Sheri Williams has worked in the publishing industry for 23 years. She is a publisher and a freelance editor. Her educational background includes Journalism, Creative Writing, Business Administration, and Criminal Justice. She is a founding faculty member of the Pitch Me! Workshops for fiction and nonfiction writers. Sheri is also a Success Coach with an international health and wellness corporation, where she can apply her passion for helping others. She’s a crafting freak and frequently details her projects through posts and amateur live videos with her sister on their 2 Garage Girls Facebook page and website. She is a mom to four grown children, Granny to three grandchildren, and “hooman” to several four-legged dependents. She loves her family, pets, and work, but most of all, she loves God!
Sheri resides in Arkansas.
BOOKS:
Rootin Tootin Dog (2020)
Digital, Trade Paper, Hardcover – Juvenile Fiction/Humor/Social Issues/Family
AZN | B&N
Peace, Love, and Journaling: A Tween Journal (2018)
Journal to help increase self-esteem and give young people resources for help
AZN | B&N
Your biggest literary influences:
Stephen King and Dean R. Koontz were the first authors whose works literally gave me chills. While I’ve read all of King’s books, I’ve yet to finish The Stand. I was terrified over the possible ending. I still don’t know how it ends. I didn’t watch the movie for this very reason. Maybe it’s time to be a big girl and reread to the end. I also fangirl over by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast. YA is for grownups too! Karen Kingsbury influenced my wholesome romantic writer side. As a children’s author, my greatest influences have been the greats: Beverly Cleary, E.B. White, Judy Blume. Collectively, I am greatly influenced by authors whose actions and work have a place to make a difference in our world, whether by taking us through our imaginations to exciting destinations or by creating such compelling characters that they become family and help us cope with life.
Last book read:
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. Oh. My. Gosh! Amazing!
The book that changed your life:
It’s not a book but a short story in an old copy of Reader’s Digest Condensed Books. I lost the book and have searched for this story for 30 years and cannot find it. The title was “Sisters” and the relationships in the story, coupled with the author’s ability to transform words into a movie-like scene, were unlike anything I had read up to that point. I am still hoping to find it one day.
Your favorite literary character:
Jane Eyre is by far my favorite. She’s more than an intelligent woman — she’s quite strong, uncompromising on her moral beliefs despite the fact that her heart wants something entirely different.
Currently working on:
I’m writing a supernatural horror novel. It’s definitely a WIP and not to give to much away, but let’s just say that sometimes being daddy’s little girl can be deadly. Deadly for whom? I won’t tell … yet.
Words to live by:
“A word is dead when it’s said, some say. I say it just begins to live that day.” —Emily Dickinson
This is so true. Once a word is given life — whether spoken or written — it lives forever.
Advice for aspiring authors:
Read. Seriously, read what others have written. You can gain the greatest strengths when you constantly seek to improve. Whatever your passion (fiction or nonfiction), arm yourself with knowledge (i.e., creating strong dialogue, learning how to show versus tell, understanding the industry and market for your genre). The more you know, the better you will become. Also, write. Try to write something every day, even if it’s only a few words. Like anything in life, the more we put forth action, the better we become. Last, don’t give up. Amazon Prime ships in two days but building a writing career takes time. Believe in yourself!
REVIEWS
Reader’s Favorite review of Rootin Tootin Dog
