Avalon Books - Author! Author!


	Read some interviews from past editions:
		Elisabeth Rose October, 2008
		S.J. Stewart June, 2008
		Zelda Benjamin April, 2008
		Shirley Marks December, 2007
		Donna Wright December, 2007
		Carolyn Brown August, 2007
		Roni Denholtz June, 2007
		Tara Randel April, 2007
		Sydell Voeller February, 2007
		Sheila Robins December, 2006
		Ann Holt October, 2006
		Cynthia Danielewski July, 2006
		Jane McBride Choate March, 2006
		Kathryn Meyer Griffith January, 2006
		Mel Taylor November, 2005
		Kathleen Fuller September, 2005
		Tracey J. Lyons July, 2005
		Ludima Gus Burton May, 2005
		Holly Jacobs March, 2005
		Sandra D. Bricker January, 2005
		Kathryn Quick November, 2004
		Cheri Jetton September, 2004
		Heather S. Webber July, 2004
		Karl Fieldhouse May, 2004
		Shelley Galloway March, 2004
		Ilsa Mayr January, 2004
		Kathy Carmichael November, 2003
		Dorothy P. O'Neill July, 2003
		Joani Ascher May, 2003
		Patricia DeGroot March, 2003
		Nancy J. Parra January, 2003
		Barbara Meyers November, 2002
		Christine Bush September, 2002
		Debby Mayne July, 2002
		Jean C. Gordon May, 2002
		Charles E. Friend March, 2002
		Norma Seely January, 2002
		Glen Ebisch November, 2001
		Gina Cresse September, 2001
		John Paxson July, 2001
		Terri Alcock May, 2001
		Amanda Harte January, 2001
		Kent Conwell November, 2000
		Carolyn Brown September, 2000
		Annette Mahon July, 2000
		Marjorie McGinley May, 2000
		Jack Lewis March, 2000
		Amanda Harte January, 2000
		Joyce and Jim Lavene November, 1999
	Return to the current Author! Author! interview:
		Sue Gibson December, 2008


Author! Author!: August, 2008
Click an image to learn more about these books. An Interview with Sherry Lynn Ferguson


How did you start writing?
	I started writing fiction because I couldn’t find the particular story I most wanted to read. The craving was very specific, like a desire for chocolate cake! So I decided I should write the book I wanted to read. I’ve had to teach myself a lot about fiction though, because it differs in challenging ways from the expository writing I was taught in school and practiced at work. I’m still learning, and always will be.
Where do you get ideas for plots?
	For me, ideas come most often from images or words. The images can be pictures, views, or something I visualize while reading. Quiet Meg grew from a mental picture of a family out on the lawn of a beautiful country house on a mild March day (it happened to be March in reality.) The family interested me enough to pursue the rest. I also love to work with names or single words. For example: “unquestionably.” Who uses a word like that? Would they speak it? It sounds so definite, so unassailable. So I picture a rainy Sunday afternoon, someone at a window looking thoughtfully out at a city street, a woman in the same room weeping, and a pompous elderly man answering, “Unquestionably, unquestionably. And yet—“ Well, that’s a big “yet!” This starts a scene - about a will or a legacy, perhaps - though not everything lends itself to an intriguing plot. It’s fun to play.
What's the hardest part of writing?
	I find pacing the hardest part of writing. Given a novel’s length, it’s easy to lose sight of the whole and overemphasize one scene or one character or get mired in a too-lengthy description. Unfortunately, the solution I’ve found is also hard - putting a completed story aside for as long as I can stand to, then returning to it as freshly as possible. It’s amazing how obvious some of the problems can be, once you’re not as close to your “pet.” But putting work away and waiting can be very difficult.
How do you develop your characters?
	I’m not certain that I’m consciously developing characters. I think I try to set certain ingredients inside them and around them, then watch them mold and strengthen themselves through being tested. The most thrilling result of all occurs when characters act on their own, without any planning on my part. I love to be surprised. A couple of characters in Quiet Meg surprised me. Telling you what surprised me would be giving away too much!
Have you ever used real people as characters?
	In my historical Regency romances for Avalon, I’ve used references to real historic figures. This helps place the stories in the early nineteenth century. In The Honorable Marksley, the hero refers to a number of real literary figures of the day. In Quiet Meg, Lady Jersey, one of the patronesses of Almack’s, speaks a few lines, and I also mention a couple of political and military dignitaries. The most engaging historical fiction has the flavor of authenticity. But using real people is like adding spices in cooking - a little can be unexpectedly strong. I try to limit it. I do think histories and biographies are rich sources of incident, inspiration, and believable language.
What can you tell us about your latest book for Avalon?
	I mentioned how I started Quiet Meg with the mental image of a family. I knew the Lawrences were happy, but that they’d had some difficulties and that their current troubles concerned the heroine, middle daughter Meg. Meg has drawn the unwanted attentions of a powerful earl, who has already proved how dangerous he can be. The earl’s actions are restricting Meg’s freedoms and her prospects. Only someone uniquely positioned to help - a uniquely suited romantic partner for Meg - is fit to be the hero of this tale. I think Charles Cabot proves himself worthy.
Are you working on anything else for Avalon?
	I have notebooks and the storylines for two more Regency novels that are based on two of Quiet Meg’s characters - Charles Cabot’s aristocratic cousins. I hope readers will be as interested in their futures as I am. I’ve started one of the stories, and will take it up again soon. But I shelved it for a while to pursue another more pressing Regency idea.
What are you working on now?
	That’s the other Regency idea! The era fascinates me in general, because so much was changing on many different levels - political, military, economic, social, and cultural. I became intrigued with the art world and the artists of that time, and decided to have a heroine who was a painter. I’m almost finished with this story. It’s taken a while, because I’ve also been painting throughout, both for research and because I love to paint. But one of the pleasures of writing a novel is making a character, my heroine, a much better painter than I am!