Interview Sherry Derr-Wille

by

Lori Libby

 1) Where did you get your idea for Quade's Quest?

 Quade has been rattling around in my head for years. I borrowed him from another book I wrote, many years ago. He came to life when a major New York house asked me to write a book for them. Of course once it was done management had changed and they didn’t want it. Leslie, bless her heart wanted it from the get go.

 2) Which one of your stories is your favorite?

 They’re like my kids, I don’t have favorites, but if I were hard pressed, I’d have to say Her Tenant. That’s the closest thing I’ll ever get to an autobiography.

3) Who of all your characters, is your favorite?

I would probably have to say its Russ from Sue Watkins: Over-The-Hill Biker Bride, set for publication in February of 2008.

4) What are you working on right now?

My current project is an anthology for another publisher called Snowflake Secrets. My projected due date is June 1. Then I can start on Wind Dancer’s Dream the second in the Quade series, set for publication June of 2008.

5) Tell us a little about Quade’s Quest, please.

Quade left home a long time ago believing he killed his father. At that time he joined the army and fought Indians until it sickened him. After years of cushy duty he’s back at the fort with the threat of Indians at every turn. Little does he know that Hannah, the adopted daughter of the Missionary is actually the daughter of Crooked Snake the renegade who will not sign a peace treaty.

6) Do you plot your books or make them up as you go?

My books are character driven. I know that they begin with ‘once upon a time’ and end with ‘they lived happily ever after.’ Beyond that it’s up to the characters as to where they go and what they do. If I plotted them it would be lost because as we all know characters have a mind of their own.

7) How long does writing a first draft take you?

I guess I’m weird. The longer I do this the more I realize that I’m a first draft writer. When I finish it’s done and there’s only a little polishing left to do. Before it hits an editor’s desk, my pre-editor has gone through it and found all the typos. In other words, what I write as a first draft is the finished product. So in answer to your question about two to three months. That’s at a rate of 1,000 words a day.

8) How do you choose your titles?

Sometimes they’re there before the book is even started. In the case of Quade’s Quest, it was just something that popped out at me when the book was finished. In my next book, The Preacher Takes A Husband, I was in church and we had a visiting minister. Her license plate read PASTOR MOM. I knew as soon as she began her sermon that I wanted to write the book and had the title. Sue Watkins: Over-The-Hill Biker Bride came to me when I was at my friend’s wedding last year. She was 61 and he was 47 and they rode away from the ceremony on his Harley.

9) When do you write?

Very early in the morning. I usually have my 1,000 words in by 7 AM. If things are flowing, I just tell my husband to leave me entirely alone and I write all day. Then I can do 5-10,000 words.

10) What was your favorite part of writing Quade’s Quest?

It had to be the research into the Cheyenne culture. This isn’t my first Indian book, but it is the first about an actual tribe. The research was intense, especially about the customs about marriages and wedding clothes.