Interview Sherry Derr-Wille

by

Diana Lee Johnson

1. Your current release, Transplanted Love, is obviously a modern novel since it deals with a kidney transplant. Did you have to do a lot of medical research as background?

I did my research first hand as my husband was diagnosed with end stage renal disease in 1976 and failed in 1989. He was on dialysis for 2 years and received the gift of life from a woman in Colorado who was 32 and died of an aneurysm. Since then we have had a very normal life thanks to the anti-rejection drugs. This year we will celebrate his 12^th kidney birthday on July 10.

2. I see we share a rather eclectic fiction interest. Can you tell me what draws you from one genre to another?

I write what hits me at the time. I have published two family epics, a historical romance, and an Encore L’Amour Romance. I’ve also written time travel, paranormal and Christian Historical romances.

3. Do you like to read many different genres? And would you care to name some of your favorite authors?

I absolutely adore time travel and Indian stories. When I need to get away from my writing I curl up with Sandra Hill, Cassie Edwards or Madeline Baker. For fun I like to read historical and have just discovered Alice Blue who writes great Westerns.

4. I know from experience that asking one of us which is our favorite of our own titles is like asking which is our favorite child, but do you enjoy writing in one genre over another? Why?

I enjoy writing whatever I am working on at the present. Right now I have two entirely different genres in the works and love them both. The first is Encore L’Amour and the other is the second in and Indian series.

5. Which comes first to your mind, the characters or a story idea?

It’s usually the story, but when I’m doing a series, I always have the characters first.

6. How many manuscripts did you have finished before you succeeded in getting your first published, and when was that first published work?

Since I’ve been writing for 40 years, give or take a few, I had 20 manuscripts stockpiled. My first manuscript was published in June 2003. Transplanted Love will be #5 of the 20 contracts I have out there.

7. If someone who loved to make up stories asked you how to begin to put one down on paper, what would be your first hint to him/her?

Start at the beginning and don’t dwell on that first chapter until you have FINISHED THE BOOK!

8. Do you control your characters, or do they control your writing?

I try my darnedest to control my characters, but sometimes they get the upper hand and just take over.

9. Do you know how the story ends when you begin a new manuscript, or does it travel its own path and surprise you?

I always know the beginning as well as the end. It’s the stuff in the middle that often comes as a surprise.

10. What unique tidbit would you like prospective readers to know about Transplanted Love?

There is a pesky ghost that works her darnedest to bring Kent and Lori together. I really love meddling spirits.

Hope my questions helped you touch some of the bases you would like to for your readers. Thanks for letting us take a sneak peek into your world.