Hi! from SherryT

Hi! My name is Sherry Thompson, and I am one of the newest members of YAAYNHO. Don’t you just love our acronym? It kind of encapsulates the two defining experiences of most of us here: 1. “Yaay! I’ve been published! and 2. Nho! Why is no one reading my book?

About myself:

I’ve been making up stories since I was in elementary school but I never wrote any of them down until 1979 when I was 33 years old. I wrote the first draft of “Seabird” in longhand. As soon as the draft was complete, I told my family that I had committed book-writing and took them all out to dinner, at which we celebrated the start of my new career. Yeah. Right. What did we know in those days.

In January 2008, almost 29 years later, Gryphonwood Press published the umpteenth revision of “Seabird”, a fantasy for older young adults. ( http://tinyurl.com/35xu8d ) The book introduces the planet of Narenta, which bears some resemblance to medieval Europe. However Narenta has three “peoples” and some fairly bizarre plants and animals. Magic exists in two forms—Alphesaic enchantment or “good” magic and sorcery or “bad” magic.

In times of crisis, young people are brought from their own planets to assist the Narentans with skills and talents that many of them do not know they possess. Recently, these young people have been found on Earth. Cara Marshall is the Outworlder in “Seabird”, and she is definitely not pleased at what’s happened to her, especially since she is in the middle of her summer vacation at the beach.

Back in 1980, while looking for a publisher, I began writing the sequel to “Seabird”, titled “Earthbow”, and followed that with additional material for the series. Gryphonwood published “Earthbow Vol.1” ( http://amzn.to/cTsAxM ) in March, and “Earthbow Vol.2” is due out in about a month. (I’m currently awaiting the proof.) Cara’s younger brother, Xander, is the Outworlder in “Earthbow”.

Dave Wood, my publisher, wants to know what I’m working on next so I guess that means he intends to publish it. ;)

So I have a publisher, and the first books have gotten some great reviews! Yaay! According to the sales stats, I just don’t have a reading public. Nho! As most of us know, that’s what happens when a small press chooses to publish our books. Small start-up presses just don’t have the money or the personnel to help publicize their books. In fact, increasingly, all publishers expect their non-A-list authors to shoulder that burden, pretty much unassisted. For me, publicizing is largely trying to maintain an online presence, sneaking my books into a couple of local book stores, and attending the occasional East Coast SF/Fantasy convention. Next up, by the way, will be PhilCon in November.

Right now, I am sorting through the humungous manuscript that I began writing as soon as the first draft of “Earthbow” was finished. Originally titled “The Gryphon and the Basilisk”, it too takes place on Narenta and will involve an Earth teen (Luisa) as the Outworlder sent for in the face of a terrible crisis. “G&B” is fated to become one of those fantasy trilogy thingies. Maybe even a tetralogy! I refer to it sometimes as “The Behemoth, or the book that intends to eat Delaware”.

I hope someone buys a copy of it some day.

SherryT KhivasMommy AT gmail DOT com