Multi-published author, Sherry Gloag is a transplanted Scot now living in the beautiful coastal countryside of Norfolk, England.  She considers the surrounding countryside as extension of her own garden, to which she escapes when she needs "thinking time" and solitude to work out the plots for her next novel.  While out walking she enjoys talking to her characters, as long as there are no other walkers close by.

Apart from writing, Sherry enjoys gardening, walking, reading and cheerfully admits her books tend to take over most of the shelf and floor space in her workroom-cum-office.  She also finds crystal craft work therapeutic.

What do you think of the e-book pricing wars?

I’m not too sure, the industry is in such a state of flux right now, with authors tasting ‘blood’, I think commercial enterprises, whether online or not will find it harder to control the outcome.

At the moment Amazon are going all out to monopolize the industry, but when- if- they do, most authors are aware that circumstances and present advantages would disappear in the same manner they did with the old publishing regime.

The internet allows commercial companies to accrue an amazing amount of power, but it gives the same to individuals who when grouped together will fight to maintain their rights.  After all without authors, publishers are out on a limb.

If you use a pen name, how did you choose it?

It is my second name and my maiden name.

How long have you been writing? How long have you been published?

I have been writing, off and on, since the early 1990’s.  My ‘debut’ novel, the Brat, was published in October 2010 by The Wild Rose Press was

How long did it take you to publish your first book, once you started looking for an agent or publisher?

About ten months and two rejections.

How long does it take you to write a book?

LOL!  How long is a piece of string? I have worked on one book for over three years and it is only now hitting the ‘final run’.  My Valentine story, The Wrong Target, published by eTreasures in January 2011 took fifteen days.  This year’s Valentine story took a long time to get off the block but was completed in twenty one days.

Do you write one book/story at a time or multiples?

I may try starting more than one book at a time, but generally have to set everything else aside when one project begins to flow.

What is the most books/stories you've had WIP at the same time? What is the highest number you've actively been writing on at the same time?

For NaNo 2010 I had four different stories going at the same time.  Two were short stories, both were published, and two were full length novels, and they are ‘simmering’!

What genres do you write?

I’ve always claimed to write mainstream contemporary romance, but everyone else tells me I write romance with a touch of suspense, so I suppose that makes me a romantic suspense writer *grins*.  Can’t quite get my head round that title yet.

I recently wrote a short six hundred word horror story!

Are there any genres you'd like to try but haven't?

I am (at the time of writing) in the final throws of a Regency romance, which is ‘experimental’ for me, although it is a much favoured reading genre.  I kinda ‘flirt’ with the idea of trying my hand at a paranormal, but there are so many awesome paranormal authors out there, I’m not sure whether that will ever get off the ground for me.  I’ll have to wait on the muse for that one. 

What's your writing process? (i.e. pantser/organic writer or plotter or mix? write on the computer? longhand? mix? how many passes? etc.)

I cannot imagine writing on anything else other than a computer/laptop. I so admire those authors who either type or handwrite their books.

I am a ‘panster’ which on the days when my muse takes off without notice is extremely frustrating.  On the other hand, if that hadn’t happen back in early 2009 I would never have had any short stories published.  I was so sick of looking at a blank page I just started writing and ended up with a 1k short story which was published a couple of months later.  That felt soooooo good, I cannot tell how chuffed I was to circumvent my muse that day! LOL.

What are the strangest conditions you've written under? The strangest place and/or time you've written something?

In a hospital corridor while my husband was in therapy.  That DID require handwriting and notebooks. 

What's the strangest way you've sold a book/story (either to a reader or to a publisher/agent)?

Tell the story of the lady who came out because the sun was shining --- witleys

What authors inspire you? Who are your favorite authors?
To say ‘too many to name’ may be the easy way out of this question, but is, never-the-less true.  Nora Roberts is one, Georgette Heyer is another, Gina Wilkins gave me inspiration for the heroine’s name in my debut novel.  More recently a raft of writers are coming out from the Astraea Press stable, all are gifted in their own genre and all write powerful stories without reverting to swearing and explicit sex.

If you could choose two authors to be seated between at a signing...or to have your books shelved between in the bookstore, who would they be?

LOL  My debut novel IS shelved next to Nora Roberts in our local (very small) book store-cum-newsagent!  The place may be small but… my book is…  Who else?  I have to name Kay Springsteen, a recently new star in the world of publishing but a fast rising star whose books are powerful, inspirational and grippingly emotional.

How many books do you read in the average month? e-Book or print or both?

Not as many as I used to just now.  I used to read at least a book a day, now it’s now down a book a week as I am in the middle of writing my third book in a four book series for Astraea press. 

If you could have a book signing anywhere in the world, where would you like to go?
Any famous New York book store venue for the pass-through traffic, somewhere warm, not too hot, Rome comes to mind, I don’t know why, with an equally mind boggling number of paying pass-through customers!

What would you like to own/have that would make your writing faster or smoother? (Yes, you can name everything from computer programs to a personal maid here.)

LOL  I PC and net savvy to better promote my books, and yes that personal maid sounds terrific.

Introvert or extrovert?

Introvert.

What's the strangest/worst job (outside of publishing) you've held? (Choose either strangest or worst, since strange doesn't necessarily mean bad...or answer both.)

Working in the dress department of a fashionable department store in Scotland.  I am NOT a ‘dress’ person. 

What's your dream car? Your favorite car you've ever owned?

My favourite car owned was a Volvo, can’t remember the model, but loved the comfort and ease of drive it gave.

My dream car? Because I am a fairly practicle sort of person it would be something like 2011 Honda Civic Hybrid .

Have you ever included a real experience of your own in a book? Did anyone who knows you notice it?

I have twisted real events and included them in at least one book, and no, it has not been discovered J

Have you ever included someone who irritated you in the book? As what, and what comeuppance did he/she get?

Been sorely tempted a time or two, but no, not yet.

Where do you get your character names?

From the characters themselves.

Where do you get your inspiration for a book? How do you get your ideas?

Again, the characters dominate.  They turn up, give me enough to whet my appetite and are back- like a bad smell – if they don’t like where I’m going with it.

What is the best reader or reviewer comment you've ever received?

The first one I ever received, thanks Zee of Fire Pages, (http://firepages.wordpress.com/2010/09/28/the-brat-by-sherry-gloag/ )

What does your family think about your writing? How, if they do, do they support you in your writing endeavors?

Not a lot.

If you write with small children around, what agreements or rules have been made to preserve your writing time?

I am fortunate that the child has grown and flown so I don’t have to deal with those kind of distractions.

What's your favorite part of being a writer?

Writing!  No I am not being facetious.  I’m a ‘pantser’ writer so almost everything comes as surprise to me when I read back what I’ve written.

What's the thing you wish you could hire someone else to do or wish you didn't have to do as a writer?

All things Promotional

Do you use any special software to write? Voice to text? Audio edits? etc.
I could not do without a piece of software called Naturalsoft.  It is the opposite of your suggestion.  Because I simply cannot bear to hear myself read my work out loud, I use Naturalsoft to do it for me.  It is a text-to-speech software.  

What advice would you give a new writer?
Don’t give up and don’t give in.  If you continue to believe in yourself and your characters you’ll find an editor who agrees with you eventually.

What are your writing goals? Where do you want to be in a year? Five years?

When you first sent me this list of questions, I wasn’t sure whether I would reach my current goal, of having five published books before my next birthday, but it’s going to happen!

My Debut novel, The Brat came out in October 2010 with The Wild Rose Press.

The WrongTarget, last year’s Valentine novella story released with eTreasures in January last year, was quickly followed by Duty Calls, my second full-length book, published by Black Opal Books,  “011 closed with the release of my second novella, From Now Until Forever, the first in a four boor series published by Astraea Press in December 2011, and my fifth book published in time for my birthday at the end of February is His Chosen Bride,  the second in the four book series about the Gasquet Princes and coming out in time for this year’s Valentine’s Day, also with Astraea Press.

Where do I want to be in a year?  I am already working on the two final stories in the Gasquet Princes series, I have a Regency that has been simmering on and off since 2008, and I hope to complete that and offer it for publication.  I truly want to try and crack the promotional side of things.

What do I want in five years time? Too build on what I hope are strong foundations and produce and sell a load more books.  If I manage three a year, I think I will be happy, more will be a bonus.  But balance is the key and in 2011 I admit my family did not see as much of me as perhaps they should.

Do you belong to a crit group or other writing group? How helpful do you find it?

Yes I belong to a fabulous online crit group called IWW.  It is a wonderful group of positive and constructive authors willing to help and advise each other.

What book, if you have written several books, is your favorite and why?

The book I am writing at that moment is always my favourite.  This may sound trite, but it’s not.  So I’ll kind of side step and say that right now, while writing the Gasquet Princes series Melanie, the heroine of From Now Until Forever (Astraea Press) is my favourite character as she is the ‘glue’ connecting all four books. 

If you were the overlord of the world, what would your first decree be?

Balance.  I’d like world peace, but because I don’t know what the unforeseen consequences of that wish could be I’ll chicken out and stay with ‘balance’ and hope it covers most things. J

Give us your backlist... with all publishers...

From Now Until Forever ~ Astraea Press

The Brat ~ The Wild Rose Press

Duty Calls ~ Black Opal Books

The Wrong Target ~ eTreasures

Bold things that are currently available. Note the publishers they are with!

 Tell us about releases you expect within the next year...

His Chosen Bride ~ Astraea Press

 WIP

Books Three and four in The Gasquet Princes series titles unknown still ~ aimed for Astraea Press

No Job For a Woman ~ is my Regency experiment which is garnering interest from several quarters. 

Tell us about your current release... blurb... link to purchase is a plus!

This one is a bit difficult  by the time this goes to post I expect my Valentine’s day story His Chosen Bride to be ‘the current boo’ but as yet have no cover pic, official blurb or links for it.  Will Supply them as soon as I have them. (Hopefully in a week’s time.)

Meanwhile the present current book is the first story in the series.

From Now Until Forever ~ Astraea Press
Blurb – FNUF

For Prince Liam, families meant bad news, unwanted commitments, and the loss of his personal freedom.  Love spawned white picket fences, slippers at the hearth with a wife and kids making demands, so why did those images disappear when he met Melanie Babcot?

Melanie Babcot fought hard to escape the horrors of her youth and vowed to remain single and free, so when paid to protect Prince Liam from insurgents why did her personal pledge fly out the window?

****

EXCERPT:
Liam Fitzwilliam Gasquet stared in amazement at the blooming patch of red milliseconds before the pain exploded in his arm. Some trigger-happy idiot had fired in his direction. Indignation didn’t have time to take root before another bullet kicked the dust at his feet.
Not ‘trigger-happy’.
Intentional.
The rebels had found the fourth and youngest son of Jean-Phillipe Gasquet, ruler of the tiny kingdom adjacent to the Swiss border. When had they discovered his whereabouts?
With a reluctant sigh, he faced the truth of it. They hadn’t ‘found’ him at all. They’d followed him.

Avaialble at:

http://www.astraeapress.com/#ecwid:category=662245&mode=product&product=7105194

http://www.amazon.com/From-Now-Until-Forever-ebook/dp/B006GYAV44/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322854797&sr=1-1-spell

http://www.amazon.co.uk/From-Now-Until-Forever-ebook/dp/B006GYAV44/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322854884&sr=8-1-spell

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/sherry-gloag-from-now-until-forever?keyword=sherry+gloag+from+now+until+forever&store=book

nook http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/sherry-gloag-from-now-until-forever?keyword=sherry+gloag+from+now+until+forever&store=ebook

My web: http://www.sherrygloag.com 

My blog: http://sherrygloagtheheartofromance.blogspot.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sherry.gloag

Twitter: http://twitter.com/SherryGloag

You can also find me in Google+, LinkedIn, Stumble, Independent Authors Network and others.