Sharon Dunn Interview

Q: Let me start with asking you to tell us a little bit about yourself.

A. I write humorous mysteries and romantic suspense. My first book was published in 2003. It was called Romance Rustlers and Thunderbird Thieves. This new book Zero Visibility is my 11^th book. On the personal level, I have three kids and a hubby I have been married to almost 25 years. The big change for me this year has been that I gave up eating almost all processed sugar. I relapse once in a while and sometimes I have dreams about cake, but I would say overall the change has helped cut out most of the roller coaster highs and lows in my energy level.

Q: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

A. Writing has always been my way of making sense of the world. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t write. The idea that someone might pay me for something I wrote happened around the time my oldest son was born. He is now 20.

Q: Could you give us the highlights of your professional writing career including how you got your first writing break?

A. I think the highlight for me has been the personal growth. This business is about rejection, and I had to learn that my identity doesn’t come from getting a book published or being on the bestseller list. It was a hard lesson for me and one that I have to review from time to time when I feel those old insecurities rising to the surface, but really it’s the only way to survive in this business.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release Zero Visibility?

A. It’s about a man and woman who get caught in a freak snowstorm on a mountain while they are being pursued by thieves who are bent on killing them.

Q: Where did you get your inspiration for Zero Visibility?

A: I got this idea that I wanted to have characters who were completely isolated from the world and in extreme, life threatening danger. I wanted to explore how two characters survive in a situation like that when the only resource they have is each other.

Q: What is the main thing you hope readers remember from this story?

A: The early feedback from readers tells me that it is one of those books that they haven’t been able to put down and stayed up late to read. I hope my readers lose sleep over this book. It would be the best compliment I could get.

Q: What is your favorite scene/chapter from the book?

A: One of the settings for the action is an abandoned ski resort. I had a lot of fun coming up with how the chase between the hero and heroine and the thieves would play out utilizing the setting.

Q: What inspires you to write?

A. Sometimes it’s an idea. Like for this book, Zero Visibility, I was fascinated by what it takes for people to survive in extreme circumstances. Not only to stay alive physically, but to not lose hope when the situation looks hopeless.

Q: How has being a published novelist differed from your expectations of the profession?

A: I thought once I got that first book published, I would be hiring the maid and putting in a pool. Well, I still have to mop my own floors and the closest I come to a pool is the river that runs through our property.

Q: What advice or tips do you have for writers who are just getting started?

A: Fall in love with being alone in a room listening to the tapping of the keys on the keyboard. Everything else is icing on the cake. You must really love making a sentence, a metaphor, a story work.

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?

A. I have another Love Inspired Suspense coming out in March 2013. It’s called Guard Duty and it is part of a series about a police K-9 unit in Texas.

Q: When you’re not writing what do you like to do?

A. I am the queen of clutter and the princess of disorganization, so I spend most of my spare time trying to find things in my house.

Q: Where can readers find you on the internet?

A. www.sharondunnbooks.net

Q: Anything else you’d like to tell or share with us?

A. The title of the book Zero Visibility has two meanings. The first meaning is in reference to the blizzard and not being able to see very far, but the second meaning has to do with being able to “see” people for who they really are. It’s about discernment.

Finally, I think it’s funny that a book that takes place in March and is about a snowstorm is being released in July, sort of the opposite of a beach read.