Introducing - Me!

Greetings to my fellow members and friends at WDC, and welcome to this brief exposition on the complexity of my mind! I've been a member of this website since March 2007. I try to stay active and "hang out" here a lot, so it seems fair to tell you a bit about myself.

My bioblock says I'm a freelance writer that lives as a hermit in the woods. Perhaps this is dramatic. My husband and I built a house in the summer of 2007 on family land, and there is an acre of woods behind us. It's a welcome change from living in a neighborhood for 9 years! Plus you can't beat the neighbors: My parents, and my brother and sister-in-law. Building this home has been a dream since we got married, and we are thrilled to finally see it come to pass. We don't have children, but share our home with a sun conure named Zacchaeus (we call him Zack). Sun conures are mid-sized parrots that are distantly related to macaws. He's a joy. That bird is happy every day. We could all learn a lesson from him. Here's a picture of our "golden boy."



I graduated from the University of South Carolina in May 1997 cum laude (that means I graduated with a low A average) with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. I married my college sweetheart, Rick, on May 16, 1998. My volunteer work in mental health after graduation turned me away from working in the field of psychology and pursuing my Master's Degree. I was disillisioned, and realized I enjoyed the research end of the field much more than the practice end. After landing an administrative job in State Government, I decided that if I was going to spend my time pursuing other interest I should be true to myself and turn back to my #1 passion, which is writing. I did some creative writing in high school, but quit when the demands of college burned me out.

I started writing again in 2001, after Rick and I finally bought our own computer. I was immediately hooked, but my skills had grown rusty from years of neglect. I started out as a Christian/inspirational writer and wrote devotionals. I published my first story in 2003, when I won a writing contest for a small Christmas anthology. That was followed by several postings on Christian websites, and the publication of my book titled "Battleground Earth - Living by Faith in a Pagan World" (PublishAmerica 2004). It's available for sale at http://www.publishamerica.com/shopping/shopdisplayproducts.asp?catalogid=56... .

While I would love to rake in the big bucks for my writing, I realize that very few people make a living solely off creative writing. Two of my favorite writers are J.R.R. Tolkein and C.S. Lewis, and both of them worked for universities as their primary careers. Writing was something they did on their own time - much like many if the fine folks here! I still have my day job as a Program Assistant with the State of South Carolina; a job I've held since 1999. I figure at least I'm living my dream, and making efforts to see it grow. If it makes money, great. If not, I still have a good job that pays the bills and I'm free to pursue my writing as I please. While I do want to get more work published, I think the most important thing is to have fun with my writing. I believe the Lord put it in my heart, provides my inspiration, and made it a big part of who I am. Above and beyond all else, I enjoy writing and want to keep enjoying it my entire life.

In 2006, I turned to writing fiction. I realized I was in a rut with the inspirational writing and needed something to give a fresh perspective to my work. It's a bigger challenge, but I enjoy it tremendously. There's something magical about creating a story purely from your imagination and watching it grow as you write. Since 2006 I have published 3 fiction stories, including my short story titled "Nobody" in the Farspace Anthology 1. I enjoy working on longer stories and have done several long pieces and even a manuscript for a novel. The long stories are a lot of fun to work on, but it's difficult to find publishers for them. I keep praying to find the right publisher for the works I'm submitting.

If you're interested in reading my longer work, it's available at Authonomy. My young adult novel, "Blurry," is available at http://www.authonomy.com/ViewBook.aspx?bookid=11829 . This is a suspense story about a high school senior whose life is turned upside down when her ex-boyfriend is suspected of murdering his current girlfriend. I've actually written a series of short stories based on this novel that are posted in my port that I call The Woodland Series. You can check it out through the introduction piece, "Welcome to Woodland!" .

My novella, "Quarantine," is also available at http://www.authonomy.com/ViewBook.sapx?bookid=11849 . This is a story about four women that are trapped in their office when a quarantine closes their doors. It's one of my first fiction works and it's obviously not my best writing, but I put a lot of time into this piece so I decided to post it anyway.

My current focus is on writing stronger stories and submitting my work for publication more regularly. Be sure to check out my portfolio. I enjoy writing in a number of genres, but I seem to drift toward drama and suspense. I don't want to get pinned down in one genre, probably because of the way I burned out on the inspirational writing. I enjoy the variety that different genres offer and want to become a well rounded writer whose stories can reach people at a number of levels. I think my personality has something to do with it. If I feel like I'm in a box, I have to break out of it. I don't know if that's an independent streak, or a mischevious streak. Maybe both. But at least I'm not boring!

I also enjoy reading, which is something every writer should do. My favorite book is, of course, The Bible. "The Lord of the Rings" is second on my list of favorite books of all time. Other titles that top my list are "The Screwtape Letters" and "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis, "The Stand" by Stephen King, "The Dark Elf Trilogy" by R.A. Salvatore, and the books in "The Inheritance Cycle" by Christopher Paolini. I also enjoy inspirational, fantasy, science fiction, and suspense/mystery. My favorite writers include J.R.R. Tolkein, C.S. Lewis, R.A. Salvatore, Christopher Paolini, Ben Bova, P.D. James, and Christopher Pike (I still enjoy reading young adult books).

Cross stitch is another hobby of mine. A friend I work with taught me how to do it, and I've been hooked since the summer of 2004. I completed my biggest stitching project to date on August 22, 2009:



My other hobbies include growing roses and vegetable gardening. Roses are my favorite flowers. I have 4 rose bushes: Mr. Lincoln (red), Sweetness (lavander), Queen Elizabeth (pink) and Radiant Perfume (yellow). My husband and I enjoy vegetable gardening and plant a small garden every summer. I love homegrown tomatoes and cucumbers. We also love birds, and have an extensive feeder system set up. Being in the woods, we have lots of "customers." We also have a bluebird house which the bluebirds take full advantage of. We love watching them go about their daily business and are honored by our "blue" neighbors that choose to raise their flock in our back yard each spring and summer.

I am a person of the Christian faith. Jesus is not only a Savior to all that claim him, but he's my best friend as well. I think that's why I'm so happy most of the time. I believe He is the source of all peace and joy that is to be found in life. You probably see elements of my faith in my fiction writing. Although some of it gets gritty (reality isn't always pretty), I strive to show the rewards of integrity,courage, truth and compassion in my stories.

A few other fun facts about me: I try to read the Bible every other year, to make sure it stays fresh in my mind. I love jewelry, especilly gemstone rings (diamonds and sapphires are my favorites). My favorite color is pink. I am addicted to caffine and must have a Pepsi or Coke at least twice a day or I'll get cranky. I love my laptop, wandering around bookstores and craft stores, popcorn, pizza, ham subs, college football (especially the University of South Carolina and the Southeastern Conference), birds (especially the South American Parrots), Dunkin Doughnuts coffee, the Strawberry Wine at the Smokey Mountain Winery in Gatlinburg, TN, and Fridays. My favorite TV shows are Supernatural (CW - Thursday nights) and Smallville (CW - Friday nights). I'm a Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Star Trek fan, and overall a nerd. My iPod would convince you that I have multiple personalities.I don't listen to one type of music and listen to whatever suits my mood (but it's usually some type of rock music). I enjoy visiting the beach, mountains, and Disneyworld every now and then. I have a love/hate relationship with my treadmill, which I am on for 30 minutes, 4 nights a week. I hate dressing up and would prefer to be in jeans any day. I rarely wear high heels since I broke my toe in 2000. I don't mind our hot, humid summers because I don't like cold and snow. Yes, I am hooked on the Internet and am eternally grateful for it. I'm more dependent on my cell phone than I would like.

I'm an annoying optimist. I realize the world isn't all sunshine and rainbows - heck, random crap happens all the time. But you can make a choice in your attitude. I believe that if you are doing the best you can, walking in faith, and being true to who God made you to be, that alone is joy. You can face what life brings in faith that He will see you through. I very much believe in 3 things in the Bible: First, you should always keep your eyes on the goal of the upward call in Christ (Phillipians 3:13-14 - my favorite verse!). Life is so full of possibilities that I believe we should pray for guidance every day and keep moving forward in faith. Don't get hung up on the successes or failures of the past. Today is always the best day you have. Yesterday is a memory. The memories of joy and success and lessons from grief and defeat should propel us forward. Tomorrow is a gift not yet delivered. It's fine to look ahead and you should plan for the future, which is why you need to be mindful of today. What happens today can affect tomorrow, next week, next month, or 30 years from now. The key is using wisdom and discernment in all we do. I know there's a lot of bad in the world, but if we keep our eyes on the goal ahead of us and off the garbage around us, we can achieve great things through the Lord and our hope always lives. Second, you do reap what you sow (Galatians 6:7). My Granddaddy always told me this when I was a kid, and I've seen it enough with my own eyes that it has given me a respectful fear of the Lord. Third, He will work out all things for your good in the end (Romans 8:28). This is a lesson I got from a wonderful great-aunt, and I see it play out in my own life over and over again. Walking by faith is tough (I got quite the lesson while building our house), but it can be done. You fight the good fight every day. Some days you win, some days you lose, but as long as you live you stay in the race. Life is a series of peaks and valleys. Nothing stays the same. If you're up, enjoy your blessings. If you're down, be encouraged that eventually you will go back up again. See, I told you I was an annoying optimist!

So that's a bit about me. Thanks for dropping by, and for your support of my writing. This is a wonderful and supportative community, for which I am thankful. You guys are great!

If you are interested in reading more about me and my life, please visit my website at http://www.sherrithewriter.weebly.com !