Brit Writers spoke with the wonderful Sheryl Browne…

Mark, a single father, is desperate for love. He doesn't hold out much hope, though, that there is a woman out there with a heart big enough to love him and his autistic son. Enter big-hearted Donna, plus three-legged dog. And now Mark has a dilemma. Pretending not to mind her house-bunny chewing his bootlaces, he’s smitten with Donna on sight. Should he tell her his situation up-front? Announcing he has a child with autism spectrum disorder on a first date tends to ensure there isn’t a second. Or should he skirt around the subject, which amounts to a lie? When one lie leads to another, can he ever win Donna’s trust back? Admit that he didn't trust Donna enough to let her into his life?

Who is Sheryl Browne?

I live in Worcestershire but grew up in Birmingham, UK, where I studied Art & Design.  I’m a partner in my own business, a mother, a foster parent to disabled dogs, I’m currently studying part-time for my MA in Writing – and I decided to become a literary superstar when…  Lol!  I am now published – thank you Safkhet Publishing – but I’m not sure many writers become literary superstars in today’s tough publishing climate.  Seriously, I’m artistic by nature therefore I’ve always had a creative imagination.  Reading, anything and everything, and making up stories in my head was a kind of escapism for me.  And, believe me, when you come from a large family, escapism is as necessary as food for survival sometimes.  I suppose then I’ve had a passion for writing since childhood, when – perhaps realising I wasn’t overconfident – my English teacher awarded me 21+/20 for one of my essays and went on to nurture what he thought was a talent.  I’m an avid reader.  I love anything that explores life and relationships and how people cope with and grow through certain life events.  Looking back, my first attempts at novel writing were possibly a catharsis to loss in my own life.  Without going into too much detail, I’d taken compassionate leave from work to nurse my mum through early onset Alzheimer’s.  Losing my mum in my twenties was devastating, of course, but I found my way of coping was to remember the hysterically funny moments we had (and we did, much to the bemusement of my father, who just didn’t get women’s quirky SOH).  Out of necessity, I’d worked since leaving school and being a young single mum when my mum got ill, giving up completely in order to write wasn’t an option.  I started jotting things down in my spare time, though, and from little acorns…

What inspired you to write Somebody to Love?

As mentioned, I like to look at life and its sometimes tumultuous events.  I think many an author will tell you even a single such life-event can often fire their imagination enough to write a whole story around it.  My story was inspired by ‘a lost little boy’, an autistic little boy, who wasn’t lost at all, it turned out, but on a mission to throw his shoes over his neighbour’s garden fence in order to facilitate a meeting with her three-legged dog.  Though I do have experience of special needs children, still I worried about that all-important detail, particularly as I was incorporating the little boy’s Autism Assistance Dog (ADD) into the story.  A tremendous amount of research was called for therefore.  I could go on, but I think a snippet from the book’s first review – from a reviewer who has a special needs child and which actually rendered me speechless, so overcome was I when I saw it – has dispelled those worries:

This fabulous book is a Rom Com with a difference. It’s funny, its heart-breaking, and it will either make you sigh with contentment or scream with frustration.  At times it made me weep. The special needs thread running through this book will tug at your heartstrings and give you a greater understanding of what it’s like trying to find love when your life is full of complications.

Through this book, Sheryl Browne has captured the essence of love, life, family and the fear of giving away your heart. She has also perfectly captured the highs and lows of parenting a special needs child.

Thank you, Jontybabe JB Johnston. You succeeded where no one ever has in rendering me silent.

Tell us more about Somebody to Love.

Simply, In Somebody to Love, my protagonist, Mark, has a special needs son, ergo a lot riding on any relationship he might enter into.

It’s never easy to talk about your own book without wanting to say, I believe that it’s good, I believe you will enjoy it (please read it!!).  You do believe it’s as good as it can be, of course.  Authors, who have often been writing and learning for many years, work hard to make sure their books are.  The ‘written in blood’ adage really does apply sometimes.  Passionate about what you do, you pour your whole heart and soul into your stories, working hard on research, determined to get the detail right and never to trivialise emotive issues that some people might live and struggle with on a daily basis.  My writing, though romantic comedy – and I am happy with that title, because romance and comedy are the key elements – has been described as funny but thoughtful.  Thoughtful because I feel drawn to look at the relationships of people whose lives may be little more complicated than most and therefore their emotions a little more tangled.

Tell us about your journey to publication.

How long have you got?  No, I won’t give you a blow-by-blow account and bore you to tears. Suffice to say, the road has been a little bit bumpy.  Long story short, my first book got picked up by a top London agent (who will remain nameless).  Sadly, it didn’t get picked up by a publisher… sniffle …but the bug had bitten.  I worked part-time thereafter, determined to keep writing.  I had one or two similar ‘close calls’, inviting interest from other agents and even two ‘big’ publishers.  My ideas were good, they said, my characterisation was good, but obviously I couldn’t quite get the detail right.  Still, being a passionate soul who would wither and die without her writing, I kept at it, enlisting editorial help, perfecting my submission letter, drafting and redrafting, taking on board feedback; using every piece of criticism constructively – as constructively as one can use criticism – and, eventually, I think I got there.

How important do you think initiatives such as Brit Writers are?

Ah, I’m glad you asked me that.  Sometimes, in amongst all that feedback, you come across a golden nugget, a little snippet of advice that’s like an illuminating light, and which just might make your book shine.  For me that came from the Brit Writers. The advice: If your first chapter isn’t your best chapter, consider moving it. ‘Pardon?’ I uttered, astonished.  ‘Um…?’

The first chapter has to provide the all-important hook, this I knew.  It also has to introduce the characters, show their inner/outer conflict, along with the ‘inciting incident’ which brings your characters together and into conflict, i.e. sets the tone for the story.  That’s an awful lot of information/background information you are going to be cramming into that first chapter. Could it be – horror of horrors – that your slaved over first chapter actually ends up muddled and boring?

The point of that piece of advice became abundantly clear to me, once I’d pondered it.  I wasn’t starting my story in the right place!  Three published books later – and another due for release, I always bear that advice in mind now.  My first chapter might be spot on, as written, but I’m quite open to changing it or moving my chapters around, if necessary.  At the end of the day, it is my book.  I’m the author.  I have the power to rewrite it!

Thank you Brit Writers for that piece of inspired advice.

I’d just like to refer back to my intro here, too.  During my school years, I was lucky enough to have a teacher who was prepared to invest in me.  Not all children are, and they flounder.   I think the Brit Writers Creative Writing Programme for Schools is fabulous: “encouraging and inspiring new writing talent, particularly among young people…”  In my mind, initiatives such as Brit Writers are vital.

What advice would you give to new and unpublished writers?

Read. Lots.  Obviously, you’re not going to plagiarize, but take a leaf out of other authors’ books and see how they've tackled the issue/genre you might be struggling with.

Read your work out loud, preferably into a tape recorder, rather than to the dog.  If you hesitate while reading, chances are your reader will, too.  It really is a great way of catching all those glitches and getting rid of superfluous narrative.

Have a one-to-one with yourself.  Be honest and ask yourself, is this a burning passion I truly can’t give up?  If the answer is an adamant yes, then don’t aspire to write, do it.  Employ and editor, if you need to.  Get feedback.  Use every bit of advice – as long as it makes sense (and you know when it does) – and stay true to your art, because that’s what it is.

What’s next for Sheryl Browne?

As mentioned I am published.  My debut novel, Recipes for Disaster - combining deliciously different and fun recipes with sexilicious romantic comedy, was one I was commissioned to write by my publisher.  They liked what they saw and promptly offered me a further three-book contract under the Safkhet Publishing Soul imprint.  The first in that imprint, Somebody to Love, featuring a single father and his autistic little boy, launched July 1.  Warrant for Love, bringing together three couples in a twisting story that resolves perfectly, released August 1 and A Little bit of Madness, featuring a cast of older people I like to call my ‘elderly independents’, comes in February 2013.

I also have two works-in-progress, both of which Safkhet are keen to contract, so I’m certainly not going to be slacking!

I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Safkhet Publishing, who believed in me enough to open a whole new imprint for my books – and more books like them, something to cheer up the reader.  Also to readers and reviewers, some of whom have been kind enough to post up fabulous comments on Goodreads and Amazon.  To Brit Writers – and to the many bloggers who continue to help me share my news and make my books more visible.

I’m also a featured Author and Editor Loveahappyending.com which is an interactive author/reader group showcasing thirty authors from around the world. Their support has been unstinting and knowledge-sharing invaluable.

THANK YOU!  I couldn’t have done it without you!

Website: www.sherylbrowne.com

Twitter: @sherylbrowne