tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post6508994560032647392..comments2024-03-22T05:18:29.555-04:00Comments on Romance Bandits: The Life and Times of Sherry Thomas--An Author InterviewLoucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02217492654108300014noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-10962041129139083052008-03-20T09:45:00.000-04:002008-03-20T09:45:00.000-04:00So yes, experienced universality expressed in imag...<I>So yes, experienced universality expressed in imagined settings.</I><BR/><BR/>Perfect, Sherry, that's perfect. I'm going to quote you on this.Keira Soleorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14440213826734580889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-32118944069021274022008-03-20T02:08:00.000-04:002008-03-20T02:08:00.000-04:00Thanks so much for being with us today, Sherry, an...Thanks so much for being with us today, Sherry, and best of luck with your books!Christine Wellshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14260589566405262159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-42142326894575597542008-03-19T23:46:00.000-04:002008-03-19T23:46:00.000-04:00And let me just say again how wonderful and fun it...And let me just say again how wonderful and fun it has been to be among the Banditas. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.<BR/><BR/>Banditas rock!Sherry Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12313921077346721887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-86741366470408396322008-03-19T22:38:00.001-04:002008-03-19T22:38:00.001-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Sherry Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12313921077346721887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-37220786473649777152008-03-19T22:38:00.000-04:002008-03-19T22:38:00.000-04:00And Keira, no it's not too late. The query contes...And Keira, no it's not too late. The query contest runs till 3/25.Sherry Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12313921077346721887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-50871170523752708522008-03-19T22:37:00.000-04:002008-03-19T22:37:00.000-04:00Whether it's Tolkein's characters or Jane Austen's...<I>Whether it's Tolkein's characters or Jane Austen's, aside from the funkiness of costume or skin color or what-have-you, their struggles and joys are universal, human, and very reality-based. To me, that's the part that attracts people to certain books: How much they can identify with what's happening within and without the characters' personalities. So, to you is this universality imagined and not experienced? Or did I not understand what you wrote in that sentence.</I><BR/><BR/>Excellent question. Forces me to think deeper into what I've said. :-)<BR/><BR/>I think what we are saying is more or less the same. When I say imagination-based fiction, I don't mean that the universality is imagined, but that it is expressed in an imagined setting.<BR/><BR/>Take Professor Tolkien. Many elements of the world of Middle Earth arose from his fascination with mythology and languages. But the themes of death and ineluctable changes and great sadness (not entirely without optimism but pervasive nevertheless)surely came of his WWI experience during which four best friends from unversity went to war and he was the only one who returned alive. <BR/><BR/>Yet he did not write a book about WWI. He poured everything into an imagined world and refought his great war there.<BR/><BR/>It is the same with Austen, though in a different way (how's that for oxymoron). She never married herself, which in those days, I suppose (austenphiles correct me since I'm likely to be quite wrong) meant that she didn't have a courtship that worked out. And yet she managed to write one of the most celebrated and ultimately fulfilling courtships in all of literary history. Here it is her optimism and humanity that triumphed; that all her wit and nuance did not turn bitterly to observations of why deserving women did not find mates or why matrimony often sucked, but to the traits and circumstances and choices that did lead to well-matched and successful pairs.<BR/><BR/>So when I say that I do not write experience-based fiction, but imagination-based, my settings and character might be from places and times and social strata far removed from my own, but the themes that run through them are very much those that resonate most with me because of what I have experienced in my own life. <BR/><BR/>So yes, experienced universality expressed in imagined settings.<BR/><BR/>See, I told you we were talking about the same things. :-)Sherry Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12313921077346721887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-11696045502370939432008-03-19T21:28:00.000-04:002008-03-19T21:28:00.000-04:00Joan said, "Kim, throw away the dipping chocolate ...<I>Joan said, "Kim, throw away the dipping chocolate and send it to me!"</I><BR/><BR/>Kim, send the GR to Joan and the chocolate to me. Throw the chocolate away? Sacre Bleu!<BR/><BR/>Kirsten, I was so hoping for a juicy story from you for the question-of-the-day! But you do the aw heartwarming tale spectacularly; I was mollified.<BR/><BR/><I>Sherry wrote, "this machine that could spank forty bottoms at once."</I><BR/><BR/>The image boggles the mind. I mean I know the crazy English (as the French call them), but this... urk.Keira Soleorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14440213826734580889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-51960042577148306702008-03-19T21:02:00.000-04:002008-03-19T21:02:00.000-04:00LOL, Christine, mum's the word on who held the art...LOL, Christine, mum's the word on who held the artist's pencil. Wouldn't want to raise any hackles of jealousy with Dr. Big.<BR/><BR/>Yes, Sherry's covers are to die for. How lucky is that? AC and I spent a long time today in B&N making fun of all the bad covers. I know, not very charitable of us. I suppose in the name of karmic justice that we'll get our just desserts some day.jo robertsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16824237193217632098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-33255672438951109882008-03-19T20:24:00.000-04:002008-03-19T20:24:00.000-04:00Oh, Keira, what a sweetheart you must have been, y...Oh, Keira, what a sweetheart you must have been, you poor little cherub! I'd love to come across a popular girl who actually deserved her popularity one day. THanks for sharing your story:)<BR/><BR/>I didn't share mine, did I? Hmm, it involved two boys, a university toga party and a very short sheet. No, that's just a joke. There was only one boy. <BR/><BR/>Aunty Cindy, I love it! So, you don't have a strategy involving a certain riding crop??Christine Wellshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14260589566405262159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-32258126030263477592008-03-19T19:45:00.000-04:002008-03-19T19:45:00.000-04:00Welcome to the Lair, Sherry!And WTG on capturing t...Welcome to the Lair, Sherry!<BR/><BR/>And WTG on capturing the GR, Kim!<BR/><BR/>Sherry, thanx so much for sharing your writing process, call story and other insights with us! <BR/><BR/>As to extreme measures taken in the name of love... AHEM! Aunty does not take measures to win, OTHERS must take the measures to win Aunty. ;-) There was one cute lil Texas boy (we were on the annual family vacation) who kept falling at my feet during a volleyball game... Of course Aunty noticed. Alas, in those waay pre-internet days such a long distance romance was doomed.<BR/><BR/>ACLoucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02217492654108300014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-45511952790697114032008-03-19T19:23:00.000-04:002008-03-19T19:23:00.000-04:00Sherry wrote, "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon meets...<I>Sherry wrote, "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon meets The Forsyte Saga".</I><BR/><BR/>A-ha-ha. Love it, love it. Missed this nugget in my first pass through the interview. I hope you go back to it someday. I really want to see Ang Lee's imagination soaring on the page.<BR/><BR/><I>Christine asked, "Has that ever happened to you? What's the most outrageous thing you've done to win someone's heart?</I><BR/><BR/>I'm cringing big time about what I'm about to write. OMG, I can't believe I was so foolish. The summer I turned eleven, a street-smart good-looking most popular girl in the neighborhood suddenly decided to befriend me. <I>Me!</I> As it turns out, her best friend was visiting her grandmother, but I took no notice of that fact. This girl convinced me that the guy all the tweens in the neighborhood admired was having a birthday coming up. Since she had an older brother, she couldn't do this in public, but I could wish him happy birthday. I was thrilled to do so. (I'm blushing even as I type this.) One evening, while most of the tween and teen kids in the neighborhood were playing/strutting about on the street, I waltzed up to the window of the small community center and shouted a huge greeting out to him. There was a stunned silence and cessation of all movement by everyone. It slowly dawned on me that it wasn't his birthday and that I had been taken for the worst fool. For weeks I was persona non grata while I hunkered down at home reading. O the mortification!Keira Soleorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14440213826734580889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-60936111016464284532008-03-19T19:20:00.000-04:002008-03-19T19:20:00.000-04:00Keira, the guests have rocked the lair lately, hav...Keira, the guests have rocked the lair lately, haven't they? <BR/><BR/>Sherry, it's been great getting to know you - thanks so much for taking the time to visit us and tell us about Private Arrangements. It sounds like you have a huge hit on your hands! Congratulations again on all your success!Anna Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06695579361323275316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-81787239645254641162008-03-19T19:09:00.000-04:002008-03-19T19:09:00.000-04:00Banditas, you sure spoil us with these fabulous gu...Banditas, you sure spoil us with these fabulous guests.<BR/><BR/>Sherry, a late afternoon welcome to the lair. I was incredibly bummed I missed finding your ARC at Dallas last year, so I've been counting down the days in my little spreadsheet to your release of PA.<BR/><BR/>I was very intrigued by your differentiation of experience-based novels (lit fic) v. imagination-based novels (romance). <BR/><BR/>Whether it's Tolkein's characters or Jane Austen's, aside from the funkiness of costume or skin color or what-have-you, their struggles and joys are universal, human, and very reality-based. To me, that's the part that attracts people to certain books: How much they can identify with what's happening within and without the characters' personalities. So, to you is this universality imagined and not experienced? Or did I not understand what you wrote in that sentence.<BR/><BR/>As an AYU, I'm working daily on trying to make outside connections to what's happening to the people in my story. So it was great to see you mention this in your interview with yourself (sounds Escheresque). :)Keira Soleorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14440213826734580889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-86026699797112718322008-03-19T18:54:00.000-04:002008-03-19T18:54:00.000-04:00Sherry, the "why buy the cow" snippet from your co...Sherry, the "why buy the cow" snippet from your contemporary made me laugh out loud! Very sexy and funny!! <BR/><BR/>Wow, I just noticed when I stopped by RNTV that you're pulling double duty today. We Banditas are extra lucky and honored to have you here in the Lair with us today! :-)Kate Carlislehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16863555050062113192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-39889292695978268742008-03-19T18:47:00.000-04:002008-03-19T18:47:00.000-04:00Sherry, we've loved having you here. It was a grea...Sherry, we've loved having you here. It was a great interview, thanks so much for giving us the inside story about how you came to write historical romance. I'll be interested to read your piece on Dear Author. I never get tired of call stories!Christine Wellshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14260589566405262159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-73124202974150400002008-03-19T17:53:00.000-04:002008-03-19T17:53:00.000-04:00Welcome to the lair, Sherry! Wonderful interview a...Welcome to the lair, Sherry! Wonderful interview and your books sound wonderful!<BR/><BR/>I honestly can't remember any of my schemes - although I'm sure I had plenty, just as I'm sure they all backfired :-)Beth Andrewshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01204356784898045866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-90799422116085055012008-03-19T15:44:00.000-04:002008-03-19T15:44:00.000-04:00(Do you think with all these towering piles the Ba...<I>(Do you think with all these towering piles the Bandits and Buds might tip the EARTH?</I><BR/><BR/>I'm beginning to think there is nothing the Banditas cannot do. Everything is possible with Golden Rooster. :-P<BR/><BR/><I>love your interviewer. Such unique questions, she asked!</I><BR/><BR/>Oh baby, I can't wait to work with her again!<BR/><BR/>And more waving at Banditas. So good of all of you to take the time and so sweet of you to heap such kind praise on PA. I'm sure I don't deserve it but that won't stop me from enjoying everything. :-)Sherry Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12313921077346721887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-52752444159349135122008-03-19T15:37:00.000-04:002008-03-19T15:37:00.000-04:00Hey, didn't Joseph Conrad learn to speak English w...<I>Hey, didn't Joseph Conrad learn to speak English when he was about nineteen? Sherry, you're in good company. </I><BR/><BR/>LOL. I hardly dare compare myself to the greats. <BR/><BR/>If we wanna talk about tremendous linguists, how about Nabokov, who published novels in Russian as well as in English?<BR/><BR/>I can barely write a postcard in Chinese these days. <BR/><BR/>And also, Granny Rosemary--that's what I call Mr. Rogers :-)--was born in Ceylon, if we want to look within the genre for a very successful author writing in something other than her first language.Sherry Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12313921077346721887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-33920757044577898582008-03-19T15:27:00.000-04:002008-03-19T15:27:00.000-04:00Yes, Bantam really have done a great job with Sher...<I>Yes, Bantam really have done a great job with Sherry's covers, haven't they?</I><BR/><BR/>Oh, yes they have. I keep telling people, please do judge my books by their covers. :-)<BR/><BR/><I>Sherry, after all of the accolades Private Arrangements has received do you ever worry about having to "top" yourself in the next novel and the next?</I><BR/><BR/>Oh dear! Talk about it. Sometimes it felt like a steam cooker.<BR/><BR/>Memory is very a selective thing. I know, since it took 10 months to write, that PA wasn't a cakewalk. But during the long months I spent writing Delicious (16 months and counting, since the copyedits are arriving tomorrow), I looked to PA with such wistfulness.<BR/><BR/>For the longest time, all I could think about Delicious was please don't suck--because suck it did. (I wrote three-and-half complete drafts before my editor would accept it.) <BR/><BR/>Especially in the summer of 2007, after positive word-of-mouth started going around for PA, and after I read PA for the galleys, Delicious looked even worse by comparison. <BR/><BR/>By that time, all I wanted was a book on a par with PA--while I worried that perhaps I'm one of those authors who only have one book in them. <BR/><BR/>And then something wonderful happened. Things began to gel on Delicious. And I knew that I was no longer just typing, but creating. What a glorious feeling.<BR/><BR/>I'll bet when I start my next historical, the process would start all over again. The crappy writing. The worry. But you know what, if it means I'm improving, that I'm producing good books, so be it. I chose this.Sherry Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12313921077346721887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-4836723220727688862008-03-19T15:15:00.000-04:002008-03-19T15:15:00.000-04:00Oops oops oops, I meant to say I read about your b...Oops oops oops, I meant to say I read about your book on Pub Rants, Kristin Nelson's blog!! Sorry, Sherry!! (And sorry to Kristin!)<BR/><BR/>I've obviously been dipped in chocolate myself today. :-)Kate Carlislehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16863555050062113192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-33680839335346621832008-03-19T15:11:00.000-04:002008-03-19T15:11:00.000-04:00Honestly, you had me at "mandatory sex" but Christ...Honestly, you had me at "mandatory sex" but Christine's line about the "machine that spanks bottoms, all in a row" sealed the deal for me. What else could I do but race to Amazon and pre-order? <BR/><BR/>I'm another one who first heard about Private Arrangements on the Bookends Blog and I've been waiting impatiently ever since. Your interview was delightful! How smart of you to write it yourself. LOL. Congratulations for all the wonderful reviews you've received. I'm off to check your book trailer now...<BR/><BR/>Kim, way to go on snagging the GR! (And did you know you won my Amazon gift certificate from last week? Email me, girl!)Kate Carlislehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16863555050062113192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-13270516479730485872008-03-19T15:06:00.000-04:002008-03-19T15:06:00.000-04:00Let me say that a full disclosure of outrageous be...<I>Let me say that a full disclosure of outrageous behavior would involve confessions about a much younger JoMama, an artist's sketch pad, and very little clothing.</I><BR/><BR/>Can anyone say "Titanic"? :-)<BR/><BR/><I>I've never been bold enough for a scheme, really, except that I knew WAY before my husband that he was in love with me and we were meant to be. So I bided my time and let him figure things out slowly (while planning our wedding in my mind). It worked out just as I had planned, and when he finally said, "i love you," I just smiled and said, "I know." :-)</I><BR/><BR/>You go, girlfriend!<BR/><BR/><I>I can't TELL you how many variations I heard on the tired old why-buy-the-cow thing. (Was I supposed to buy into a theory in which I am represented by an COW?)</I><BR/><BR/>This immediately sent me to open the file for my little contemporary partial, cuz it had an exchange that went like this. <BR/><BR/><I>“Nice,” he said. He sounded like he meant it.<BR/><BR/>“Free to a good home.”<BR/><BR/>“You mean I get to keep you?” <BR/><BR/>One hand skimmed down my sides to stroke between my legs. I sucked in a breath this time. He touched me lightly, delicately, delicious little caresses at just the right places.<BR/><BR/>“Do you buy cows when you can get milk for free?” I teased him, my voice just a little unsteady.<BR/><BR/>“When I want a steak.”</I>Sherry Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12313921077346721887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-55511854065433322252008-03-19T14:55:00.000-04:002008-03-19T14:55:00.000-04:00I heard that many Germans lived in Qingdao because...<I>I heard that many Germans lived in Qingdao because of the beer business, is that true?</I><BR/><BR/>Qingdao, my hometown, used to be a German cession. <BR/><BR/>From Wikipedia:<BR/><BR/><I>Little was done, however, until 1897 when the city was ceded to Germany. The Germans soon turned Tsingtao into a strategically important port that was administered by the Department of the Navy (Reichsmarineamt) rather than the Colonial Office (Reichskolonialamt). They based here their Far East Squadron, allowing the fleet to conduct operations throughout the Pacific. From 1898 the marines of III. Seebatallion were based at Tsingtao. The German Imperial government planned and built the first streets and institutions of the city we see today, including the world-famous Tsingtao Brewery. German influence extended to other areas of Shandong Province, including the establishment of rival breweries.</I><BR/><BR/>The Germans came for the natural deep-water harbor. But they couldn't help brewing once they got there!<BR/><BR/>And I used to wonder why I've always preferred the European style of architecture until I saw some pictures of Qingdao's old downtown and realized that the buildings, lots of them, such as the central bank and the city hall were all constructed in--guess what--the European style.Sherry Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12313921077346721887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-71332809023566539302008-03-19T14:51:00.000-04:002008-03-19T14:51:00.000-04:00Hi, Sherry! I loved your (self) interview today! ...Hi, Sherry! I loved your (self) interview today! I have not yet read your books, but they're now on my TBB! Congrats on your successes!<BR/><BR/>Out of curiosity, have you been back to China to visit since you left? Do you still have family there? (My parents are originally from the Canton province, and it was fascinating to visit with them and hear how much things have changed and what's stayed the same.)<BR/><BR/>As for schemes to win hearts, in high school, I remember just desperately wanting to meet certain guys. Forget about winning their hearts--I just wanted them to know my name! And when my DH and I were dating, we'd had some prior history so I was fairly assured of his heart--I was just champing at the bit to receive that ring ;) I wasn't all that subtle either!Fedorahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10879033776125666713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-87494746282796890682008-03-19T14:41:00.000-04:002008-03-19T14:41:00.000-04:00Kim, congratulations! I have yet to snag the old ...Kim, congratulations! I have yet to snag the old bird.<BR/><BR/>Sherry, welcome to the lair! Your life sounds fascinating, and so do your interests. I think of the Edwardian age as the last bright moment of the British Empire, leading up to World War I and the ugliness of the Somme. I'm always eager to try a new time period, so I'm looking forward to picking up your book.Nancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13705259501965011703noreply@blogger.com