Interview With Cher'ley Grogg

Cher'ley Grogg, Author

Cher'ley writes different genres. The Journey Back--One Joy at a Time, a devotional book,

Stamp Out Murder, a cozy mystery, and The Secret in Grandma's Trunk, a YA novel. Cher'ley

co-authored Small Town America and West Virginia Memories. Her stories are included in the 

anthologies Boys Will be Boys, Creatures, Crimes, and Creativity, and Cowboys, Creatures, 

and Calico.  She has many poems, short stories and articles published online and in print books. She 

enjoys painting, fishing, reading, walking, dancing, and long baths. She loves the Lord, her husband, 

children, grandchildren, and great grandchild. Cher'ley, her husband, Del, and their Carin Terrier, 

Tootsie, have seen the country through the windshield of their big white Freight-liner.

Cher'ley Grogg
http://cherley.webs.com/guestbook.htm

Author Website 

http://cherleygroggauthor.weebly.com/index.html

THE INTERVIEW 

What is the most adventurous thing you’ve ever done? 

Adventure. Life is an adventure and I live it to the fullest. Recently I faced my fears and Hang-glided, Parasailed,and climbed a Lighthouse and then went out onto the balcony.

What adventure would you like to have that you haven’t done yet if money and skill were no problem?

Travel the World.

Who are some of your favorite authors?  What commonality do you see in them?

Jeffrey Deavers and Sue Grafton are two of my favorite, but I have many more. Recently I’ve been reading a lot of unknown authors and they are very good. I don’t see a commonality, except I mostly read mysteries, or suspense.

I believe color says something about a person’s personality.  What’s your favorite color?

At this point in my life-Purple. When I was younger it was yellow, but really I like all colors.

If you could have a do-over life, what one thing would you do differently?  What would you do again?

I’d do the things I love earlier in life. Again, I would marry my husband and have my children.

What is your writing process from conception to finished MS?

Conception starts with a spark of an idea, I develop characters, drop them in a place, then do a brief outline. I do a lot of research and edit many, many times.

Are you a planner, panster or both?

I am both. I start with a loose outline, change it and add to it as I go.

How did you research for your book?

Visit places, the library, interview people and Google.

What is your all-time favorite movie?  TV show?

“Wizzard of Oz” and the “Shirley Temple Show”.

How important do you feel writing workshops are to any writer?

I have taken many courses and writing workshops. I go to at least 3 conferences a year. I belong to many writing groups. So to me it is very important,

If you could learn one new skill, fear and money no deterrent, what would it be?

To pilot a plane.

If you had a million dollars to donate to any one charity, what would it be?

The Salvation Army, because I believe they spend most of their money back to help people. The second one would be Hospice, because they make people’s last days on this earth easier on the paient and the family.

What advice would you like to give to an aspiring writer?

Don’t listen to too much advice. Read a lot. I’d susgest starting out with a thorough outline so you won’t droop in the middle and you’ll know where you are going. It never made any sense to me to write what you know, which I heard a lot. Do your research and write what you want. Take as many classes and workshops as you can.

Did anyone mentor you or help you along the way?  Please tell us about your mentor and what you feel they contributed to your writing career.

I had instructors that were helpful, but they didn’t go out of their way that much. I paid a writer, who I admired to help me in the beginning. He helped me a lot, but he was a perfectionist and we never got the first chapter completed before I moved on to something else. That was 2 years later.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

Get a Dictionary, and a Thesaurus. Learn to use all the writing tools available to you.

If you could live anywhere in the world you wanted to, where would it be? (Language is no barrier)

Where I presently live. I live there because I like it. There’s trees and a creek in my back yard, and a river runs along side my front yard. I would just straighten the road out a bit.

Where do you write? 

I write on our 18 Wheeler truck, on my front porch, in my swing, on my back deck, in my bed, in my office, in restaurants, and I’m sure there are other places.

How much time do you devote to writing each week?  Do you have a day every week that you take off?

Some weeks more, some weeks less. More in the winter. No, I have to write when the opportunity is there.

What is a genre that you have not attempted that you would like to try?

Humor, I loved the style of Erma Bombeck.

Is there anything you would like readers to know about you?

I love life, my family, my dog, God, and my very favorite thing to do is laugh.

GIVE AWAY ALERT! Cher'ley will be giving away a copy of COWBOYS, CREATURES, AND CALICO Vol. 1 anthology to someone who comments. Please include your email address in your comment if you wish to enter. 

COWBOYS, CREATURES, AND CALICO, VOL.1 Halloween Anthology

Prairie Rose Publications

Wild Injuns, Wicked Trains, and Cerulean Blue by Cher’ley Grogg

Margaret Branson rides the train to the Wild West to get some sensational stories for the Eastern newspaper. She meets resistance from the odd residents in this small Nevada town. But she’s full of grit and determination.

“I’m here to stay until I have a newsworthy story,” she tells the young sheriff with the cerulean blue eyes who urges her to keep on moving.

Raymond Simpson is a man of few words and plenty of action. Seeing that Margaret is set on getting her story, he leads her into the wildest adventure she’ll ever face—and one she can never leave, even if she wants to.

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