Interview with Cheryl Norman & Friends

By: Savannah Michaels

I would like to start this interview by telling folks that Cheryl Norman and I are sitting on the front porch at Miller House Bed and Breakfast. I invited Beth and Kevin O’Brien to be here with us and I’m delighted they chose to attend. It’s very nice to meet all of you. Beth, thank you so much for inviting me here. The Miller House is everything Cheryl wrote about and more. I love this ocean breeze!

Kevin, if you don’t mind, I would like to start with you. When you arrived at the Miller House you were in deep emotional pain, searching for a place to die. What did you expect from this place and how did these people, mainly Beth, surprise you? How did she challenge you to live?

I was seeking a seaside resort, a far cry from this bed-and-breakfast. Its needy appearance drew me, though, I can’t explain why.

[Beth interrupts] I can. You can’t resist an opportunity to fix things, to make them better. And Miller House sure needed fixing!

[Kevin grins] It didn’t take Bethany long to get my number. She’s amazing, you know. Optimistic, positive, and very candid.

And you fell in love with her. Why? What is the magic about this particular woman that made you want to reach out and claim her for your own?

I didn’t know I was in love with her. We weren’t supposed to be in love, just married, and just until I died. But magic is the right word. Being with Bethany is a joy. She cherishes everything in life, and that’s contagious.

Beth, what was your first impression upon meeting Kevin? What made you want to know him better and find out what makes him tick? Did he surprise you in any way, and if so, how?

He was sick or tortured…or both. At first, I just wanted to cheer him--anything to bring a smile to his sad eyes. But I learned quickly that Kevin is a man who takes responsibility seriously. He is at his best when he’s in rescue-mode.

This next question is for the both of you. What are your hopes for the future? How will things at Miller House Bed and Breakfast change?

[Kevin wraps an arm around Bethany] I want to make sure Bethany doesn’t work so hard. Hire some help if we have to.

[Bethany grins] And have a healthy baby! That’ll change things around here, for sure!

Okay, Cheryl, let’s talk about you. For those reading, I must say I am extremely privileged to be interviewing Cheryl Norman, an award-winning novelist. I first met her in Lethaladies and I can tell you from personal experience that her title as Grammar Guru is well deserved. Her attention to detail and concise writing style is inspiring, to say the least. She has written a cook book titled Hasty, Tasty Meals, scheduled for release in 2002. If that’s not enough, she has also run in eight marathons.

Whew! Cheryl, where and how do you find time to write? Given your obvious strength of discipline, do you follow a daily writing schedule? Is your daily goal based on number of pages, a scene per day, a chapter per day?

Don’t credit me with too much discipline! I’m committed to writing, but don’t follow a specific schedule. I often do writing “marathons” now that I’ve given up running marathons, devoting a week at a time to nothing but my book-in-progress. My family’s support helps.

How has your training/discipline for running enhanced your writing career?

I’ve learned that I can achieve anything if I commit myself completely.

What interests you the most about the people you meet? When you look at a stranger, what is typically the first thing you notice?

I love to talk to people about where they live or where they’ve traveled. I love traveling and pride myself on knowing and finding something to like about most places I visit. The first thing I notice is whether or not the stranger makes eye contact.

I also noticed in your website bio that you travel quite a bit. Please tell us about one of your favorite places to go. Why is it special to you?

This is like asking me my favorite book I’ve ever read. I really enjoyed Fairbanks, Alaska, because it was as far from Florida (home) as I’d ever traveled in an RV, and it was so different. Anchorage, on the other hand, was a generic U.S. city, with the same chain stores and restaurants, same traffic, same crime. Yet, I enjoyed it, too. And I’m always glad to get home to north Florida, to my own private paradise in the country.

What was it about Kevin and Beth that made you decide to match them as a couple?

There’s an old movie called LAST HOLIDAY, which inspired my story LAST RESORT. I “borrowed” the leading character (who’s told he’s going to die) and a candid woman who works at the seaside resort where he stays. Of course, my story is a romance with a much happier ending. I wanted to match a depressed man with a Pollyanna and have the Pollyanna come out on top instead of letting him drag her down.

It’s my personal opinion that every writer inserts a part of her personality in the lead characters. What part of you would you say is included in Beth? Kevin?

Like Beth, I have little patience for whiners or pessimists. Also, I love puns and plays on words. But I’m not beautiful nor young like Beth, whom I modeled after actress Nicole Kidman, by the way.

Kevin is quick to feel guilty, even for things not in his control, a trait he inherited from me.

One has only to look at your web page to notice you have a strong will and drive to achieve the most this life has to offer. Is this a trait you strive to include in all of your characters?

<blush> Thank you. I owe my drive to achieve and appreciate all life has to offer to my dad. This book is dedicated to him, a victim of leukemia at age 82. But when he was in his 70s, he took up running. He and I finished several half-marathons together and he often won trophies for his age group. If a senior citizen who’s never been an athlete can train for and complete a 13.1 mile run, then what excuses do my characters have for not pursuing their dreams?

For your books, is there a particular age you prefer your characters to be? Why?

I really enjoy writing about all ages. Stephanie, my heroine in STORMS OF THE HEART, is only 24. But the more life experiences people have, the more interesting they are. I find truly-savvy characters who are in their early twenties to be unbelievable.

I know everyone is waiting to see your next book, so let’s talk about it. What is your current work-in-progress?

I’m finishing up my cookbook, which will be self-published and available from my website. I may slip the date to next year, though, so I won’t be competing with the upcoming Wings’ cookbook.

You’ve said recently that there will be other books written based on characters from FULL MOON HONEYMOON. Can you tell us what characters you intend to focus on? Who else will have their stories told?

I’m writing FULL MOON LULLABY, which will feature some characters from both LAST RESORT and FULL MOON HONEYMOON, including the O’Briens and the Carpenters. Mindy Mendoza, Noel’s travel agent, has a story I want to tell, as does the Reverend Jeff Stone, whom you’ll meet in LAST RESORT. But first, I wanted to know more about Noel’s estranged son, Rob. FULL MOON LULLABY will be his story, although we’ll learn more about Noel and Debbie, too.

What would you like your readers to know most about you?

I have never been on a naturist cruise and am not a nudist!

But, Cheryl, you write it so well!!! <g> I’ll be looking for your next book, so keep those fingers moving!