Interview with Cher Gatto

by Patricia Bradley

I am so excited to introduce you to the writer of a very powerful book, SOMETHING I AM NOT, Cher Gatto. 

Here we go: If you had to describe yourself in one sentence, what would you say? 

Mommy heart, missionary adventurer, spirited introvert, and recovering perfectionist (This week I let others load my dishwasher without comment! I am improving daily).

What do you do when you’re not writing? Any interesting hobbies?

When I’m not writing, I’m usually trying to catch up on everything I neglected. Laundry. Dishes. Feeding a stray child who looks starving. Talking to an abandoned husband. With a full-time teaching job lumped on, there’s not a whole lot of wiggle room. Though I love to paint, take long car rides with the eight of us jammed in, and play with our mini-horses.

Tell us three things about yourself that might surprise your readers.

Three surprising things, huh?

Well, I teach high school math. Right brain, left brain confusion for sure. Those I teach can’t believe I write fiction novels, and those who read my books can’t believe I teach math. It’s a paradox for sure. I also teach psychology (because that’s my degree), but I enjoy math so much more. I like having the answer always be the answer. At least in teaching. Novels are a bit different.

Also, I never aspired to be a writer. I always did well with it in school, but it was not something I looked forward to. I never journaled or tried out for the school paper. Yuck! I began my writing career in the desert of Mexico in a back room on our ranch. My fingers flew over the keys as the story came to life. Once I started, I couldn’t stop!

And… hmmm… I’ve eaten rattle snake on several occasion. It truly does taste like chicken!

How did you come to be a writer?

In a nutshell, our family (myself, hubby, and five kids) served as missionaries for ten years. We developed a ranch for kids in poor villages, at-risk youth, and broken families. Although depravity is all around us no matter where we live, for some reason in Mexico it walked down the street in broad daylight. It couldn’t be missed or ignored.

Our co-workers ran a women’s shelter. I say women loosely, however. Most could barely be called that. They were babies themselves (13, 14, 15 years old) trying to raise babies of their own. Many of their children were a result of abuse, rape, or incest. Some had been drawn out of trafficking. Not how we would expect—not the Cambodian girl on the arm of a white man (which is horrid in and of itself), but five-year-olds used in pornographic films so a mother could have her next fix. Tragic and incomprehensible.

About a year after we got on the field, the shelter closed down for a dangerous breach in security. All the girls were sent back to where they came from. We could do nothing. Nothing at all, but watch them go. A few months later, I saw one of the girls at church escorted by her “father.” When our eyes met, the vacancy in hers shattered my heart. I will never forget it.

I began writing. I wrote to escape. To try to process the world around me. And to offer another ending. One I could control. A redemption to the brokenness and depravity. I had no idea how the story would unfold, I just wrote. I didn’t know Billy would be sold by his father or that it would unearth a ring of slavery. But I guess it was all in there, needing to come out.

When I finished five years later, I asked God why I had written it. Where it all came from. What was the meaning of Billy’s story. Surprisingly, His answer wasn’t what I expected. Though the story can be and is for those in bondage, it's also for all of us. Any of us who feel lost. Incomplete. Not worthy enough to be loved. It’s a story of living under the lies of the wrong father. About who we are and where we belong. Living as an orphan without knowing the truth. And ultimately, it’s that moment when we come face to face with our real Father, the Maker of Love. And we finally find our home.

Billy’s story is about coming home.

What is the most important thing you’d like readers to take away from your books? 

My stories are hard, because life is hard. It’s gritty and ugly sometimes, and we feel lost. Alone. Misunderstood. Discouraged. But that is not where we need to stay. That’s not the life we are meant to live. Hope is a matter of truth. Where we fix our eyes. Who guides our steps. And with that, no matter where we have gone or how far away we have strayed, God calls us back home. Back to where we truly belong. These are the stories that stir my soul.

What is the most valuable piece of advice you’d like to give to unpublished authors?

When I started, I thought it would be quick and easy. I had won an award. Now I was published. Surely this would kick off, and I would be an acclaimed novelist within the year. Hah. So, kind of like doing the laundry. It’s an everyday thing. One baby step, then another, toward our goal. Rinse and soak and do it again. 

And for those who stick it out. Who persevere and keep going because somewhere in their heart, they have to. Those who believe there’s a story to tell no matter what. Those are the ones who are still standing when the curtain goes up. So hang on. Don’t give in and don’t give up. Because what you have to say matters. A whole lot.

Bio & Links

Come and visit my webpage www.journeywithwords.com and my blog: Embracing the Intangibles of Life. I’d love to see you there and say hello!

Thanks to all of you who have read and plan to read SOMETHING I AM NOT. 

And thanks to you, Cher, for joining us today on Suspense Sisters!

Something I Am Not deals with a hard subject. Leave a comment telling me how you feel about fiction that deals with hard subjects and I'll enter you in a drawing for a $10 Amazon gift card! And if you hop over to my blog and leave a comment, I'll enter you in a drawing for a copy of Something I Am Not! 

Both drawings end next Thursday night.