Happy Sunday folks!
What better way to spend a blustery afternoon than with the lovely Sheryl Browne? Lets find out more about the woman behind the books . . .
If you could only take one book with you on a desert island, which would it be?
Anything by Martina Cole. She was the inspiration behind my desire to delve into the darker psyche of some of my characters. A book that stays with me is The Ladykiller. It’s with morbid fascination you glimpse into the mind set of a sexually depraved killer. I’m not sure I would sleep that well, though, under the stars or not!
What are you currently reading.
I’m currently reading The Safe Word (Eleanor Raven series, Book 1) by Karen Long. Before that Little Girl Lost by Carol Wyer. With both of these books, the opening had me hooked immediately. I can’t help but admire that in a writer. Other authors can show you how to weave a story and they can be a massive stimulus for your own writing.
What’s the best advice you have ever received?
I’m popping the dedication incorporated in Sins of the Father here which I think is self-explanatory: I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Professional Book Reviewer at Breakaway Reviewers Rony G Cambell, who not only believed in me, giving After She’s Gone an outstanding review, but convinced me to believe in me too.
Thank you for the pep talk, Rony.
I was at a very low point when I talked to Rony on the phone. Things were discouraging on the writing front and my partner was quite ill. I was truly at the point of giving up. A heart breaking decision to make after so many years trying. Rony wasn’t going to let me. She convinced me I could write. And that I could write well. She really did make me believe in myself. More than that though, she convinced me that, rather than try to write to formula, I needed to do what I do best, write from the heart, or rather my character’s heart. That’s what I do. I write therefore I am. I wouldn’t know how to be any other way.
What’s the worst advice you have ever received?
Write what you know, which goes back to the point above. Writers need to explore and expand their writing repertoire nowadays. We have a world of information at our fingertips. We can travel anywhere. If you ‘feel’ a character, if that character is calling to you, you don’t need to shy away from writing about a job, era, or situation that might challenge your experience of it. Research it and write it. This is advice to myself, by the way. I repeat it often.
Where are you happiest?
I foster disabled dogs so, apart from parked at my pc with a meaty plot that’s working well and a cupcake to go with my afternoon tea, I’m happiest out walking the dogs. It blows away the cobwebs and allows my mind to wander.
If you could be invisible for a day, what would you do?
People watch. Imagine the fuel I could gather for my writing. That would be amazing.
What do you think is the best thing about social media?
Meeting fabulously supportive people, book bloggers, readers and other authors. Writing is a solitary business. It’s not just the being physically alone. Sometimes you feel emotionally alone, if that makes sense. There are some lovely people out there who are always ready to offer a reassuring word and buoy you up – and they do.
And the worst…?!
The time spent. It can be distracting. It can also be exhausting. You do have to pace yourself and sometimes, switch … it … off!
If you had to write in a different genre, which would you choose?
I actually do write in two genres, contemporary romance and psychological thriller. I think I lean towards psychological thriller because I see people as not all good or all bad. More opposite sides of the same spectrum with some crossover in between. Many of my contemporary fiction novels feature policemen and, as my leading characters grew, I found myself exploring police procedural and, inevitably, the traits of the protagonist. I suppose it was a natural progression to write a thriller, looking at the family unit and placing it under threat. There is usually a bad guy or girl in all of my books, whatever the genre. As long as the hero grows and the villain gets his comeuppance, then I get the buzz.
Thank you so much for joining me today Sheryl, it’s been great finding out more about you!
After She’s Gone
He’s killed your child and kidnapped your wife. What would YOU do?
There’s evil and then there’s Patrick Sullivan. A drug dealer, pimp and murderer, there are no depths to which Patrick would not sink, and Detective Inspector Matthew Adams has found this out in the most devastating way imaginable.
When Patrick’s brother is shot dead in a drug bust gone wrong, the bitter battle between the two men intensifies, and Matthew finds it increasingly difficult to hold the moral high ground. All he wants is to make the pimping scum suffer the way he did … the way Lily did.
But being at war with such a depraved individual means that it’s not just Matthew who’s in danger. Patrick has taken a lot from Matthew, but he hasn’t taken everything – and now he wants everything.
Sins of the Father
What if you’d been accused of one of the worst crimes imaginable?
Detective Inspector Matthew Adams is slowly picking up the pieces from a case that nearly cost him the lives of his entire family and his own sanity too. On the surface, he seems to be moving on, but he drinks to forget – and when he closes his eyes, the nightmares still come.
But the past is the past – or is it? Because the evil Patrick Sullivan might be out of the picture, but there’s somebody who is just as intent on making Matthew’s life hell, and they’re doing it in the cruellest way possible.
When Matthew finds himself accused of a horrific and violent crime, will his family stand by him? And will he even be around to help when his new enemy goes after them as well?
Sheryl Browne brings you edgy, sexy contemporary fiction and psychological thrillers.
A member of the Crime Writers’ Association, Romantic Novelists’ Association and awarded a Red Ribbon by The Wishing Shelf Book Awards, Sheryl has several books published and two short stories in Birmingham City University anthologies, where she completed her MA in Creative Writing.
Recommended to the publisher by the WH Smith Travel fiction buyer, Sheryl’s contemporary fiction comes to you from multi-award winning Choc Lit.
Author Links
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon | Amazon US | Pinterest
Trailer Link:
DI Matthew Adams series: https://youtu.be/0MqZ5TpBwGk
Emma The Little Bookworm 
Oooh, what a wonderful spotlight! Thank you so much,Emma for featuring me today. I love it! 🙂 xx
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