About Sheryl Browne
Sheryl Browne lives in Droitwich, England with her family. Working part-time in her
own business, Sheryl is a mum, a foster mum to disabled dogs and super-pleased to have completed her Masters Degree in Creative Writing at Birmingham City
University. She’s a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and was
shortlisted for Innovation in Romantic Fiction by Festival of Romance in 2012
Sheryl has several novels previously published with a small Independent. The Rest of My Life is her debut with Choc Lit.
Below is a Q&A with this author.
Who’s your favourite author?
I write in two genres, contemporary romance and thriller, so I tend to read widely. Marian Keyes is an inspiration in regard to my romance. Marian’s books deal with modern ailments, but are always written with compassion and humour. In regard to my thriller writing, I adore Martina Cole. For me, the magic of Martina Cole’s writing is her fabulously unique way of leading us seamlessly into the heads of her characters. Some of my recent reads have been by John Donoghue. My first book by this author was Police, Crime & 999 – The True Story of a Front Line Officer. At the time, I badly needed something uplifting after my partner’s cancer diagnosis and his undergoing various surgeries (he’s doing really well, by the way). You can probably guess then that the author had his work cut out. He succeeded! I laughed until I cried.
Who is your favourite literary character?
Paddington Bear. Memorable for his squashy hat and duffle coat. A close second, Jilly Cooper’s, brooding hero Jake Lovell in Riders. Perhaps I can’t resist an underdog.
What’s the first book you remember reading?
Can I share the book that made me want to write? A Kestrel for a Knave (Kes) by Barry Hines, a coming of age novel which tells the story of a young Yorkshire boy, Billy Casper, who finds solace from a life of bullying and neglect by rearing a wild kestrel he calls Kes. The book is set in the 1960s but there’s a wonderful timelessness to the story. This book certainly fired my childhood imagination.
How would you describe your novel?
It’s fundamentally a story about letting go, realising that the past can destroy the present and the future, if you let it. At the core is a deeply flawed man, a womaniser, who simply doesn’t like himself and challenges anyone else to. He needs to make peace with his past in order to move on with his life.
The question both Adam and the heroine, Sienna, have to ask themselves is: When is it time to stop running? The video I think sums it up nicely: https://youtu.be/7p319itbVKg
What gave you the inspiration for the story?
People inspire me. We all have ghosts which can dictate our behaviour sometimes. In truth, though, Adam simply appeared one day. I’m a keen boater and often pass neglected boats. I can’t help but wonder at their story. Suddenly, in my mind’s eye, there was Adam, fully formed, his mannerisms, his clothes – or lack of. A man living an apparently carefree, bachelor existence on a dilapidated boat. A shallow man at first glance. There was something more though, it was there in his eyes: the challenge to like him. I knew he didn’t like himself and wanted to know why. Having experience of caring for someone suffering a depressive illness, I couldn’t help thinking that that might be part of his story.
Where and how do you write?
I have a Georgian bureau tucked away in the dining room. It’s in serious need of renovation, but I simply can’t bear to. Every ink stain and chip has a story behind it. Annoyingly, those lightbulb ideas always come at awkward shower moments or in the wee hours though. Thus the many Post-it notes adorning its surface.
Who do you base your characters on?
As mentioned above, people. In Somebody to Love, for instance – another book currently under consideration by Choc Lit, I based the story on a policeman friend who is a single dad with a special needs son, ergo, he has an awful lot to consider when entering into relationships. I first met him when his son threw his shoes over my garden fence in order to facilitate a meeting with my three-legged dog. Up until then, the little boy had only ever peeked curiously over the fence at the dog, but never had he uttered a word. Whilst my story was a fictional one, it was therefore very much based on fact and intensive research.
What would you rescue from your house if it was on fire?
Given all the humans were out, my dogs. I foster disabled dogs and my heart literally constricts at the thought they might be trapped, particularly the tiny blind one.
What three things would you take if you were to be stranded on a desert island?
A ‘how to survive on a desert island’ manual. A ‘how to cook strange fish’ manual. And … It’s an awful thought, isn’t it, having no way of recharging your Kindle? It would have to be a pack of notepads, box of pencils and a box of books by fave authors.
Did you always want to be an author- if not, what did you want to be when you were little?
A sculptor. I attended art school from age eleven. I adored sculpting from life. Maybe I enjoyed creating characters even then.
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