Interview With Sherry Scarpaci
by Lorie Ham
Here we are again with another great author at the Café. Since this
author prefers tea over coffee, let’s grab a nice green tea and settle back to
see what Sherry Scarpaci has to share with us. Sherry’s new
book LULLABY was just released by Five Star and a review is available here at
the Café.
CAFÉ:
How long have you been writing?
SHERRY:
About twenty years I guess. I was always making up
stories, and considered entering contests that I’d see in magazines, but I never
had the courage to submit anything. I always thought no one would be interested
in anything I wrote. Then in 1987 I went back to school and there was a teacher
who encouraged me to write, and so I did. It’s been a long road.
CAFÉ:
When did your first novel come out?
SHERRY:
LULLABY is my first published novel. I wrote another one
in 1988 called The Silent Heart, but I wasn’t able to get it published and
rightfully so. When I look back at it, it really was pretty
awful.
CAFÉ:
I bet a lot of authors have some book in a closet that was their
first effort and not worth publishing.
Have you always written mysteries? If
not what else have you written?
SHERRY:
I free-lanced for six years for Woman’s World magazine
and one year for the Star Newspaper, a suburban publication that at that time
was owned and operated by the Chicago Sun-Times. Then of course there was that
awful novel I wrote that was a sweeping saga that spanned three generations of
women. My first love is mysteries and always has been and that’s what my focus
is now. I would however love to write a really scary ghost story some day
too.
CAFÉ:
What brought you to choose the setting and characters in your
latest book? Tell me a little about the setting and main character.
SHERRY:
The setting is pure fiction, a town called Westport. My
protagonist, Vicky Langford is an ex-cop turned investigative reporter. She’s a
widow, haunted by the murder of her detective husband two years earlier and
wants to find the truth behind his death. She is also mother to
eighteen-month-old Josh, the child she found out she was pregnant with just days
before her husband’s death. She is a gutsy, kick-ass kind of
girl.
CAFÉ:
What is the main reason that you write?
SHERRY:
I just love to make up stories. Even when I’m not
sitting at the keyboard, my mind is always going. Making up stories while
driving can be kind of dangerous though, and I don’t advise it. I’ve had a few
close calls almost kissing bumpers.
CAFÉ:
I’ll keep that in mind. Do you write to entertain or is there
something more you want the readers to take away from your work?
SHERRY:
I write strictly to entertain, though if someone
comes away with something from my books, seeing how perseverance pays off for
instance, or fighting for what you believe is right, would be okay
too.
CAFÉ:
Do you have a schedule for your writing or just write whenever you
can?
SHERRY:
I try to write first thing in the morning, though it
doesn’t always happen.
CAFÉ:
I never seem to be able to write that early. Life does seem
to interfere sometimes.
Do you outline? If not, do you have some other
interesting way that you keep track of what’s going on, or what needs to happen
in your book when you are writing it?
SHERRY:
I didn’t with LULLABY and it was a detriment. I just sat
down and started writing with no idea of where I was going and the story kept
changing. The finished novel barely resembles what I started with. My new book,
tentatively titled Resurrection, has been outlined. Not in great detail, and
it’s certainly not written in stone, but it acts likes a road map. It at least
keeps me pointed in the right direction even if the story or my characters take
a detour now and then.
CAFÉ:
If you had your ideal, what time of day would you prefer to
write?
SHERRY:
Early morning. I just feel fresher and have more energy
in the morning.
CAFÉ:
Do you have a day job?
SHERRY:
Yes, I have a day job. I’ve been with an electrical
contractor named Linear Electric, Inc. for the last thirteen years. I wear many
hats at my job, payroll, accounts payable, etc.
CAFÉ:
Maybe there’s some sort of electric company thriller in your
future.
Did you find it difficult to get published in the
beginning?
SHERRY:
Fiction yes. LULLABY made the rounds before finding a
home with Five Star.
CAFÉ:
Do you have a great rejection/critique or acceptance story you’d
like to share?
SHERRY:
I could paper an 8X10 room with my standard rejections,
but along the way I received some very positive rejections where the agent or
publisher actually wrote a page or more of suggestions of how to improve my
story. I felt if they took the time to do that, they must have seen something
worthwhile in my work. I always sent thank you letters to them.
CAFÉ:
I know this is your first novel, but from what you’ve seen what
kind of promotion do you think will be most affective?
SHERRY:
That remains to be seen. LULLABY is not out until
September 19 so I don’t know how effective any of my promotional efforts have
been. I think though, that on-line exposure like this, and newspaper articles
will probably be the most effective.
CAFÉ:
Future writing goals?
SHERRY:
To write many many books. LULLABY may turn into a
series. I left it with that feeling. The book I’m working on now, Resurrection,
will be a series. I also have some short stories that I want to
submit.
CAFÉ:
Any heroes?
SHERRY:
I think the teacher in college who encouraged me to
write. Her name is Pat McKeague. She is everything a teacher should be. She was
always willing to take time with her students and always offered encouragement
and help to them. We never know how something we might say will affect someone’s
life. She altered the course of my mine with her words, “I think you can write.”
I hope that I have that same positive impact on someone someday.
CAFÉ:
Here’s hoping all kids get a teacher like that in their
lives.
People you would like to meet-dead or alive?
SHERRY:
Mary Higgins Clark. She’s been a kind of mentor to me,
though she doesn’t know it. I love her books. I met her at a book signing once,
but I’d really love to talk to her. Agatha Christie, too. Ten Little Indians is
one of my all time favorites.
CAFÉ:
What do you read?
SHERRY:
Mysteries more than anything, though I enjoy other types
of books as well. I love good scary stories, like John Saul’s books, but I also
loved Up Island by Anne Rivers Siddons and I Wish I Had A Red Dress, by Pearl
Cleage. I love to peruse decorating magazines too.
CAFÉ:
Haven’t tried any of those.
Any hobbies?
SHERRY:
Reading, baking, walking (it gives me more time to think
up stories). In rare moments when I have spare time, I like to craft, for
instance making a wreath for the front door, things like that.
CAFÉ:
Favorite TV or movies?
SHERRY:
I don’t get to watch much TV, but I’m addicted to
Desperate Housewives and can’t wait for the new season to start. I love old
Alfred Hitchcock movies, or The Thin Man movies. I must confess I love old
monster movies too.
CAFÉ:
Me too. I love Desperate Housewives!
Any pets?
SHERRY:
I have a cat named Buddy who I’ve only had a few months.
He’s an older cat I took in after his owner died suddenly. If I could I’d take
in every stray dog or cat I come across. I love animals and hate to think about
them in shelters. I’d like to have a dog to, but with working full time, it’s
too hard. Maybe someday.
CAFÉ:
Yes it is awful about all the animals in shelters. I work in
animal rescue and there are just too many needing homes. Hopefully someday
you’ll get to rescue a dog.
Family?
SHERRY:
I have two grown children. My son John, or J.T. as we
have always called him, is 24 and recently started in an apprenticeship program
for pipe fitters. My daughter, Jennifer, is 25 and is in her last year of
pharmacy school. They are really great kids. I’m blessed.
CAFÉ:
Awesome. Kids are great.
What part of the country do you
live in?
SHERRY:
I live in the Chicagoland area and I think I’m pretty
happy here. There are places I’d like to visit again, like Alaska, and I’d love
to tour the east coast in the fall when the colors are changing, but this is
home. Everyone I love is here.
CAFÉ:
I would love to really visit Chicago-I’ve only flown
through.
Any advice for aspiring or beginning writers?
SHERRY:
Do it everyday if possible. Get into a writer’s group.
More than one if necessary. I belong to two. It’s helpful to have feedback and
you need to be with other people who are doing what you want to do. I believe in
positive mental imaging so they should picture themselves being published, doing
book signings etc. I think you should read the type of books you want to write.
And persevere. Seeing yourself in print doesn’t happen overnight and it’s easy
to become discouraged. That’s one of the reasons being in a writer’s group is so
important. They will give you support and encouragement that is vital to keeping
you going at times when you think you should give up. I think writers have to
develop a bit of crocodile skin to survive. When I first started submitting I
shed a few tears when I kept getting shot down. You have to get over that and
get on with it. Just go back to the computer and write and write and
write.
CAFÉ:
Good advice. Anything you would like to add?
SHERRY:
Can’t think of anything except maybe read to your kids.
I read to mine everyday. Everything from Jack London to the Goose Bumps books.
They loved going to the library to check out books and we had tons of them in
the house when they were growing up, as I did. As a writer, I love to see kids
reading books.
CAFÉ:
I did that as well. Reading is so important.
Your
website?
CAFÉ:
Where can people buy your book?
SHERRY:
LULLABY is available on Amazon and all other
booksellers. If it’s not on the shelf, ask for store to order it for
you.
CAFÉ: Thanks so much for being with us here at the Café. Don’t
forget to check out our review of LULLABY.
©2007 Lorie Ham. All rights reserved.
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