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.
Author
Website
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.
