Authors Interview - Feb. 2, 2018
Have you always known you want to write novels?
I was really young when
I discovered I liked to write. I read everything I could get my hands on while
still in grade school. I wrote little short stories and poems for years.
Unfortunately most of the stuff I wrote was lost during many moving adventures.
I became serious about writing my sophomore year in school and from then on I
have written many articles and Christian stories I published on Facebook and/or
in church newsletters. I was also a reporter/photographer for several years in
the early ‘70s
Sometimes it takes years to write a book and
others crank them out like an assembly line. You?
Because I wasn’t so
sure I could or would write an actual book versus short stories I began writing
Devils Dump sometime in 2010. I serialized it for a couple years in my church
newsletter a chapter or two at a time. Then when I became serious about publishing
it took me a couple of weeks to proofread and decide to self-publish
Do you have a set writing schedule?
I am retired so I have
all day and night to write or edit. During the winter I don’t do much else so I
might write or edit 2-10 hours. Editing takes motivation I sometimes lack. There
are days when I totally lack motivations to continue on my book or writing but
by bed time I can’t wait to start the next morning.
What is your writing style? Anything unusual about
it?
I have been told you
can’t write a book unless you have it all mapped out before you start. I can’t
or won’t write that way. I don’t do outlines; don’t map out my character’s
lives and I never do the story step one to step two etc. I never know how I
will end the story and I love the surprises in the book just as much as my
readers. When it reaches its conclusion I just know it and stop. If an idea
jumps out at me while I am writing but I am not in a place where my idea would
work, I write it down and might actually spend time working on until its
conclusion … then when I come to a place where it works in the storyline I add
it.
Did you get an agent and/or publisher or did you self-publish?
I checked into agents,
publishers etc. and they were all too expensive for me so I self-published my
e-book through Amazon and my paperback on Createspace. I use Smashword and Nook
also. I went in so many directions for the first book I leaned from in. In the
future I am going to use less publishing methods
What inspired you to do a book on Spiritual
Warfare?
Growing up in a
Christian home and reading the Bible were my inspiration for the Devils Dump
series; characters are based a little bit on people I know. Plus I like horror
stories and thrillers so I decided to write one with a Christian bias.
Was Devils Dump your first book? If not what was and when did you write it / publish it?
My first book didn’t
even have a title and I wrote it on a Tandy 1000 using a 5 ¼ disk. (I am sure
that admission will date me) It was lost years ago. I have tried to redo the
book but once something is written it is hard for me go back to it. I have
lived longer and have more life experience which would make it difficult to
remember back to that time. I have written many non-fiction and fiction
articles and short stories. I may compile those into a book ... still thinking
about that. My short stories have all been well received by those I let read
them. Sadly it appears some of those have been lost also.
What other interests do you have?
I like to read …mainly
fiction: mysteries, thrillers and supernatural. I have never been into romance
books … I’d rather live that than read about it. I will sometimes read non-fiction when I want
to learn something or I am doing research but I prefer scary supernatural fiction.
I used to do a lot of things but as you get older bungie jumping comes off your
bucket list. Now I go to church, and play with my two dogs, Joey and Bella. I
of course do others things but nothing real exciting.
Do your friends and family support your writing?
I believe so. It was a
friend from grade school that motivated me to dust off Devils Dump and get it
published. Joey and Bella are great fans of my writing because it means I stay
home more with them.
One of my sisters
really liked the book and has talked about it. No one else in my family has
actually commented one way or another. I am not sure they care one way of
another. Writing is for me though … even if nobody ever reads my books I write
them because they are bursting in side of me.
What have you learned while writing your book?
I am not sure. I
learned I had to get up and walk around on occasion and I also need to let my
right hand rest because of nerve damage I sustained in a 1995 near fatal car
crash. I guess one thing was that I came to love my characters … and realized I
had total control of their lives. I think that might be why I just let them
emerge as they want to and head in the direction that suits them … I don’t have
a God-complex so it works just fine that they choose where they want to go …
sometimes even I am surprised at their choices.
Have you written other books?
As mentioned I have
written numerous short stories that I put in book form but the first book I had
published is Devils Dump. I have written book 2 (Satan’s Loophole in Devils
Dump) and I actually like it better. It went together easier than the first and
I love the new characters that I added … plus I think my style got better. I
always forget this but I also wrote a passion play called Road to the Cross.
While writing it I had seven Bibles in front of me doing fact checking. We were
going to put it on one year at a church I attended but it didn’t happen and I
can’t really remember why.
Would you be willing to help new writers? If so
what advice would you give them?
I would help in any way
I could … hopefully keeping them from making the mistakes I made (they can make
brand new ones) I’d tell them not to be discouraged. If you have a book inside
you just start with random words until the one that talks to you appears. If your
main idea isn’t coming together put in on hold and do a side story or even
start on another book. Then I would tell them PROOFREAD and EDIT as you go or
you will be overwhelmed trying to go through the whole book at one time. I
usually do 2-4 chapters at a time and I still make mistakes so when it’s all
done. I do start reading at the beginning once again. If you can hire a
proofreader or editor all the better. Ask for samples of their work, a bad
editor will cause you a lot of unnecessary grief.
What do your readers have to say? Are they able to communicate with you?
Yes. Everyone has loved
the book and they’ve fallen in love with the main characters. The way it is
written they often don’t know who is on the good side and who are evil … when
it comes out they always tell me if they were happy or not. I have had several
say they saw themselves in some of the characters and that was a wonderful
surprise. I have provided access to my blog at devilsdumpbysheri.blogspot.com,
and also my Devils Dump group page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/141492346618342/ and the Devils Dump Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/sheridkirkendall/ I also have an interview that can be read at Smashwords
and an author’s page on Amazon which you can access from the Devils Dump book
page (on amazon)
Would you consider writing children’s books or do you prefer writing for an adult audience
I don’t think I would
be good at children’s books but I have never tried. My writing is for mature
teens (16 and older) and adults. Parents should always check to see if a book,
movie etc. are appropriate for their particular child. I have no cursing in my
books but there are disturbing scenes that might bother younger teens … it
bothers some adults … I have been told they won’t read it alone at night.
You say you like to read how do you choose what books you will read?
I start out searching
for books in the genre I like and go from there. If the book blurbs moves me to
the “I want to know more” stage it goes on my list. I read “The Shack” which
normally wouldn’t be on my must read list but the blurb on Amazon and on the
book cover hooked me and I am thrilled to have read it. The books I write I
hope they will touch other readers with the blurbs and inspire them to want to
actually read the whole book. I don’t care if they don’t like it, (well that is
sort of a lie … I want everyone to like my work) but if they read it please
give me a review. It helps sales of the book and it helps me see what people
did and didn’t like about it…even a bad review is better than no review.
Authors live for those reviews … and selling books.
Did you always know you wanted to be a writer of
did you have another dream job in mind?
From the time I was in
fifth grade I was hooked on reading and photography so P\photographer or
journalist would have been my dream job. I actually got to do both. I worked
for several years on my local home town newspaper … Loved it a lot. What I
didn’t like was the restrictions and not having control of the finished
story/article. They editors could make any change or deletion they chose and I
had no input on the matter. After one pretty nasty edit that took all meaning
from a feature article I wrote, I chose to leave the paper and just do whatever
I wanted for a while. I actually spent one summer driving a taxi cab and it was
a hoot.
What are you doing now that your first book has
been published?
I am working on two
other books at the moment (Maybe 3 if I find one I started a number of years
ago). Satan’s Loophole (second in the Devils Dump trilogy) is currently being
re-examined and edited. The third book
is about 50% completed but I don’t have a title yet … I have a great cover
though.
Do you think you will keep writing or is there
something else on your bucket list?
As far as I am able I
want to put all the stories stuck inside of me on paper (or computer screen) I
already sort of have one tucked away that I started several years ago … we’ll
see what happens.
Something people who
know me personally already know … I am an anxiety ridden person so what I had on
my bucket list from years ago is no longer feasible for me to even try. So I am
working on a new list.
Any final thoughts?
I’d just encourage
people to read independent authors. There are a lot of treasures out there
written by authors who couldn’t afford the cost of hiring agents and publishing
companies. Check out Goodreads and Smashwords and you will discover a treasure
chest of books you may not have heard of without joining these groups which are
free to join. Most authors unless you are established like Stephen King, Iris
Johansen, James Patterson or all the other big names, you are not going to
become a millionaire. So write because you love it and if your book takes off
to the top of the bestsellers list, invite me for a glass of champagne and I
will do the same for you.
