Interview With Sherry A. Mauro:
Welcome to Romance at Heart’s grilling of the author. I am glad that you could take the time to answer our questions and sate our curiosity.
-Please tell us about your latest book?
It is actually a complex trilogy, “Even Angels Fall,” “The Face of Heaven,” and “Tangled Souls,” which revolve around a heroine named, Sabrina Marie Ayers, and a cast of eccentric and lively characters. At the center of the tale is the great Tate Mansion—an enormous home that would be the setting of so many dreadful and inexplicable tragedies in the years ahead.
The storylines blend romance, mystery, suspense, and haunting obsession into three thrilling gothic tales of desire, disillusion, and danger. It takes the reader on a journey that is sensual, romantic, suspenseful, and poignant with high stakes, emotional outcomes, and intense relationships. These are character-driven stories and the passionate feelings between the characters—and perhaps even the actions and choices the heroine is forced to make are turned on the brink, and any lapse in judgment will lead not only to the heroine falling off, but to her and other characters being sliced to ribbons in the process—hearts torn in two, deep unresolved passions, and emotions left raw, hurt, and bleeding.
Book Blurb: The saga of the Devour family given to poverty and greed, to revenge and passion, to murder and lust—a family that through the generations is haunted by a powerful curse and the seductive Tate Mansion…
Vibrant beauty, Sabrina Ayers has found the kind of love she has longed for all her life in the arms of Dylan McGuire; her dream lover yet she is still haunted by her past. Then her father suddenly dies and her entire world begins to crumble. Even with a fresh start, Sabrina is once more ensnared in a frightening labyrinth of dark secrets and hidden passions that threaten to shatter the only real happiness she has ever known.
Then the arrogant, playboy Richard Tate comes back into her life and tries desperately to regain her confidence and her love …but can she trust him? Yet in his hypnotic presence, Sabrina’s fiery temperament melts the aristocrat’s icy exterior and rekindles a passion that threatens to spiral out of control, leaving her with a very difficult choice to make…
After a terrible new shock, the mystery of her family’s past deepens, for she is again thrust into the Tate Mansion’s nightmare world …There, in a house of deceit, evil, and murder, Sabrina clings to her tormenting love of two very different men. But only one of them will be able to save her!
-How do we find out about you and your books?
You can visit my website at Author Sherry Mauro.com or at Author’s Den.
-How many readers contact you?
I get emails a couple times a week, and it deeply touches my heart whenever someone writes to me to tell me how much he or she enjoyed my novels, and that they are eagerly looking forward to reading more in the future.
-Do your fans' comments and letters influence you in any way?
Not much, but the reviewers/critics often do. Wither the review is positive or somewhat negative; I take what they say solemnly, and I actually thing it has helped me grow as a writer.
-Do you have a favorite comment from a reader?
Yes: “I picked up this book to read within a few hours of finishing East of Eden and didn’t have very high expectation of enjoying any book right after finishing that one. Was I ever wrong! This was the one! I think women of all ages will love it as much as I did. It’s very interesting, unique, and certainly well written by a very talented story teller. I was interested from beginning to end. If you like mystery, suspense, and romance, then this one’s for you. Don’t miss it. I do look forward to Sherry Mauro’s next book.”
-Why did you decide to write romance novels?
Mainly, Romance is my preferred genre, however, gothic, horror, mystery, and suspense have all been my favorite genres too, and I wanted to entwine them all…so, I decided to write the kind of book that no one else was writing at the time. Therefore, I started passionately writing again. I believe that writing is something that comes naturally to me, and I strongly believe that you are good at whatever your passion may be in life, and writing is definitely mine.
-When did you first think about writing and what prompted you to submit your first ms?
It was shortly after the tragedy of September 11th that I decided to get serious about my first love—writing! It made me realize that if I didn’t at least “try” to pursue my dream, I knew I’d regret it for the rest of my life. Therefore, I started pursuing my aspirations by entering and winning several short-story writing contests, and having a few articles published. Enough to fan the flame, if not to make ends meet, but it did keep my hope alive of one day becoming a published author. I was determined to finish one of my manuscripts (I had three half-finished novels in the works) and when I did, I started querying agents and editors. Then in August of 2002, my first romantic/suspense novel, Even Angels Fall was published.
-What are your thoughts on love scenes in romance novels, do you find them difficult to write?
Nope, they’re fun. I’m a romantic at heart and I can live out some of my romantic, sexy fantasies through my writing!
-What kind of research do you do?
For the last novel I did. I had to research the Salem Witch Trials and Victorian and Edwardian language and dress for one chapter that goes back and tells the story of one of the heroine’s ancestors. It was interesting.
-Please, tell us about yourself (family, hobbies, education, etc.).
.I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area (where I still live), and I come from a very artistic family of writers, poets, and illustrators. Since early childhood, my mother instilled a love of literature in my younger brother and me. She would read to us every day and when we were old enough, she took us to get our first Library card. With that card, she gave me the chance to enter another world, the world of make believe—of fiction. I would check out at least ten books at a time, quickly finish those, and eagerly go back for more. So, you see it has been bred into me, into my very soul this love of the written word. I have been a voracious reader all of my life, and it has been my childhood dream to become a professional writer.
You could say I started following my dream at an early age, I started writing at the age of seven, and by the time I was twelve years old, I had written my first novella, complete with chapters and illustrations. My teacher was so impressed that I won first place in the 6th grade-writing contest. I also wrote, starred, and directed plays, casting all the neighborhood children in them. In my teens, I read many different authors.
I am an artistic person by nature, but putting my writing muse aside; my creative impulses were channeled into hair design rather than into writing for many years. I was a cosmologist for nine years than I went into management for a fitness club. But I knew deep in my heart that I wasn’t doing what I really wanted to do with my life. Therefore, I went back to college, took various creative writing courses at night, and rediscovered the craft of writing fiction.
-What are some of your favorite things to do?
Read!
-Who are some of your favorite authors?
Victoria Holt, Anne Rice, Amanda Ashley, Jessi Spray, V.C. Andrews, Danielle Steel, Elizabeth Chandler...to name a few! I like to read both young-adult and adult authors..
-Are you a member of any author groups - RWA?
Yes, I am an active member of Romance Writers of America and Gothic Romance Writers of America.
-How long have you been writing - have you always wanted to be a writer?
I have been writing fiction seriously for the last eight years, and I have won first place in several short-story writing contests. I also had an article published on the life and works of the late author, V.C. Andrews in the March 2003 addition of the Reviewers International Organization Newsletter.
-How many books have you written, how many have been published?
I have written seven books, and so far, I have had four published.
-After, you've written your book and it's been published, do you ever buy it and read it?
Yep! Of course, got to get the ball rolling! And I keep a copy in my car, to show friends, family, and anyone I meet who loves to read romantic/suspense.
-Which comes first, the story, the characters, or the setting?
The heroine and “her” story
-Are you in control of your characters or do they control you?
I am in control at first, but as the story gets going, the characters, especially the heroine take on a life of their own. And sometimes they do the darnest things! LOL.
-What is the most rewarding thing about being a writer?
Being able to say I’ve accomplished my dream.
-If you weren't writing, what would you be doing?
I can’t image doing anything else as rewarding with my life, except being a mother to my two wonderful children..
-Any words of encouragement for unpublished writers?
Do not let others belittle your dreams, just believe in yourself and if you strive to make them come true...they will! All of mine have…
The latest chapter in my life involves spending time with family and owning a family-run business, a retail pet store in Oakland that has been there for forty years, with my husband, “Connie’s Tropical Fish” and continuing to live my dream…
Thank you for the thoughtful questions, this was fun! I hope your readers enjoy my interview and my books s much as I enjoyed writing them!
Thank you very much Sherry, for taking this time from your busy schedule to spend with us here at Romance at Heart. I know we will all be waiting and watching to see what comes from your pen next.
Yours in good reading,
Rose!
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