An Interview With Sherri Shackleford

by Patricia Bradley

I discovered Sherri Shackleford when I bought a few Love Inspired Suspense books and her Stolen Secrets was one of them. I quickly got caught up in the story. I think I read it in one sitting!

I'm so happy to introduce her to our Suspense Sisters' readers! I think all of our readers will enjoy her romantic suspense stories and she also writes historical westerns, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Me: Sherri, if you had to describe yourself in one sentence, what would you say?

Sherri: Dreadfully empathetic with a masochistic ability to absorb copius amounts of solitude and criticism.

The perfect personality for a writer!

Me: I so agree that's the perfect personality for a writer, Sherri. What do you do when you’re not writing? Any interesting hobbies?

Sherri: When I’m not writing, I’m thinking about writing. Or reading. Other than that, I’m a fairly proficient baker. Over the quarantine, I’ve mastered homemade marshmallows, kolaches, noodles, and sourdough bread. Unlike my other qualities, cooking is a terrible hobby for someone who sits and stares at a screen all day! In my next life, I’m going to enjoy running…

Me: Oh, my goodness. I almost said, come to my house before I realized what that would mean for my waistline. To change the subject, what genre did you start out writing? Have you changed course? Why or why not?

Sherri: I started out writing historical westerns, and now I’m writing romantic suspense. Most of my westerns had an element of mystery, and that was easy to expand upon, but there is definitely a learning curve. The pacing and plotting are FAR different in romantic suspense! After writing 11 historical westerns, I’d developed a certain rhythm to my writing. Writing suspense has meant relearning my process.

Me: I totally learned that when I tried to write a cozy mystery. Any other genres you’d like to try? If yes, what and why?

Sherri: I can see myself gravitating more toward straight mystery in the future. But that will be a distant future!

Me: What is the most valuable piece of advice you’d like to give to unpublished authors?

Sherri: Each book is harder to write than the last. If not, then you’re not doing it right. I was really naïve in the beginning, and I thought the more books I wrote, the better I’d get at writing. Nope! Turns out, the more you know, the more you realize you don’t know.

Me: Sherri, do I ever agree with that. It seems every time I start a new book, I have to ask myself, "Now how did I do this the last time?"

Sherri is giving away, not one but two, copies of Stolen Secrets. (US addresses only) Leave a comment with your email address (like this: pat at ptbradley dot com) and tell us how you would describe yourself in one word. Or how ever you want to comment. :-)
Here's the back cover copy to Stolen Secrets:

From investigating a security breach

to becoming the target of an unseen foe

Someone has been impersonating software engineer Lucy Sutton to steal classified technology secrets, and it’s up to her to figure out who. National Security Agency employee Jordan Harris is the only person she trusts to help her set a trap. But with an unknown enemy watching Lucy’s every move and threatening her life, capturing the culprit becomes an even deadlier task than they expected.


You can purchase Stolen Secrets at:

Amazon

B&N

Christian Books

Sherri Shackelford

A former naval reservist with a top-secret security clearance, Sherri writes rapid-fire suspense featuring captivating characters and heart-pounding romance. She's authored more than a dozen novels for Harlequin publishing, including both historical and contemporary suspense.

​

Her first suspense book, No Safe Place, was a finalist in both the New England Readers' Choice Award, and the Faith Hope and Love Readers' Choice Award.

You can connect with Sherri here:

https://www.sherrishackelford.com/

https://www.instagram.com/sherrishackelford/

https://www.facebook.com/SherriShackelfordAuthor

https://twitter.com/smshackelford