Author Spotlight: Cheryl St. John

Hi friends! Today, our author spotlight is on Cheryl St. John! Everyone, say hello to Cheryl! Without further ado, let's get to know Cheryl and her writing.

 

Author Bio:
Cheryl St.John is the author of more than fifty historical and contemporary romances. Her stories have earned numerous awards and are published in over a dozen languages. In describing her stories of second chances and redemption, readers and reviewers use words like, “emotional punch, hometown feel, core values, believable characters and real-life situations.” Her bestselling non-fiction books, Writing With Emotion, Tension & Conflict and Write Smart, Write Happy by Writers Digest Books are available in print and digital. She’s a bargain hunter with the heart of a hoarder trying to live as a minimalist. The struggle is real.

Hi Sally! Thanks for the opportunity to chat with you today.

Cheryl, it's so great you being here today! Thanks for the Q&A interview to get to know you and your writing.

When did you first know you wanted to be a writer? What influenced that decision?

As a child, I wrote stories and drew covers for little books I stapled together. Books were my companions. The Summer of the Falcon by Jean Craighead George was the first book I read that made me a life-long reader.

I graduated to popular adult fiction in my teens, and in my early twenties I became a die-hard Louis L’Amour fan, and I still adore westerns and Americana. I tend to go through genres in my reading, however. Medieval one season, true crime the next, then biographies or a contemporary series. Marriage of convenience is my favorite trope, and I also like a character pretending to be someone they’re not. I always wrote stories for myself, but when I discovered LaVyrle Spencer and Lisa Gregory, I got the desire to write to make others feel the way I felt when I lost myself in a story.

How did you get your first book or story published?

When my youngest child went to school all day, I decided it was time to get serious about my dream of being a writer. I wrote, blissfully cluelessly, for several years until I joined an organization and a local chapter and actually learned to write well. Once I found an agent to take me on, she assured me she could sell a book for me, and Harlequin Historicals bought Rain Shadow, followed by many, many more stories.

What prompted you to write the Aspen Gold Series?

I wrote western historicals under contact for Harlequin Historical and Love Inspired Historical (with a few contemporaries mingled in) for twenty-five years, and I was depleted. When my contracts were fulfilled, I took a year and a half away from writing to care for a newborn grandchild and fill the creative well. The break did wonders for me, and I promised myself that from then on out I would only write books I loved.

My critique group of many years had planned the Aspen Gold Series a long time ago, but the idea got lost in sure-thing publishing contracts and busy lives. We lost a beloved member and friend, however, and eventually deciding to pick up the series was a big part of helping to heal our grief.

Dancing in the Dark was the first book I loved writing in a long time. Of course, the Ed Sheeran song prompted the title. Since then I’ve written Tanner, a book in the Bachelors and Babies western series, and I’m just now preparing to publish Whisper My Name, another addition to Aspen Gold Series. I already have several more stories planned.

What do you find most rewarding about a writing career?

For me the biggest bonus of being a writer is the ability to adjust my career around my family and church. I set work hours and adhere to them, but I can plan days off for other activities with my husband, kids or grandkids. As long as I’ve made my page count by the end of the week, I’m good.

What’s the most meaningful thing a fan has said about your book?

Nothing is as rewarding as when a reader tells me one of my stories got them through a difficult time in their life. I wrote a story, Saint or Sinner, about a girl who is coerced and abused by her father. In the days when mail came to the post office box, I drove over once a week. I’d be so excited to read my mail that I had a letter opener in the console. I vividly remember sitting in my car with tears running down my face. A reader told me her step-father had beaten her, and she had permanent nerve damage in her arm, as well as other physical and emotional injuries. She said my story gave her hope that someone would love her as much as Joshua loved Addie. Nothing has ever affected me as deeply as those words. If I give hope to one person, I am fulfilled as a writer.

Do you write with a theme or message in mind?

I never plan a theme, and sometimes I don’t know it until the book is nearly finished, but my stories almost always end up being about second chances, forgiveness or underdogs succeeding. I have a premise in mind, and a tone I want to set, and then I use goal-motivation-conflict grids to plot and plan my stories.

Do the people in your real life show up in your writing?

Occasionally, I use an incident. I often use the amusing things my grandchildren have said. I don’t recreate specific people, but I use unique traits because they add realism.

Do you know the book’s ending before you start writing?

Happy ever after, of course, but no, I don’t usually know specifically how the story will end. I know the character’s traits, goals, conflict and have plot points ready, but I don’t plan scenes ahead. I admire writer who do! Some of my friends even plan out every scene they will write on notecards. I’ve tried it—I have no clue about scenes in advance, except for a few plot points. The characters and the unfolding plot tell me what happens next. The end has to be satisfying and true to the characters.

What's the best writing/marketing advice you can pass on to other writers?

You always hear “write the next book” and that advice is wise and true. There are writers who wrote a book three years ago and are still marketing that one book. Writing three books builds sales for each one. Writing ten books provides income if one isn’t as well-received or as heavily promoted. Writing twenty books gives me a backlist when a reader discovers me.

After speaking at a Writer Digest conference, an aspiring writer who’d read my bio asked, “How did you write fifty books? He sounded awestruck. I didn’t even have to think about my answer. I replied, “One at a time.” And I had a few years on him. (lol) But seriously, it’s about applying oneself and sticking to it.

Which of your books is your personal favorite?

That’s always a difficult question to answer. Each is special in its own way, but a couple stand out as favorites. Land of Dreams is my best-selling book ever. It has been reissued, republished, sold in many languages, and readers love it. Joe’s Wife didn’t get adequate distribution initially, but I got my rights back and independently published it, and it is doing very well. It has the elements that I fall for in a story—a reformed bad boy who is also an underdog, an orphan, and a marriage of convenience.

What is your favorite social media?

I prefer Facebook because of the ability to select who and what shows up on my timeline. I love to interact with readers and friends, but I don’t tolerate rudeness, crudeness or people on their political soapboxes, so I unfollow or unfriend those posters in a heartbeat. I love the ability to get thirty opinions on a character name or a plot point within an hour or so. I am in too many groups, but I enjoy Instant Pot recipes, furniture painting projects, seeing farmhouse decorating and marveling over what people have recently crocheted.

Do you read reviews of your books?

I read reviews of my books. I don’t respond. Critical reviews either cause me to rethink something or make me laugh. Not everyone is going to love my stories or my writing. I certainly don’t love everything I read. That’s why there are millions of books out there to choose from.

What does writing look like for you?

Sitting at my desk is like flipping a switch that turns on the words. I have a huge backlit keyboard, and my last one actually lasted five years—that’s a record. I do my plotting and character creating on paper, keep all of my research, character grids, notes in a three-ring binder that lies open beside me throughout writing the book. I’m a chronological writer, and I’m also a self-editor, so my first draft is pretty much my last draft. When I sit down to write, I read back over what I wrote the day before and tweak it. About halfway through the book, I finally divide it into chapters (I don’t know why I do it that way, but it works for me) and read through the book, editing, then move forward to the end. When I’m finished, I do a read-through and it’s final. My excellent proof-reader friends find my errors, and I’m good to go.

Fun Facts:

Most watched tv show

Don’t throw rocks. The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead are my favorite television series. People tend to assume it’s a “zombie” show. Yes, for sure, there are a lot of walking dead, but the series is not about them—they are external conflict. The entwined stories are about ordinary people surviving in the worst possible circumstances. It’s all about relationships, about life or death decisions, moral decisions—it’s about internal conflict and personal conflicts.

Fear the Walking Dead has one of my favorite character combinations ever. Garret Dillahunt (Burn Notice/Raising Hope) plays an ex-cop/part-time wild west show actor, who accidentally killed a robber and isolated himself before the disease started. Jenna Elfman (Dharma and Greg) was a nurse who feels responsible for the death of her child and an entire community. She’s broken—he’s broken—and when she washes up in front of his cabin, she’s not ready to feel again. She heals from an injury and goes on his way. He goes in search of her—in the vast wasteland of the apocalypse. They do find each other. Sigh.

I get it. Some think the walking dead parts are gross. Some of it is gross. But I watch all the behind-the-scenes, and that stuff is all make-up and special effects, which I can appreciate. I watch for great acting, fabulous actors, amazing writing. Toss in my favorite elements: second chances, forgiveness and underdogs. I’ve watched these two connected series multiple times.

Most worn accessory:

I love vintage jewelry and own way too much. I never take off the ring my husband gave me when we were dating, my great-grandmother’s wedding ring or my dad’s wedding ring.

Little-known facts about you

I do free-lance editing work on the side.
I’m the worship leader at a non-denominational full-gospel church.

How to reach/follow Cheryl:
Email Cheryl at: SaintJohn@aol.com
Amazon author page: https://tinyurl.com/y6js92y8
Visit her on the web: http://www.cherylstjohn.net/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/cheryl-st-john
Like her Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/CherylStJ
Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/y6js92y8
Twitter: https://twitter.com/_CherylStJohn
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cherylstjohn/
She's a Pinterest junkie! https://www.pinterest.com/cheryl_stjohn/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/24516.Cheryl_St_John
NEWSLETTER SIGN UP: http://eepurl.com/bqCji9

BUY LINKS

 

Dancing in the Dark is a sweet contemporary. PG
Dancing in the Dark: https://books2read.com/u/4XZxe9
Amazon: https://books2read.com/dancinginthedark-aspengold

 

Tanner is a sweet western. PG
Tanner: https://amzn.to/3fpOxV4


Friends, I sure hope you enjoyed getting to know Cheryl St. John!


Thank you so much for joining us, Cheryl!


If you're an author and you'd like to be showcased here, just let me know. Must be inspirational or clean, can be fiction or nonfiction.
Check out my website, connect with me, and sign up for my newsletter. https://sallyshupe.weebly.com/