Interview Sherry Derr-Wille

by

Heather Garside

1) How long have you been writing?

I started writing when I was a sophomore in high school in 1961 so that make it about 46 years by my count.

2) Have you had other books published, and if so, are they all with? Wings?

In total I have 35 books in print. Of these ten are with Wings.

3) What genre is your present novel?

This book is in my never-ending series about those gals from Minter, WI and is of course romance, but it is considered to be in the Encore L’Amour Line. That’s because the heroines are all over 45.

4. Have you written in this genre before?

In this series there are actually 6 books in print, with another due out in January and one more in the works.

5) What inspired you to write The Preacher Takes a Husband?

To be truthful, it happened in church. I was an assisting minister that Sunday and as we drove to church my friend joked that I always got the visiting pastors and wouldn’t it be funny if that was what was going to happen that Sunday. I politely told her to shut up. When we got there a car pulled in beside me with plates that read PASTOR MOM. Of course, it belonged to the visiting pastor. It turned out she was an older gal and had met her husband, also a pastor, after she was ordained at the age of 50. I immediately had my title, and the rest just wrote itself.

6) Is the setting for your novel inspired by where you live, or is it totally unrelated?

Minter is a wonderful fictional town that looks a lot like Milton and Janesville Wisconsin. I went to school in Milton and lived there for over 30 years before moving to Janesville (8 miles down the road) nine years ago to share a duplex with my mom. Unfortunately she passed away three years ago and so now my husband and I are moving to a condo. (Her Tenant, the third book in this series, is as close to an autobiography as I’ll every get. The duplex on the front is almost an exact replica of mine.) The Preacher Takes A Husband is definitely set in Milton, while others have a Janesville feel to them. It’s been fun adding landmarks found in both of my hometowns.

7) Do you take inspiration from the people around you and incidents that happen in your own life (no matter how trivial)?

By all means, I think every writer does. The murder in The Preacher Takes A Husband actually happened the morning after Easter, 2006. It was so close to the forefront at the time I wrote the book that it had to be there. Also the previous murder that is mentioned is true as well as the description of the Fourth of July festivities. Of course, Jayne’s church, Hope, is my Church and Bishop Carlson and his wife Solveig are very dear friends of mine, as he was the first minister at Hope and served as Bishop for six years. Their actual names were used with their permission, just as were many of the experiences of an intern minister we once had, Jane McChesney.

8) Who are your favorite authors?

I adore Cassie Edwards and Sandra Hill. I also read everything that Alice Blue and Debbie Fritter write.

9) Is there any particular author who has strongly influenced your writing?

James Mitchner, Cassie Edwards and Sandra Hill have all had an effect on me. For another house I write family epics and was inspired by Mitchner. Cassie gave me my love of Indians and Sandra my desire to write time travels. Of course those books are all are also with other houses. The over-the-hill ladies came into being because I’m no teenybopper and I wanted to write stories about people my own age who were finding love for the second time around. They’ve been a lot of fun.

10) Do you work outside the home, or do you write full-time?

I would love to write full time, but I need to work. At present I’m laid off, but am looking for another position either in Insurance or as a receptionist that would be full time.

11) How do you juggle your writing time with work or other commitments?

I am a true morning person and am usually up between 4-5 writing. During that time, my goal is to do 1,000 words before breakfast. At that rate I can write a book in 2-3 months. If things are flowing and everyone leaves me alone I can write 5-10,000 words a day.