Author Interview - Sherry Ann Miller (part three) More About Her Books

by Tristi Pinkston | More from this Blogger

Thank you for joining us for the third installment of our conversation with award-winning LDS author Sherry Ann Miller. If you missed parts one or two, click here.

When we left off yesterday, Sherry Ann was telling us about her books. Sherry Ann, what other novels have you written?

During the interim of writing what has become known as the award-winning "Gift Series", I became heavily invested in locating my tenth great grandfather, John Dutton, who came to Massachusetts in the 1630's. For twelve years, I had been searching for him. One day I noticed a brief mention of John Dunton, who in 1636 was master of a three-masted ship, in those days it was called a bark, named Warwick (pronounced Warrick). Hubby and I searched all along the East Coast for info about this John Dunton, hoping that he would be the tenth great grandfather, John Dutton, for whom I was searching. In an archive at the Naval Museum in Norfolk, Virginia, I located a small book titled, "A True Journall of the Sally Fleet" by John Dunton, a master mariner. I soon located a copy of the book online and bought it. When it arrived at my home, I spent weeks studying it, deciphering every single word. All the letters "s" were shaped like "f", all the "v" letters were shaped like "u" and vice versa. The spelling was downright comical to today's standard. Disappointingly, John Dunton was not my tenth great grandfather, but the story John Dunton told was so compelling it captivated me. I believed it was a story that had to be told. The two-book "Warwick Saga" became the result of my desire to tell John Dunton's story. Although it is entirely fiction, many of the facts in the first volume, "Search for the Bark Warwick" are based "loosely" on John Dunton's true story of the Salé Fleet. "Search for the Warwick II," the concluding story and second volume in the "Warwick Saga", came out of my strong desire for happy endings.

"Gardenia Sunrise" debuted in 2001, but is currently out of print. Used copies can sometimes be found on eBay or Amazon.com. In many ways, this story epitomizes love in such a way that it becomes almost tangible, and it is a favorite among many of my readers.

"Oregon Flame" became book number four in Granite's Love Notes Collection, billed as "Romance you can trust." It begins with a punch and keeps you white-knuckled and on the edge of your seat all the way through. Set in Bandon-by-the-Sea, Oregon (my second most favorite place in the whole world), it tells the story of Nicole Travis, who comes home to find a stranger in her bathroom, taking a shower. For a sneak peek of all my books, feel free to visit my website.

"Scottish Legend," recently released, whisks you from Washington D.C. to Scotland, and back again, then on to San Francisco in a fast-paced, edge-of-your-heart romance. When legendary Scottish Lord, Robert Roy McLennan, meets FBI undercover agent, Jacey Munroe, disguised as Katie Chester (spoiled wealthy daughter of a man standing trial in America for treason and murder), he suspects there is more to Katie than meets the eye. To complicate matters, Jacey and Rob are drawn to each other like a flame toward oxygen . . . a situation Jacey cannot allow. Falling in love with someone you are deceiving while working undercover is not permitted in the FBI, regardless of what your heart tells you. Scottish Legend is book number six in Granite's Love Notes Collection. These books are novella size (40,000 words) and a fast afternoon read.

Your newest release, "Mama's Lemon Pie," has received positive reviews across the board. What is that book about?

I originally wrote "Mama's Lemon Pie" in 1987/1988, following my mother's death. It is a biography of my mother, an autobiography of myself, and is quite large, about 90,000 words. When I put my current website online back in 2005, a remarkable unfolding of interest in "Mama's Lemon Pie" became evident. Every few months, I remove the current chapter and put online another chapter of the original biography. Since then, the book has been mentioned on radio talk shows, and I've received numerous emails and words of encouragement about it. With that in mind, I extracted some of the more remarkable excerpts from Mama's biography and included them in a booklet that is inexpensive ($5.99), endearing, and the perfect Mother's Day Gift world-wide. The excerpts in the booklet will not be put up on my website.

As moments of Mama's life unfold, she utilizes them to teach eternal principles . . . it's like receiving slices of Mama's life. At the back of the book there are lines for you to write own mother's tidbits of wisdom, as well as Mama's recipes for Lemon Pie.

These books all sound wonderful, Sherry Ann. I'm looking forward to continuing our conversation tomorrow.

In the meantime, if you would like to learn more about Sherry Ann, you can visit her website.

Learn more about Tristi Pinkston

I am a stay-at-home mom, author of eight published books, a freelance editor, and the mother of four incredible children. I enjoy scrapbooking, watching good movies, and taking naps.

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