Interview: F.M. Sherrill, Author of Ivory
Welcome today to F. M. Sherrill, the author of Ivory, who has graciously offered to stop by and answer a few questions!
1. What do you write about? Tell us a little about your previously published works.
I write dark fantasy. My previous work is called Ivory by F.M. Sherrill. It’s about a warrior Queen battling the dark Lecs. There’s betrayal, passion, the stink of evil and decay, torn flesh and armored hearts. The way it’s versed is fast paced and gut-wrenching. I like my characters flawed and dirty, but beautiful in their brokenness.
2. Tell us a little about your work in progress.
Right now I’m working on two books. The first is a gritty post-apocalypse werewolf novel called Cry Wolf. The second is a joint work with Becca C. Smith featuring tormented vampires and beasts called Black Sunrise. They’ll both be coming out next summer, so be on the look out for a hot read during the dog days of the heat waves.
3. Any advice for aspiring writers?
Write with a schedule. I used to think that you had to wait for inspiration to come. That idea will get you stuck in the mud for ages. Write every morning. Even if it’s just for 15 minutes, you’ll end up with a finished work by the end of the year. Writing every day, keeps the fear of writing away!
4. What inspired you to write your first book?
After college I was tormented by the ghosts of writing. I would feel this strange sort of emptiness, and when I sat down and the keys started clicking I felt a sort of peace. It was then that I had the revelation, “I must be a writer.”
5. If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
No. I’ve heard a lot of feedback about the main character. They call her witchey (we all know what that means). But honestly, I love her. I love that she’s brave, calloused, and doesn’t mush into a pile when she’s shown affections. She’s a leader, all the way through, and new information changes her slowly and slightly. No big, “I’m a girly girl now,” kind of flip that some may have been hoping for. Let her be “witchey.” A woman can be stubborn and strong, and that’s okay. Future woman, don’t be afraid of main characters like this. We can be so much more than what’s thought of us. I believe in you ladies!
6. What do you find particularly challenging about writing?
Everything, lol. There’s this sort of unspoken fear about writing. The only way I can silence that, “oh my god, what’s the point, your work sucks,” voice is to just keep writing. Keep moving forward. Humans aren’t perfect, that can be one of our greatest flaws, but it also leads to our greatest strengths. In imperfection, there’s beauty, significance. Flaws are like a signature, I’d encourage other writers out there to re-fall-in-love with their writer’s voice instead of trying to be someone else, just to earn that “mean green.”
7. If there was one message you could send to everybody who reads your books, what would it be?
As portrayed in the symbolism of Ivory, there’s something to be said about the duality of light and darkness. Male and female. Day and night. I criss-cross and interchange the features of all of these aspects in a hope that readers will understand that they’re not defined by the roles given to them at birth. Society, your parents, religion, authority figures, all can sculpt a young mind into believing in what they are and what they are not. I hope I inspire someone to dig a little deeper. Dream beyond the lines in the box painted for you. I believe in people. Again, I think as a culture we are so much more than what’s been fed to us, so much more than what we even believe.
8. Have you ever used characteristics from someone you know in one of your books?
Yes. I think the most fascinating subjects are all around you. The friend that repeats the same mistakes, blind to her own achilles heels. The man living in the shadow of his father, as his back bends and curves over years of oppression. The young woman callously shrugging off the sales clerk because he is “lower” than her. The young boy jumping into the ocean to save a drowning dog. Each person, each life is rich beyond measure when you look close enough.
9. What inspires you to write?
Dreams. Some of my stories were once dreams I actually lived through. I have a very active night life. lol.
10. Where can readers find you and your work?
My readers can find me on FB as F.M. Sherrill.
My most recent novel Ivory is here on Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00DTLTQFM
I have two dorky blogs, you can follow and contact me there
http://fmsherrill.blogspot.com
http://girlswritingcoffee.blogspot.com
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Ivory, by F. M. Sherrill
As a child in the desert kingdom of Gryth, Ivory witnessed the brutal murder of her parents at the hands of a sinister race known as the Lecs. Now Queen of her people, a vengeance-fueled Ivory launches a final battle to annihilate the enemy once and for all. But on the eve of war, betrayed by her own kind and left in the hands of the Lecs, she’s forced to learn the shocking truth about their two peoples, and the diabolical curse that’s plagued them for centuries. Armed with newfound knowledge and unexpected allies, Ivory must face the real enemy that’s haunted her all her life, and make a choice that will mean the difference between a new beginning and the end of the world. Ivory is an exercise in duality made reality; an exploration of darkness and light, male and female, sun and moon… seen through the eyes of two cultures ripped apart by an ancient evil whose pain resonates through the ages like the beating of a drum.
