Interview Sherri Fulmer Moorer

by

D. H. Parker

1.  Sherri, please tell us a little about BLURRY.

Blurry is about a band nerd that finds her perfect life turned upside down when her bad-boy ex is accused of murdering a childhood friend. She tries to pass it off, but when strange things keep happening to her friends, she can’t escape the fact that there’s a shady underside to their small town – and her friends are willing to go to any lengths to keep it a secret!

2.  Your title is intriguing. Why did you choose this one word?

I usually get my titles from the middle of the novel, when the protagonist finally realizes they’re at a point of no return. In this novel, she mentions that “my life was clear but now everything’s blurry.” I thought that was a simple yet profound way to sum up the entire plot.

3.  Did anything in BLURRY give you real problems?  How did you work through them?

There was one more death in this book than I planned. I really liked the character and struggled with this scene. After three days of deliberation, I knew the only natural progression for the plot was for the killer to strike again.

4.  Do you have a message you hope readers will take away from your book?

I hope they’ll realize the power of integrity. Although every character was affected by the plot, the ones that came out the best were the ones that were honest and refused to give in to a double life.

5.  What comes first in your stories--plot, character, title, setting or something else? 

Definitely the plot. I’m a plot junkie!

6.  How do you “find” your characters?

They usually find me. The right characters usually develop and reveal themselves to me during brainstorming and pre-writing planning. But I will admit to “borrowing” some characteristics from people I have known!

7.  On your website, http://www.sherrithewriter.com/, you have photos of your beautiful birds--two sun conures and a budgie.  Have you ever made them characters in your writing, or do you have plans to include them? 

I have a website just for them at http://conurecorner.weebly.com with a story for each bird. Zack and Chloe (the sun conures) also make a cameo appearance in my next E-novel, Anywhere But Here, which will be published in April 2012.

8.  Has there been a happening anywhere in the world (at home or far away, big or small) that has had a huge impact on you and the way you write/see things?

Absolutely. My life has been undergoing major shifts that began just before I wrote the rough draft of Blurry in 2008 and came to a climax with major changes in my personal and professional life in 2010. Major life transitions are the catalyst in my two current novels and my novel-in-progress.

9.  What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

First, write what’s in you. Don’t go with what’s popular because that will pass. Be honest and write what you want to write. Second, be patient and don’t give up. Persistent equals published. I just went through a four year dry spell and now I’m publishing two books at the same time!

10. Just for fun:  If BLURRY were to become a movie, who would you choose to play your main characters?

That’s tough, because my favorite actors and actresses (like Natalie Portman and Jensen Ackles) are around my age, so they’d be too old to play these parts! Since I’m not familiar with many teen actors or actresses, I suppose I’d have to defer to a casting director to make the selections.