Get Lost With Sherrie Hansen!

Folks, please help me welcome Sherrie Hansen!

WHO IS SHERRIE?

Twenty-four years ago, Sherrie rescued a dilapidated Victorian house in northern Iowa from the bulldozer's grips and turned it into a bed and breakfast and tea house, the Blue Belle Inn.  After 12 years of writing romance novels, Sherrie met and married her real-life hero, Mark Decker, a pastor. They now live in two different houses, 85 miles apart, and Sherrie writes on the run whenever she has a spare minute. Sherrie enjoys playing the piano, photography, traveling, and going on weekly adventures with her nieces and nephew. Sherrie writes contemporary romantic suspense for Second Wind Publishing and Indigo Sea Press. “Shy Violet” is Sherrie’s eighth book to be published.

THE STORY BLURB

When a poor choice leaves school teacher Violet Johansen stranded in the car park of Eilean Donan Castle in Scotland, Violet wonders if she’ll ever find her way back to her comfort zone. She has two choices – to trust a piper who looks exactly like someone she dated a decade ago, or a band of nefarious pirates. Pirates. Pipers. People and mistakes from the past that threaten to haunt you forever… A castle that’s been ravaged and rebuilt… Only time will tell if Violet and Nathan’s fragile new friendship survive the storm and see love reborn.

READ A LITTLE, BUY THE BOOK

FIND SHERRIE:

Contact     |     Website     |     Facebook     |     Twitter     |     Amazon

Goodreads     |     Pinterest     |     Blogs

AND NOW….

ALEXA: How often do you get lost in a story?

SHERRIE:   I’m perpetually lost! If I’m not up reading half the night, I’m working on my latest story, murder mystery, or blog post. I take my Alphasmart or laptop with me wherever I go, and write while I’m riding in the car, or waiting for an appointment. I dream about my characters and wake up with complete conversations running through my mind. My husband always says there’s no “off” switch on my brain, and for better or worse, I think he’s right.

ALEXA: Is there a playlist you’d recommend for reading your latest release?

SHERRIE: I love listening to any kind of Celtic music when I’m writing books set in Scotland, but for Shy Violet in particular, it would have to be the Red Hot Chilli Pipers – fondly known as “bagpipers who rock”.

ALEXA: What is your biggest vice?

SHERRIE: I have two… Krispie Kreme glazed, cream-filled doughnuts and Scratch cupcakes (a moist, Iowan delicacy with buttercream frosting to die for). Well… three if you count All Lovin’ No Oven cookie dough sundaes from Cold Stone Creamery. 

ALEXA: If you couldn’t be a writer anymore, what profession would you take up?

SHERRIE: To be honest, I can’t imagine not being a writer. Writing is more “who I am” than what I do. I “do” my job as an innkeeper, hostess, entrepreneur, chef, pastor’s wife, musician, and public relations pro. I dabble in interior design. I just “am” a writer. Speaking as a master juggler of many career paths who’s getting older and more worn out by the day, I’m more likely to give up a profession than take up a new one.  For now, I’m just thankful I get to do it all and that I love what I do!   

ALEXA: What would you say is your most interesting quirk?

SHERRIE: I am known far and wide for my unique hats, and almost always wear one when I’m out and about. In my defense (because I admittedly spend a lot on my colorfully coordinated collection), I am convinced that my mad-hatter habit costs less than getting my hair colored and styled on a regular basis.

ALEXA: Which era would you least like to have lived in, fashion-wise and why? Most?

SHERRIE: No matter how appealing and cute the ladies looked, I would not have wanted to live in the medieval or Victorian era where women were laced up tight, made to wear restrictive corsets, and covered in layer upon layer of clothing. I hate tight clothing! I love the flapper dresses and adorable hats currently being featured on Downton Abbey. Definitely my style! 

ALEXA: What is your hero’s “kryptonite”? In other words, what will bring him instantly to his knees?
SHERRIE: Nathan’s “kryptonite” is his father.  That’s why, when he found out what happened between his father and Violet, he simply couldn’t handle it.

ALEXA: What will always make you smile, even on a bad day?

SHERRIE: See above. (Dan Aykroyd dancing.)

ALEXA: What inspires you daily?

SHERRIE: I’m a great fan of looking for beauty in my own backyard.  Sunsets, whatever flower is blooming in my garden, a crystalline snowfall in winter, the sugar maple tree outside my door… I love to travel, and find that a change in scenery lifts my spirits and rejuvenates my perspective tremendously. But in between trips, it’s the beauty that surrounds me that keeps me going.

ALEXA: How did you come up with the idea for your book?

SHERRIE: There was a time in my life when something I had done in my past almost ruined my prospects for the future.  At the time… I mean, how could I have known? It was all so innocent. But as Violet soon learns, forgiveness is one thing, but everything we do still has repercussions.  That’s how Violet’s story was born. The backdrop of Eilean Donan castle was cinched the second I heard and saw “Nathan” playing his pipes.

ALEXA: What’s your favorite rerun?
SHERRIE: Even though I’ve seen “Rules of Engagement” dozens of time, Jeff and Audrey always make me laugh.

ALEXA: What’s the last show you binge watched?
SHERRIE: Chopped. I admit it. I’m hooked.

ALEXA’S GOTTA ASK, SHERRIE’S GOTTA ANSWER:

ALEXA: WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE ACTOR/ACTRESS & WHY? 

SHERRIE: I’ve always had a thing for Dan Aykroyd. He’s cool, tall, musical, and has a sexy, smirky smile. And… the man can move. I’m a pushover for a great dancer. Natural rhythm is such a turn on.   

UP NEXT FOR SHERRIE...

I’m currently working on Sweet William, the next of my Wildflowers of Scotland novels, slated for release in June 2016. I’m half done, and plan to use NaNoWriMo to finish the rough draft.   

GOT A QUESTION YOU’D LIKE TO ASK YOUR FANS?

SHERRIE: I’ve written four wildflowers of Scotland novels – Thistle Down, Wild Rose, Blue Belle and Shy Violet. Which of the flowers do you most identify with? 

Thanks so much for joining us today, Sherrie! Folks, make sure to comment because Sherrie is giving away a copy of Wild Rose. (North America only)

Note: Please leave an email address for notification. Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only unless specifically mentioned in the post. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants. Winners of drawings are responsible for checking this site in a timely manner. If prizes are not claimed in a timely manner, the author may not have a prize available. Get Lost In A Story cannot be responsible for an author's failure to mail the listed prize. GLIAS does not automatically pass email addresses to guest authors unless the commenter publicly posts their email address.

 

Get Lost With Sherrie Hansen!

Folks, please help me welcome Sherrie Hansen to our blog! I'm so excited because Sherrie is another person who writes about my own favorite place, Scotland. Let's get busy!

WHO IS SHERRIE?

Twenty-three years ago, Sherrie Hansen rescued a dilapidated Victorian house in northern Iowa from the bulldozer's grips and turned it into a bed and breakfast and tea house, the Blue Belle Inn. Sherrie grew up on a farm south of Austin, Minnesota. She has lived in Bar Harbor, Maine, Colorado Springs, CO, and Augsburg, Germany. She attended Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL. After 12 years of writing romance novels late at night when she couldn't sleep (mostly because she was so keyed up from working 12 hour days at the B&B), she met and married her real-life hero, Mark Decker, a pastor. Sherrie lives in 2 different houses, 85 miles apart, and writes on the run whenever she has a spare minute. With her Wildflowers of Scotland novels, "Wild Rose" and “Blue Belle”, she has seven books in print. Sherrie enjoys playing the piano with the worship team at church, needlepointing, photography, decorating historic homes, traveling, and going on weekly adventures with her nieces and nephew.

THE STORY BLURB

Isabelle doesn’t want to be found. Michael doesn’t want to be found out. When Damon starts searching for the centuries-old gold he thinks is buried in Tobermory Bay, it won’t matter what walls they’re hiding behind. Rocks will fall. Castles will crumble. No secret will be safe.

 Age-old castles and blue-watered bays,

White sandy beaches and quaint cottage stays.
A rainbow of colors, and chocolates, hand-dipped,
A valley of bluebells, and sheep, freshly clipped.
Legends galore, buried treasure, and more…   
In Tobermory, Scotland, that’s what’s in store.

READ AN EXCERPT!

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS SHERRIE?

Contact: sherrie@bluebelleinn.com    
Website: http://www.BlueBelleBooks.com   
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SherrieHansenAuthor   
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/SherrieHansen  
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2870454.Sherrie_Hansen
Pintrest: http://www.pinterest.com/sherriebluebell/
Blog: http://sherriehansen.wordpress.com/  

AND NOW...

Alexa: How often to you get lost in a story?
Sherrie:  I read in spurts, just like I write. In the summertime, I’m lost in my work - entertaining guests at my B&B and Tea House.  In the winter, I’m always lost in a story, either my current work in progress or a book written by one of my favorite authors.

 

Alexa:  Is there a playlist you’d recommend for reading your latest release? 
Sherrie:  I love Celtic music, and enjoy Secret Garden, Nightnoise, and a favorite Canadian group, The Rankin Family.  Whether a toe-tapping jig or a haunting melody, the music helps me envision the landscape of Scotland and the cadence of the voices. For Blue Belle, you might also listen to the song, Jump for My Love. You’ll understand why when you get to the end.  

Alexa:  I'm right there with you and the Celtic music! What was the first story you remember writing? 
Sherrie:  I used to write plays for my cousins to perform under the trees in the front yard of my Grandma Hansen’s house. We even charged admission, little entrepreneur that I was (and still am) The first one that I remember was a story based on the song, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” Let’s just say my cousins weren’t all that thrilled. But the audience did give us rave reviews.       

Alexa:  What’s something you’d like to tell your fans? 
Sherrie:  Please don’t make assumptions about my books until you’ve read one or two. My books and book covers are unique and not easily categorized, so it’s hard to put a traditional label on them. My characters are a little older, and my stories are primarily second chance at love scenarios. They’re romance, but they’re much more than that as well – one reviewer called them “the thinking woman’s romance”. They sometimes have faith and family themes and dilemmas, but they’re not Christian fiction.  Some have steamy scenes. They’re filled with Midwestern-isms and handmade quilts, Victorian houses, B&B’s, quaint European locales, and delicious foods. I’m told they’re sometimes humorous and that they’ll sometimes make you cry, that they’ll keep you up all night reading to see what’s going to happen next. So, if reading this reminds you of someone you know, please recommend my books, or better yet, buy them one for a gift! Thank you.

Alexa:   If you were given a chance to travel to the past where would you go and specifically why? 
Sherrie:  It’s the early 20^th century. I’m wearing a long, flowing, blue gown with a fitted waist, my hair dressed in a pompadour, my cheeks as pink as an apple blossom with excitement, my dance card full, surrounded by The Crowd at a Deep Valley High School dance. My favorite books are the Betsy Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace – a Minnesota, Victorian age series similar to the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, with a book for nearly every year from kindergarten on up until Betsy was grown up and married. What a grand time it would be to live out one of the scenes I’ve read about so many times.  

Alexa:  What question are you never asked in interviews, but wish you were? 

Sherrie:  Strangely enough, no one ever thinks to ask me if I’ve climbed a mountain, which is a shame, because I have, and I’m very proud of it. The greyer my hair gets and the plumper I get around the middle, the more I think back to the day I scaled Pike’s Peak, a 14, 115 foot peak outside Colorado Springs, where I lived for 11 years. It was one of the most awesome moments of my life. I did it! I really did it!

Alexa:  Which of your characters would you most like to invite to dinner, and why? 
Sherrie:  I would invite Anders from Night and Day or Tommy Love from Love Notes to an intimate, candlelight dinner for two. Dinner with Anders would be very brief, and might go half-uneaten. Tommy Love would hopefully serenade me with love songs in front of the fireplace while I snuggled under a quilt and watched the flames dancing around the logs. 

Alexa:  What dreams have been realized as a result of your writing? 
Sherrie:  I find it a real honor when people read my books. It somehow says to me that what I think, and the words that I say are worthy of someone’s time and attention. I feel like people really come to know me when they read my books, and if they enjoy what they read and are somehow enriched by my words - it’s an incredible high. I have no children, so in a very real way, the books I write are my legacy.

Alexa:  Which era would you least like to have lived in, fashion-wise and why? Most? 
Sherrie:  I totally detest being trussed up in a corset, girdle, or any kind of tight, restrictive clothing.  I love the loose, unfitted styles of the 1920’s – think Downton Abbey’s post war seasons – and the adorable hats the ladies wore during the same era. Totally me.

Alexa:  Describe an absolutely perfect day. 

Sherrie:  Morning:  Sleep late, wake up to a cool breeze coming in the window and breakfast in bed (my husband makes the absolute best scrambled eggs).  Afternoon:  No appointments, no meetings, no phone calls – doing whatever I want to do in my nightgown. Maybe a massage sometime late that afternoon. Evening:  Dinner at a favorite restaurant with my family and favorite friends from everywhere in the world. Calories would be conveniently non-existent, and my nephew, Cole, and his wife, Kayla, would provide musical entertainment. The evening would end with some honest, open conversation, a little dancing, and a lot of hugs.  Nighttime:  A memory foam mattress, my husband, a beautiful view of the countryside, peace, quiet, stars… you’ll have to use your imagination for the rest.   

 Alexa: What’s up next for you, Sherrie?

Sherrie: I’m 3/4 of the way done with Shy Violet, my third Wildflowers of Scotland novel. Readers can look forward to seeing a dashing bagpipe player, some scruffy pirates that are smuggling whiskey, Eilean Donan Castle, and some major interactions with Rose, Ian, and Lyndsie from Wild Rose, and Isabelle from Blue Belle.  You can read the first chapter at the end of Blue Belle.

Alexa: Do you have any questions for your fans?

Sherrie: Which wildflower of Scotland do you most identify with and why? Thistle Down (a bit prickly)?  Wild Rose (always getting into trouble)? Blue Belle (not feeling very perky for one reason or another – even a bit downtrodden)? Shy Violet (have trouble speaking your mind or standing up for yourself even when you know you should)?

Folks, be sure to leave a comment! Sherrie will be giving away an ecopy or print copy of Blue Belle to one lucky commenter! Sherrie, thanks so much for joining us today!

Note: Please leave an email address for notification. Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only unless specifically mentioned in the post. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants. Winners of drawings are responsible for checking this site in a timely manner. If prizes are not claimed in a timely manner, the author may not have a prize available. Get Lost In A Story cannot be responsible for an author's failure to mail the listed prize. GLIAS does not automatically pass email addresses to guest authors unless the commenter publicly posts their email address.