(Mystery Writers of America-Florida Chapter)
Book Club |
Tell us a little about where you grew up and what it was like.
You can only tell when I say "chawclit" or "cawffee" (that's chocolate and coffee, by the way) that I grew up in New York City, in a neighborhood of six-story brick buildings and very few trees. Fortunately, there were plenty of candy stores, pizza parlors, and delis. I spent my childhood being terrorized by my parents who told me that gypsies were going to steal me if I didn't behave, or a gorilla was going to drink my unfinished milk. Actually, I loved my parents' stories. They excited my imagination and made me want to create my own monsters.
Did you always want to write? Where did the impulse to write a novel come from?
It seems to me I've always written. Even as a child, I enjoyed sitting at my desk and making up plays and short stories. I'll be honestI was also money-motivated. My mom would pay me 25 cents for each of my stories, so I guess I've been a "professional writer" since I was about eight.
The impulse to write a novel came very naturally to me. Although I enjoyed writing shorter fiction, I wanted to tell more complex and intricate stories.
Barbara Parker and Sharon |
Rumor has it that it took nine years and nine books for you to get published. Tell us about that journey.
I retired from the business world nine years ago and was thrilled to have the time to be able to return to writingmy first love. I enrolled in a creative writing class at University of Miami, and within a few months, I began my first novel. I remember when I'd completed it thinkingIs this a real book? It was, and it wasn't. It was a real book, but it was a lousy real book. I rewrote it a few times, sent it around to dozens of agents, and got a stack of rejection letters. It was around this time that I won a bid on a manuscript critique by Barbara Parker at SleuthFest. Barbara shredded my first thirty pages, but gave me the constructive criticism I needed. After that, I began craving criticism, because I knew that knowledgeable authors' feedback would help me become a better writer. I wrote many more novels, that haven't as yet gotten published, though I still have hope for them. But I never felt as though I'd wasted my time when they got rejected by a publisher. With each book, I learned something and I was able to make the next novel even better.
Tell us a little about the genesis of In Their Blood. You are a CPA, so did you know from the beginning that this was going to be a part of it?
The germ of my story came from a personal incident. My house was broken into when my husband, daughter and I were asleep in the upstairs bedrooms. And although no one was hurt, for months after, I was very much shaken. I was certain the intruder would be back for us. I'd lie awake at night imagining him climbing the stairs, opening the bedroom door... I turned that fear into the opening scene of In Their Blood. The family started out quite a bit like my own family, so it was natural that I made the mom a CPA and the dad an outspoken economics professor. Then the story became Jeremy'shis search for his parents' murderer and the discovery of who they really were and what kind of person Jeremy was. The plot, complete with financial scams, evolved once all of those pieces were in place.
What was the best piece of advice you ever got regarding writing?
Keep the characters real. And don't try to force them to do things that are inconsistent with their temperament or motivation or your story turns fake and your readers become irritated.
What do you wish you knew about publishing before you started? And what was your biggest misconception?
I thought it was going to be easy. And I thought it would happen quickly. I was coming from a world where I had a lot of control. In publishing, I learned that the only things we writers can really control are the quality of our writing and becoming active and involved in the writing community.
What is your own best piece of advice for anyone trying to get published in today's tough market?
Don't try to rush the process. Accept constructive criticism and try to make your book as good as it can possibly be. Think about thisWhen your book comes out, don't you want it to be something you're proud of?
What are you working on now?
I wasn't planning on writing a sequel to In Their Blood, but after starting several other books that stalled, I decided to return to Jeremy's world. Someone's Watching centers around a secondary character from In Their Blood, Robbie Ivy. Robbie, Jeremy's smart-mouthed, evolving love interest, has her own problems in Someone's Watching. Her eighteen-year-old sister has disappeared while on spring break on Miami Beach. And, of course, Jeremy's back, in a supporting role.
Now for the silly questions....
What's on your bedside table right now?
David Morrell's First Blood. I heard Morrell speak at Thrillerfest and he was terrific, so we'll have quite a treat at SleuthFest this year. First Blood was the book that introduced Rambo, but Morrell explained that the original character is nothing like the movie version. In fact, he's an anti-war figure. But what I find fascinating about the novel is how beautifully he pits protagonist and antagonist. It's hard to tell which is which.
If you hadn't gone into accounting, what would have been your dream profession? (Besides writing!)
A concert pianistbut my fingers can barely span an octave.
Your iPod is broken and you can only play three songs over and over for eternity. What are they?
It's a Small, Small World. No please, not that. I'll take any three songs by Simon and Garfunkel.
Favorite trashy movie?
Well, it's got lots of steamy sex, does that count as trashy? I can watch Body Heat with William Hurt and Kathleen Turner over and over.
You've died and ended up in hell. What is your torment?
Listening to an endless loop of It's a Small, Small World.
You've died and gone to heaven. What does St. Peter say to you at the Golden Gate?
"Welcome, Sharon. Here's your chawclit and cawffee."
What's your biggest fantasy?
Gosh, really? Okay. Michael Douglas accepting the Academy Award for best supporting actor as the eccentric CPA-firm partner, Irving Luria, in In Their Blood and thanking me for helping direct him in the role.
We hear you got a starred review in PW and a notice in Entertainment Weekly. That must have been a thrill.
Very heady. But it never would have happened without those nine years and nine novels. And of course, lots of chawclit and cawffee.