Readers, I met Sharon Lavy in a writer's conference in Dallas a number of years ago. She and her friend interested me, and I had a lot of questions. I finally had a chance to ask them, and they helped me understand the history of the Anabaptists, and how they became Amish, Mennonite, and German Baptists.
Welcome, Sharon. Why do you write the
kind of books you do?
I grew up with two parents in a church-going, Jesus-believing atmosphere. Mom and Dad were very much in love with each other. Dad
never hesitated to kiss and hug mom in our presence.
However for various reasons growing up was hard for all six
of us siblings. So all my stories will have a misunderstanding between a child
and parent that heals by the end of the story.
My parents have both gone to heaven so I cannot hurt them by
speaking up.
Besides when you came
to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in your life?
I am 69
years old with many wonderful events in my life. The not so happy events have
helped me cling to the Lord. So I have to be thankful for them also. My walk
with Jesus began at thirteen, and I have stumbled a time or two since.
As my parents left this life and sailed to heaven, first
thing I thought of ~ Mom first ~ “Now Mom understands.” And then two years
later~ “Now Dad understands.”
How has being
published changed your life?
I am an introvert and am used to staying in the background.
It is easier to share objects or things than it is to share the deep things of
my heart.
But with the feedback from readers telling me that my
stories have touched their lives, I realize God wants me to be willing to share
more intimately.
What are you reading
right now?
What is your current
work in progress?
Farewell for A While.
A young woman mails her invitations one month before the wedding date.
Five days later a major event takes place at the annual
conference of her denomination which rocks the stability of her world.
Five days after that, she discovers her family and the
family of her future husband are not on the same page. In fact, they may not
even be in the same book.
What would be your
dream vacation?
One dream trip would be to visit Haiti in the one or two less humid
months of the year which is January or February.
Our children are serving a two-year term in Haiti and the
winter months are reserved for work teams, not visitors. At the ages of 69 and
70, husband and I don’t exactly qualify for the hard work of the work teams.
Our last trip in September of 2013, husband and I were drenched
with perspiration from the very high humidity. It drained us and we were not
able to help the children as much as we would have preferred.
Our twelve-year-old granddaughter did share her writing with
me, though and it is exciting to have another budding author in the family.
How do you choose
your settings for each book?
The settings are parts of actual places I have been and
modified for the benefit of story. In Tales of the Ohio Valley,
I have taken actual state park items—a falls from one area, a covered bridge
from another, and combined them in one larger state park.
If you could spend an
evening with one person who is currently alive, who would it be and why?
An interesting-looking family has begun to attend our
congregation. I have met and talked to both the husband and his wife.
The wife looks like a normal person. It is the man who is interesting.
With his three-piece suit, dress shirt, and tie, he dresses
very nice. His waist-long hair is groomed and falls in one long braid down his
back. The first time I met him I noticed his well-shaped 6 or 8 inches long
beard.
The next time I met him I learned that after that first 6 or
8 inches, his beard was braided. It had been tucked into his vest and suit coat
when I first met him. His beard is as long as the hair on his head. I didn’t
know a man’s hair could grow that long. I wonder how long Samson’s hair was?
So like I said this man is an interesting-looking character.
The Anabaptist people are non-warring, and I have led a very
sheltered life.
So the most interesting fact I have learned about this man
is that he is a retired sniper from our US military.
All I can say is God must want me to have a sniper in one of
my next books. And now I have to find out if this gentleman is willing to talk
about it.
What are your hobbies,
besides writing and reading?
I used to love to sew. Still do actually, but have little
time for it. But I still cut out dresses for myself and some of my children and
grandchildren to have others sew up. I do love to tweak our patterns and it is
a good thing because some of have a problem staying the same size. Sigh. Or we
want a different element added to a pattern we are using. I buy pattern-making
fabric by the 250 yard roll.
That’s interesting. I
have made several patterns myself, because I have a hard time finding clothes
that fit my body. What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you
overcome it?
Interruptions. It takes hours to get back into the flow.
With two books published and another one in the works, I am eager to figure out
how to overcome this problem.
What advice would you
give to a beginning author?
Read writing craft books. Apply what you can. Read another
craft book. Apply what you have learned. Repeat.
It can take years to hone your craft, and it takes
dedication. But if you are a real writer, you can’t give up.
If you can give up writing, do so at once and save yourself
a lot of grief.
Tell us about the
featured book.
I looked through a catalog looking for a likely image of a
character to write about. When I came to a model with short blond hair, looking
like the character in You’ve Got Mail
a story line popped into my head.
The blonde became a nurse named Danielle with a nickname of
Danni, and her husband would be falsely accused of drug dealing.
That is all I knew as I began writing the story. The
characters surprised me with twists and turns that I did not expect, but the
basic story always remained the same. Now the title that best fits the finished
version is Deadly Secrets.
I was privileged to read this book while you were still editing it, but please give us the
first page of the book for my readers.
The man reached into his left pants pocket. No keys. Where
were they? Breathing heavily, he patted his right pocket, then the back ones.
Had she pulled them? Could they be stashed in her purse? He
should have searched before he left. No way was he going back into that cave
now.
“Snap out of it,” he told himself. Panic was a killer. “Get
a grip, man.”
His stomach ached. The pep talk wasn’t working yet. He
stopped walking, bent over, braced his hands on his knees, turned his head, and
hurled.
He cursed. Now he had to cover that, as well.
When he finished, he stumbled over to the lone blue car,
opened the door, and dropped into the driver’s seat. Maybe he’d slip into
Jake’s bar. God knows he needed a drink. Better make it vodka though. She’d be
suspicious if she smelled alcohol on his breath.
It wouldn’t do to have that woman discover his near
downfall. Besides, he had to keep his wits about him. No liquor, then.
Using his lock pick, he hotwired the engine, then drove
slowly out of the park. No need to draw attention. He knew the location of the
closest chop shop and turned onto a county road before picking up speed.
In no time at all he pulled into the lot behind the
building. After wiping down the steering wheel, he got out and ducked behind
the car to avoid curious eyes.
He looked the car over. Nice, worth a bit. It was a shame to
have to dump this thing. But he didn’t even want the chop shop owner to know
who had dropped it off.
Pulling out his Leatherman, he removed the license plates
from the front and back of the car. He wiped his prints off with his cloth
bandana. Then wrapped the cloth around the plates, slipped them down the back
of his trousers, and pulled his shirttail out to drape over everything.
Feeling better already, he whistled and sprinted down the
road. A new life required a new habit. Maybe he’d take up jogging. Become a
health nut. Running was good. Everyone said so.
Even padded with the bandana, the license plates irritated
his back. He hoped it wouldn’t take long to find a good spot to ditch them. A
half mile off the road he came upon a large pile of junk. The old toys,
appliances, a crushed picnic basket reminded him of his crushed dreams.
How can readers find
you on the Internet?
I am on FaceBook and Twitter and would love to
connect with all of you.
Thank you, Sharon, for sharing some of your life and your new book with us.
Readers, here’s a link to the book. By using it when you order, you help support this blog.
Deadly Secret
- Amazon.com
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