I’m one of the authors participating in the challenge to get a new 25-novel cozy mystery boxed set onto the USA Today Bestseller List. It’s called 25 Mysteries to Die For and will be available from December 27th. And it’s just 99¢/99p!
So if you’re interested in adding hours of cozy mystery reading to your ereader for a bargain price, and helping us to achieve our goal at the same time, you can pre-order it right now for Nook or Kobo. (Coming soon for iBooks and Kindle).
In the meantime, you can get to know all the participating authors here. Check back often, I’ll be posting a new interview every day until the boxed set is launched.
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In today’s interview, I welcome…ME! My Cozy Mystery, Tapas, Carrot Cake and a Corpse, is featured in the above mentioned box set.
Sherri, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I was born in London and lived in the UK until my husband and I moved to Spain fifteen years ago.
I left my job as an events organiser when we moved to sunnier climes, having decided one cold and rainy night that we both fancied a complete life change. Decision made, we flew out to Spain the following month and bought a café bar on a marina in southern Spain which, incidentally, was the inspiration behind my cozy mystery series.
We had a wonderfully happy six years at the café. However, the hours we worked gave us little time to truly appreciate the wonderful country we now call home so, after much discussion, we decided to sell up and take a little time out to travel.
It was during our wanderings that I began to yearn to write again so, when we returned, I got straight to it. I achieved a lifelong dream when my first book, ‘Tapas, Carrot Cake and a Corpse’ was published in May 2015.
Apart from writing, I love to cook, read and spend time with friends, family and our adorable rescue dog, George.
Was there a certain time in your life you knew you wanted to write?
Yes, I’ve always loved to write. When I was six, I used to write short stories for family members which I’d force them to sit through as I read them out loud. When I was fourteen, I wrote a short book about a boy wizard called David Moon. If only J. K. Rowling hadn’t got there first!
What are you currently working on?
I’m working on book seven in my cozy mystery series and have just started a collection of short stories in collaboration with another author.
Of the books you’ve written, which one is your favorite and why?
I think book two in the series is my favourite. I’m a huge animal lover, and a big softie so, without giving anything away, writing that book gave me a huge amount of pleasure.
What books have most influenced you as a writer?
In recent years, all of J. K. Rowling’s books. Even though I write in a different genre, I love her writing and I find her personal story a huge inspiration. When I was very young, though, I rarely went anywhere without an Enid Blyton book under my arm.
What do you find to be the most challenging part of writing? And the most rewarding?
For me, the most challenging parts are keeping to deadlines (which I’m hopeless at) and getting started on new stories. Coming up with plots, twists and red herrings that are fresh and entertaining is what takes the most time, and the most brain power! Without doubt, the most rewarding is hearing from readers who enjoy the stories.
What book is on your nightstand?
Currently, there are two. ‘Land Girls’ by Angela Huth, and ‘A Walk in the Woods’ by Bill Bryson. I always read more than one book at once.
What can we look forward to seeing from you in the future?
Book seven in my current series, a new cozy mystery series and the short story collection I mentioned earlier.
Is there anything you’d like to share with your readers?
Although my books are light-hearted reads, they are all mysteries with a twist, waiting to be solved. As cooking is one of my passions, it made sense to write a series with a culinary theme, although food is not the main focus of the books. That said, recipes are included.
Most of all, though, I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who’s taken a chance on my books. I hope they’ve enjoyed reading them as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them.
AUTHOR LINKS
Website https://sherribryan.com
Facebook author page https://www.facebook.com/sherribryanauthor
Twitter http://twitter.com/sbryanauthor
AUTHOR BIO
Born in London, I was bitten by the writing bug very early in life.
Spurred on by an over-active imagination, I couldn’t stop the stories that were flowing onto pages when I was just six years old. Thankfully, that’s as far as they got.
Despite being a voracious reader, it wasn’t until years later that I discovered the cozy mystery genre by pure chance when I accidentally downloaded the wrong book onto my Kindle. I’d never even heard of cozy mysteries but I read the book anyway and I knew there and then that I’d found the genre I wanted to write in. My first book followed a few months later in May 2015.
As cooking is also one of my passions, I was delighted that I could incorporate it into my stories, all of which make up my culinary cozy mystery series, and all of which include a selection of recipes.
When I’m not writing, you’ll most likely find me with my nose in a book, rustling up something experimental in the kitchen or out with the dog.
Tapas, Carrot Cake and a Corpse by Sherri Bryan is just one of the titles featured in a 25-novel cosy mystery collection called 25 Mysteries to Die For which aims to hit the USA Today Bestseller List at the end of the year.