I am delighted today to welcome author Sherryl Clark to the blog. Sherryl’s latest crime novel is Dead and Gone, which is the second in her Judi Westerholme series, the first being Trust Me, I’m Dead.
Thanks very much for joining me Sherryl, firstly can I ask have you always been a writer?
No, I was a great reader in school but I didn’t write much other than school work. After leaving school I trained as a librarian (more books!) and then travelled and did other jobs. I really started writing in my late 20s, and went to university then and studied literature and writing. Since then it’s been a constant in my life, mostly short stories and poetry, and then later novels and childrens books.
You have some fantastic lead characters in your novels such as Judi and Heath, are they inspired by people you know?
Not really. It’s more that they are made up of little bits of lots of people, and probably a little bit of me. Judi is much more gutsy than me! I like complex characters who have a lot more going on under the surface than they reveal, so I keep building mine until they feel “right” and real to me.
Can you tell us what a typical working day looks like for you?
These days I start with a walk and/or gym first (I used to leave this until last and then forget). After that, it’s a mixed bag. I usually have editing or manuscript assessment work to do, so I keep an eye on their deadlines and work on that on a regular basis, and I write. Neither are for fixed hours – I’m not that disciplined! But I have a writing accountability partner and we check in at the end of each day – that way if I haven’t written any words (or pages of revision), I have to confess. The lock down/self isolating we’ve had to do hasn’t really changed any of that, apart from my gym was closed for ages.
How would you spend a perfect afternoon away from work? (Pre lockdown of course)
At a great movie, or wandering around good bookshops and spending lots of money on books. I love how movies in a cinema really take you out of yourself. It’s not like watching them at home on the TV screen at all.
I’m definitely with you there on the bookshops! Finally can you tell us a little about what you are working on next?
I‘ve just started Judi Number 3 so very soon I’ll need to sort out more of the plot. I’ve just finished Book 2 in another series I’m working on, and that one was set mostly in Finland, where I had a writing residency last year. I’m waiting for my Finnish policeman to read it and tell me what I got wrong!
That sounds interesting, and I look forward to reading it. Thanks so much for joining me today Sherryl.
If you would like to get your hands on a copy of Dead and Gone you can find it here.
To find out more visit the other stops on the tour:
A crime readers blog 