a few writing experiences with Sherrie a couple years ago and she most definitely left an imprint on me. I've just recently Beta read her story, Wolfs Bane, and I'm a huge fan of wolves and her characters were very good. It's a cute short story that I'm honored to have been able to read.

So with out further delay....Please welcome, Sherrie!!

Question of the week – What inspires you to write?

I actually don’t need inspiration as such; I’ve been driven to tell stories almost my entire life. Part of it comes from being an only child for the first six years of my life and living about in the middle of no where. I had to make up my friends and use my imagination to create imaginary play dates. I didn’t actually start writing my ‘imaginings’ until I was in college, taking creative writing.

I found inspiration from everywhere and everyone, nothing was off-limits. I could people-watch for an afternoon, making up stories about perfect strangers based on what they were wearing, what group they were in (or if they were alone) or even what they were doing.

These days, I find myself finding my stories in my dreams. I can usually remember my dreams, or at least a small part of one and that little germ of a story can blossom into a full novella or heck, even novel. Discussions with other authors and readers can also give me an idea for a story and once that idea takes hold, it usually won’t let me go.

I’ve got at least a dozen main characters clamoring in my head right now, all wanting their story told. They all want to be heard and goddess-willing, I’ll get to each of them in time. 

 Check out Sherrie's short stories in Evernight Vol 1 and Evernight Vol 2. She also has a stand alone, Twenty-Four Hours that I gave 5 stars! 

Catch my blog on Stacy's Site 

Other Blog Hop Members

AL Kessler

Patricia Laffoon

Johanna Rae

 L.S. Broomfield

Sherrie Henry

Torie N. James

Tracey Steinback

 

Sisterhood of the Traveling Blog Week 3 featuring L.S. Broomfield

It is my great pleasure to introduce to you L.S. Broomfield. She is an amazingly talented author who I share the pleasure of making a duet short story with. Her current work that is under review is a book about her dear warlocks, The Cruentus - Rise to Power and it's an excellent read. I can't wait for the publisher to accept it. She's my first Canadian friend and I just adore her. I hope you enjoy her blog. 

The Wonders Around me.

            Do you want to know what I hear around me as I sit in my bedroom? Nothing. Mind you that is an amazing feat all on its own in a house of seven on the best of days but I’m not talking about the normal sounds of a home being lived in. I’m talking about the world past my window. My little piece of Labrador. 

            Well, in my neck of the woods right now, old man winter is making his appearance. So sporadically, I’ll hear a snowmobile or, “ski-doo”, as it makes its way through one of the trails and then serenity and quiet once more. I don’t hear the clamoring of traffic through my window and I can sit on my bed and look out my window at the stars in the night sky. And on a clear night I may even see the wondrous Northern Lights. Lucky right?

            But don’t confuse the quiet of this great land with the image most people have  that everyone living in Labrador rests their heads at night in a igloo; or that it’s winter year round. On the contrary, Labrador is glorious no matter the season—and yes we have four of those. Mother Nature has richly blessed this land and its people. We are an amazingly knit together culturally diverse gathering of people that each lead our separate lives. This thought makes me smile and causes me to beam with Labrador pride; though all different and separate, in the midst of turmoil and tragedy everyone somehow manages to work together to help. Such giving and kind hearted people.

            Don’t get me wrong; there are things that I would change but there are also things I wouldn’t change for anything. Each person has a differing opinion about Labrador; some good, some bad. But there is always something they just love. Breath-taking scenery, wondrous things that readily show the fingerprint of God; from man-made to shaped at creation.  There is always something to pull at the heart strings and maybe even make you fall in love with this place to keep coming back.

            Harry Martin said it best in the song that he wrote, A Land Called Labrador:

There's a land of boundless beauty,
Where the untamed rivers run,
And majestic snow-capped mountains,
Rise to meet the morning sun.

There are silent sunlit valleys,
Undiscovered, unexplored;
It's a home for free of spirit,
It's a land called Labrador.

Legends of our people spoken,
In the language of the land,
Tell of hard times and injuries,
Strangers would not understand.

As they trapped across the tundra,
From the highlands to the shore,
From us all the land is broken,
And our people suffered more.

Let her mountains shine in glory,
Let her unspoiled waters flow;
Let her children live in freedom,
In the valleys of the snow.

Lift your voices, sons and daughters,
Like you've never done before;
Let your song rise through the darkness,
In this land called Labrador.”

            I am a Newfoundlander, born and raised. Nothing will ever change that. But, I’ll interject and end with this: I may not have been born in Labrador, my first cries were on the rock but I fully consider myself a “Newfoundlander and Labradorian” to the core, through and through.

Copyright @ L.S. Broomfield

           

Check out her story, Firefly inside Evernight Vol. 2

You can check my blog out here at Torie N. James Blog

The rest of the blog tour can be found below....

A.L. Kessler

Patricia Laffoon

Johanna Rae

L.S. Broomfield

Sherrie Henry

Stacy Moran

Tracey Steinbach

Sisterhood of the Traveling Blog Week 2 featuring Johanna Rae

I am pleased to welcome Miss Johanna Rae to my blog. First off let me say her book, The Mercenary is one of the best book's I have
read in years. It was AMAZING!!! I strongly suggest you go out and buy it.
  

 All the things that make me ME

Johanna Rae

When I became pregnant with my first child, I had a few challenges and had to leave work very early on in the pregnancy. Many of my friends and family asked me what on earth I was going to do to fill in the days until I became a mother. They seemed to think I would be bored out of my mind by the time the baby came but they could not have been more wrong.

I have a multitude of hobbies which are almost all within the realm of creativity. Until this point I’d had to pick and choose what I gave my time to as I balanced my job and marriage. Now I suddenly had time upon my hands. My two biggest passions have always been writing and art. Back then writing was just a hobby, an outlet of unrecognized potential. I still have some of the stories I wrote during that time and I hope one day to go back and polish them up. The only thing putting me off is that they are all handwritten in notebooks. You see, back then I didn’t have a laptop either. For now they are in the ‘one day’ pile.

It’s amazing how much can change about a person in a few short years. Since having children I have not only been granted an unexpected perspective of the world, I have also learned a lot about myself. When I say this I do not mean I learned the hard way that babies mean sleepless nights. I do not mean that I had to search within myself for patience I had not previously possessed either. I love being a parent and yes that has been a journey. What I did not expect was to learn so much about myself as a woman along the way.

In my early days of motherhood I suffered from post natal depression.  In dealing with that and striving to be the best mother that I could be, I did a lot of soul searching. And as my child grew and two more joined his side, I began to explore the woman that I was beyond motherhood. I guess you could say that I came out of my shell. 

I continued to sketch and paint, and of course write. Now that my creativity had been unleashed, I expanded it further, and took up hobbies such as jewelry making, scrapbooking, music and knitting. There was never any time to get bored, for if I was not spending time with my children I was busy creating. I’m a deep thinker which leads to a lot of analysis. I’ve found that no matter which creative outlet I choose, it in turn inspires something else.

Ultimately as I have allowed myself to grow, the writing has started to overshadow everything else. I’m okay with this as I believe it is probably the largest piece of who I am.  Now that the center of things has shifted I find that everything feeds the writer in me. Whether I am sketching or camping with my husband and children, my subconscious is always looking for the next story.  I’m okay with that too. Hi, my name is Johanna Rae and I’m a writer.

You can find my blog  on Tracey's website

Visit the rest of the Sisterhood's blogs below for more great treats from amazing ladies!

A.L. Kessler

Patricia Laffoon

Johanna Rae

L.S. Broomfield

Sherrie Henry

Stacy Moran

Torie N. James

Tracey Steinbach

Sisterhood of the Traveling Blog Week 1 – Patricia Laffoon

Patricia is visiting my blog today, I'm so grateful she agreed to all us ladies in our little blog hop. She and her writing partner Aaron do a fantastic job. Sit back and relax, enjoy this great interview by Patricia!!!

1. What made you start writing and which subject matter do you enjoy the most?

I was encouraged by a teacher in high school to take a creative writing class. I have dyslexia it's a learning disability, and she thought it would help. I wrote poems and such as a young girl you know romantic angst nothing earth shattering. When I joined Facebook I met a role player who was and still is involved with the Dark-Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon. We conversed for six months before he encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and give it a try. And one day I decided what's the worst that could happen and I took a huge leap of faith that I wouldn't be laughed at. So started my writing. As for subject matter I have always been drawn to the story of The Little Mermaid, and not the Disney story but the one by Hans Christian Anderson, the story of a mermaid princess who gives up her title, her voice, and ultimately her life, for the love of a human prince.  So when I took on the role of Trish of course she would have to be a Mermaid with a slightly different take on the original story. 

 

2. Is there anything that you write about that can be controversial? 

I don't believe so other than I take liberties with Trish and her story but hey who's to say what can be written about a mermaid...she's a work of fiction to begin with.

3. What inspires you to write and how often do you do it?

My writing partner Aaron/Rudy. We try to write at least every night in Role play and the group page that another put together Otherworlds: Pirates, that's where we got the idea for our Story to begin with.

4. If you could only take one book with you for the next year what would it be and why?

One book!? Gosh that's going to be a hard one... Hmm I think it would be the Bible. Not only would it give me plenty to read, it has it all life, death, love, intrigue, battles.  But also would nourish my spirit.

5. Is there a particular character of yours that you like more than the rest?

Well this is a simple one I only have one character, and I like her pretty well *grins*

6. Who is your favorite fictional character and why?  Josephine March from Little Women. She struck a chord in me being a tomboy myself and wanting to be a writer. She's a strong resourceful female who makes her way no matter what conventional  times call for. 

7. What age did you start reading, did you have a favorite children’s book?

You know with dyslexia I never read for enjoyment as a child, but my grandmother gave me a book when I was a young teen - Two Little Women on a Holiday by Carolyn Wells. It touched my heart that she was trying so hard to spark my imagination. I read it cover to cover with much difficulty and a dictionary by my side to look up the words I didn't understand, but I spent that summer reading it  from cover to cover. From there I went on to the Hardy boys...yes I still have the book and the full collection of the Hardy Boys.

8. What's the best part of being an author?

You know I am still so new at this the biggest thrill right now is running into friends and them telling me they Googled me and found my anthology online and bought it...and would I sign their copy...

9. If your current book (published or work in progress) could become a movie who would star in it?

Piper Lisa Perabo

10. Where do you see yourself in 5 years from now, writing wise?

Well I never thought to publish a book in the first place, but I would love to keep doing what I'm doing now and maybe branching out trying something on my own totally different from what I am doing now. I was in the U.S. Army Reserves for 23 years.  I always said I would write about that experience. It would take at least that long to gather and remember all those years.

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Evernight: Romance in a World of Darkness Volumes 1 and 2, containing the stories “Tears of the Mermaid” and “Heart of the Mermaid” by Aaron Speca and Patricia Laffoon

Volume 1:

Amazon     XOXO Publishing

Volume 2:

Amazon    XOXO Publishing    All Romance E-books

 














You can view my blog for this week by visiting  Amy Kessler's Blog. Don't forget to join her blog and comment for a chance to win a free ebook!

Check out the other ladies in the Sisterhood!
Patricia Laffoon
Johanna Rae
L.S. Broomfield
Sherrie Henry
Stacy Moran
Torie N. James
Tracey Steinbach