Have you ever found yourself being lost in an area after you had done all the right things so it wouldn’t happen? Did you ever do all the research and made sure you knew how to get there? Yet the Travel Gods still seem to conspire against you and you still get lost? Well that happened to me yesterday. A trip that should have taken a couple of hours took all day because we kept getting lost.
“What on earth is Sherri talking about?” your probably saying to yourself, right? Well let me tell you, I had to go to La Jolla to deliver my books for the San Diego Jewish Book Fair. That sounds like an easy task right? That’s what I thought. I looked the address up on-line to make sure I knew where I was going. It was my brother’s day off and we took our Mom as a mini-family outing. It turned into a family odyssey. It is funny now, but yesterday we were all pretty upset, in fact I got one hell of a migraine.
I had no idea that there was an uptown and a downtown in La Jolla. I looked it up on Google and it looked really straight forward. It wasn’t. It took us about an hour to get there after going in circles and ending up in Pacific Beach because we overshot the correct street. Yeesh! So we got to the office I met with the lovely wonderful lady in charge and dropped off my books.
Now you might think that it was the end of the journey, right? I dropped off Murder Inc. and Fantasy Time Inc and all was well with the world. We had a lovely lunch in La Jolla near the ocean and it was a good day…but that wasn’t the end. I am not sure what happened but there was a more traffic then I had ever seen on the exchange at home in L.A. We inched our way home, the half hour ride home took another hour and a half. We were all tired and hungry. So much for a simple trip.
The positive part of all that was I dropped off my books for the book fair; http://www.sdcjc.org/sdjbf/index.aspx and I hope that new people find them and love them. Fingers crossed.
I am also excited because I am expanding my series, “What is your Life Story?” http://learningannex.com/listings/What-is-
your-Life-Story/schedule_time . I am now not only doing one on one’s. I will be doing a series of talks at libraries around the state of California. Please keep an eye on my website;http://www.rithebard.com/Events.html to see the times and dates. They will start next month and continue on to next year.
The Lovely Adrienne Wilkinson who gave such a wonderful interview; http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rithebard/2012/10/09/chatting-with-sherri , will be holding her annual charity event on Thursday, January 10, 2013 from 7-9 pm in Burbank, CA at a location within walking distance from the host hotel for the final official Xena convention. Only 30 tickets are available to this event at a cost of $250 per ticket. Proceeds from sales of the tickets will benefit a family struggling with overwhelming medical costs. There are still tickets available, please check out her website to find out how to come and help out this important cause;http://www.adriennewilkinson.com/meet/meet.html .
This week I had the pleasure of chatting with Sam Gilmour about his book, “The Borrowed Kitchen.” We had a great time, before we 
chatted Sam answered a few questions for me;
What was the first book you remember loving? Do you still own it?
The first book I remember loving was Sam and the Firefly by P.D. Eastman. I think I was about two or three. I think it was the first indication to my mother that I would be a troublemaker. Sam is an owl, trying to cope with Gus, a very naught firefly who likes to play pranks on people. I loved that firefly. It’s a bit battered now, but it’s still on the bookshelf. I read it to my eldest daughter when she was a bit younger and now I’m reading it to the younger one. I think they’re both as supportive of the naughty firefly as I was. God help me.
What kind of books do you like to read? Do those books have an effect on your own writing?
I read a lot of fantasy, crime and (the occasional trashy) paranormal. I think my fave fantasy and sci-fi authors have the most influence on my writing, though I must tip my hat to John Connolly too. The man’s a genius.
I’ve also been disappointed by a few writers – particularly as they’ve become more famous and subsequently deified by their publishers. They cease to be matched up with editors with the balls to stand up to them, and that messes up their work. Any writer who claims not to need an editor is either a liar or stupid or both. When I read this kind of work, I pick up more on how not to write. Very useful.
Do you remember what is the first book that touched you deeply?
There are two books that first struck a nerve with me. I read them one after the other and I can’t remember which I read first. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson and E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web are both seared into my brain. I still have the original copies given to me and I’ve read them both to my six year-old daughter. They’ve become favourites for her too.
Is there an era of writing that affects you? 1920, 1800’s so forth?
I think the period that affects me, not so much in style, but for ideas is the early 20th century – the R.E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraft era. As for style, that’s a bit more vague. Some of my favourite books of all time were written between 1940 and now and literary style has changed dramatically during that time.
Where do you like to write? Is there a favorite nook or corner?
Oh I’d love to be one of these writers who can write anywhere. Nup. I can’t. I like to be at my corner desk at work. It’s quiet, the lighting’s right and there are few distractions. I also do a lot of writing at home, but mostly when nobody else is home. I can’t put two words together when I’ve got screaming kids, kids’ tv or loud conversations going on. I like to have music in the background, but it’s not essential… Damn it, Sherri! See what you’ve done? Now I’ve got the bloody theme from Yo Gabba Gabba in my head. Shit. I’m not going to get anything done now…
Do you prefer one genre to another?
Hmm. I think it’d be better to put it this way: I know what I don’t like. I rarely read biographies. History bores me to tears, and while I’ll read the odd paranormal romance, historical and modern romance usually make me break out in hives. Give me crime, action, sci-fi, fantasy, paranormal anything – anything with a bit of oomph or escapism that’s not solely dependent on oestrogen.
Do you like the feel of a book in your hands or do prefer an electronic devises?
I love the look of paper books. I love holding them. Smelling them. I don’t like reading them, carrying them or storing them. They’re big, heavy and take up way to much space. I have a Kindle and it’s great, but I love my iPad and the Kindle and other e-reader apps on it. I go everywhere with it. I’d marry it if I wasn’t already hitched (and very happily so) to Super wife.
Can you tell us about what you’re working on now?
I have a few projects going. No such thing as writer’s block for me. The main wip is Armies Of Nine, the conclusion to my Adventures of Sarah Coppernick series. I’m also scribbling away at a few shorts as well as planning another raunchy paranormal ala The Borrowed Kitchen and also a cop V serial killer slasher.
Please listen to Sam’s interview to hear more about this and his other creative endeavors; http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rithebard/2012/10/30/chatting-with-sherri .
And next week please join me for an interview with Character actress Dee Baldus joins us this w
eek to talk about her passions of
acting and animals. She will talk about creating her character in her new movie, Milo. Also Dee will chat about her passion for animals and helping our troops as the founder of the wonderful organization, Paws For Troops! http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rithebard/2012/11/06/chatting-with-sherri
Join me on my next adventure next week 🙂
Till next time…
rithebard 