An interview of me!

Here is an interview of my hosted by Rachel T Stiber 
Twenty Questions for Authors

       Thank you for taking the time to participate in this interview. Below, you will find twenty questions; some are serious while others are playful. Answer as many as you like.

1.       Talk about your latest work. Is it a novel? Short story?  Nonfiction? Give a brief synopsis, sharing as much (or as little) as you like. My latest is the Audiobook of Not So Easy. Of all the books I’ve written, it is my favorite story

 Not So Easy (YA Fantasy) 

Senior Max Sanchez has it all. 
He’s the star pitcher for Port Fare High’s baseball team. He’s dating the 
head cheerleader, Emma McKay, and he has a great group of friends. 

Junior JD Miller’s life is Not So Easy. 
Unlike Max, JD struggles with making friends. He’s a social misfit, and 
he’s being bullied at every turn. He’s also barely surviving.

 
A tragic accident changes everything, merging their lives together, 
and Max soon learns that life is not so easy for everyone. Max works to the point of exhaustion trying to help JD survive the chaos that is his life, and his eyes are opened to a world he had no idea even existed. 
Not so Easy is a story about hope, surviving, and never giving up.

2.       Where did you get your inspiration to write you latest work? Or, where do you find inspiration for writing? All over! The world, the news, friends. Also music. It really helps me to play the “song” I feel represents the book I’m working on. I post a playlist for my books on my web page to help the reader get into the story more.

3.       Describe your writing process. Blood, sweat, and tears. Along with lamenting, rethinking, and some head banging…then I begin writing the story.

4.       How important are names to you in your book(s)? Do you choose names based on liking the way it sounds or the meaning? Do you have any name choosing resources you recommend? Names! I hate trying to come up with names. For the “bad guys” I tend to pick mean people that I know. For the good guys I search and search and search the internet name sites and my Facebook friends until a name rings true.

5.       Is there a certain type of scene that is harder for you to write than others? Not really. Once I’m in the grove all is well.

6.       What is your least favorite part of the writing/publishing process? The first draft. After that it is gravy!

7.       Have you read your work since it has been published? Sometimes.

8.       What is your best marketing tip? Search out bloggers and get reviews for your books.

9.       What are you working on currently? What is your next project? I am in the middle of 2 projects right now. The first is a short story. It is a mystery/comedy. The main character, Aleixa, is a writing who wakes one morning to find the man she’s been dating dead in her living room. The second is a full-length novel about 2 high schoolers struggling to survive not only high school, but their families.

10.    What writing advice do you have for other aspiring authors? Write write write and read read read books in your genre!

11.    If you could cast your characters in a Hollywood adaptation of your book, who would play your characters? Unlovable is being made into a movie actually by Films by Serendipity. If I were casting it I would pick Lily Collins for Maggie and Liam Hemsworth for Seth!

12.    Do your characters’ personalities reflect your personality or the personalities of people you know? Mostly people I know. I do try and give the characters one of my traits so I can relate to them better.

13.    What is one place you want to visit that you have not visited yet? Greece, and Italy (Tuscany).

14.    What were you like as a child? What was your favorite toy? As a child I was strong and fearless. And I LOVED dolls!

15.    If you had a superpower, what would it be? To fly!

16.    If you were a superhero, what would your name be? What would you wear? My name? No idea, but I can tell you I would NOT wear a skimpy super hero outfit that you see the heros in the movies wear. It’s FREEZING cold the higher you go! I want a nice worm coat… and goggles.

17.    What literary character is most like you? Cinderella…except both my parents are alive and I have no sisters…Hmmmm…Guess I need a new character.

18.    If you were an animal in a zoo, what would you be and why? Monkey. The look like they are having so much fun. I’d be a smart one and figure out how to escape, that’s for sure.

19.    What is one thing you would like to accomplish before you pass away? I’d like to write and uplifting book on motherhood to help encourage mothers and woman everywhere. There is so much negativity out there and I’d like to encourage them to avoid the naysayers.

20.    What do you want your tombstone to say? She came; she tried; she left…and she was a pretty good mom! (I had my 16-year-old son proofread this and he said to change the 'pretty good mom' to awesome mom  ;'}

Thank you for letting me be a part of your author interviews!!

Find me:

Web site | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Amazon | iBooks | B & N | Kobo | Scribd

Winners of my audiobook Not So Easy

Winners of my audiobook Not So Easy are: Brandy G and Kimberly M! Congrats! I hope you enjoy the book!

Not So Easy (Souls in Peril) has a new cover, exciting edits, (a new chapter has been added), and now Not So Easy is an audio book, narrated by the talented Ryan Shaughnessy.

Not So Easy has a 4.9 out of 5 star rating on Amazon!

Blurb:

Not So Easy  

Senior Max Sanchez has it all.
Junior JD Miller’s life is Not So Easy. He’s the star pitcher for Port Fare High’s baseball team. He’s dating the 

head cheerleader, Emma McKay, and he has a great group of friends. 

Unlike Max, JD struggles with making friends. He’s a social misfit, and 

he’s being bullied at every turn. He’s also barely surviving. 

A tragic accident changes everything, merging their lives together, 

and Max soon learns that life is not so easy for everyone. Max works to the point of exhaustion trying to help JD survive the chaos that is his life, and his eyes are opened to a world he had no idea even existed.

Not so Easy is a story about hope, surviving, and never giving up. 

What other are saying about Not So Easy (from the Souls in Peril series):

*Once Upon a Twilight: As I try to compose all my emotions to write this review I feel an overwhelming responsibility to do justice to this book through my review. I laughed, I cried, I felt such bewildering sadness and in the end I laughed again. Sherry Gammon takes us on an astonishing journey through the eyes of Max Sanchez. Handsome and athletic with a wonderful and supportive family, Max lives a charmed life. Even as a seventeen year old Max knows that his girlfriend Emma will be the woman he grows old with. Em's beauty and brains are only out shone by her inner compassion and kindness. Max already recognizes that he can learn from her sweetness and tolerance. For the full review click her (Warning: SPOILER ALERT!)

                 * Dani of KindleBookLove.blogspot.com: Wonderful, Amazing, Fantastic Stars. This story will stay with me forever. It spoke to my soul...This book is amazingly written and so awesome. I will never forget this book. It got me deep... I recommend it to everybody with children, children, and adults alike. Everybody should read this amazing book. 

*Camelia Skiba: Sherry drives the reader to real emotions masterfully creating trials, conflicts and doubts. You'll cry and laugh, ache and root for these heroes. I also liked the messages that come with this book, that life is worth living, that we should never give up and we should always try our best.

                   * Cindy Bennett: Souls in Peril is seriously one of the best books I've ever read. It had me in turn laughing and crying, my heart aching for all the characters involved. 

Gammon's writing is full of humor, sorrow, realism, and pulls you into places you might not want to go, but will be happy you did when all is said and done. I HIGHLY recommend this book!  

*Kindle booklove: Dani: 10 Wonderful, Amazing, Fantastic Stars This story will stay with me forever. It spoke to my soul because I know what it's like to be bullied relentlessly by kids at school and then go home and have to deal with an abusive stepfather and feel like you have nobody to turn to, nobody to trust, and nowhere to go. I know as it said at the end of the book that not all people being bullied have the same home situations but mine almost resembled Izzy's experience with some differences of course. My heart broke while reading about JD's and Izzy's story. I cried for them and their situation. I fell in love with Emma's character because she was one of those rare people with an untarnished soul who doesn't look at people and judge them by what they look like....Read the full review here:

* Momma's Books. Brandy: If I could rate this book a 10 I would but Goodreads as well as amazon will only allow a 5. So it is 5+++++++  It was such an emotional read for me. It took me less than 24 hours to read this book once I started I could not put it down. I am honestly at a loss for words to explain how I feel about this book. But I will try so here I go… You will be taken on an emotional ride and your heart will hurt more times than not. You will wish you could just jump into the book and just rescue JD. I know I absolutely fell in love with Em she is the sweetest and kindest kid. I can only hope that my children turn out to be like her... It is absolutely AMAZING! Read full review (and check out the old cover;) here:

* Donna~ The Romance Cover Heart wrenching, sobbed and sobbed through this book, so many familiar circumstances it was like reliving my school life all over again...very sad, very emotional but unfortunately oh so very true. A fabulous book, that puts you through an emotional wringer..not my usual romance but a great YA book that had some very important messages throughout the book..brilliant.

More reviews here, here and here.

Purchase links

Not So Easy ebook is specially priced for the next few weeks as I introduce the exciting audio book. 
Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks | Scrib | Audio

Here is a fun interview with my narrator Ryan Shaughnessy

1.  Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? I’m from a cornfield an hour and a half southwest of Chicago and the oldest of three children. I was high school valedictorian and passed the CPA exam after obtaining a Masters degree in accounting. Then I followed my dream and moved to Los Angeles to make a career in acting and not from a cubicle. Every day brings a new adventure!
2. What do you do when you are not acting/narrating? Every day I’m doing something that relates to my acting. Whether it be auditioning, shooting, or social networking, the acting never stops. Even when I’m watching shows on Netflix, I watch certain shows that would appeal to my age demographic.
3. What is your favorite smell? Mom’s pot roast coming from the slow cooker when I travel back to Illinois.
4. What was your first acting project? There were the spring concert shows in grade school, but my first main gig was in the summer before my 8th grade year where I was the ventriloquist’s dummy in the radio show in a production of “Annie”.
5. How/Why did you get into acting? I love entertaining people. After getting a feel of making so many people laugh with my lines, I was hooked. Looking back, I wish I would have pursued in sooner, but I didn’t realize I could make a career of it because of how and where I was raised.
6. If you had 24 hours to live, excluding spending time with your family, what would you do? Skydive, ride in a hot air balloon, bungee jump off a bridge, and take my family to the gorgeous beaches of Thailand
7. What is your favorite kind of cheese? Pepperjack
8. Is there any particular actor or book that influenced you growing up or as an adult? I grew up watching all the James Bond and Indiana Jones movies. It’s been a goal of mine to be James when I’m the right age. But Harrison Ford has always been an influence because he is also from Illinois and wasn’t given much of a shot at the beginning of his acting career. I feel I am very similar to him in that regard in that we both have had a chip on our shoulders to prove the world wrong.
9. Would I find anything growing in your refrigerator right now? Nope. I keep things pretty clean. If I let one thing go, it would probably be the dust in my bedroom.
10. How would you describe yourself in three words? Intelligent, sarcastic, loyal
11. Who is your favorite actor? It’s hard to pick just one. Sean Connery, Harrison Ford, Denzel Washington, Matt Damon, and Tom Hanks are at the top of the list.
12. What is your favorite part of acting and why? Your least favorite and why? Favorite: Things are always changing but yet they are still structured. You may be on the same set, but the storyline is changing and things don’t get stagnant. Worst: Rejection aha.
13. Chocolate or Brussels sprouts? I’m a fan of both actually, especially if the brussels sprouts are doused in butter.
14. What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an actor? I was new to a class and the teacher thought I wasn’t taking the scene seriously. He said I wouldn’t amount to anything.
15. What has been the best compliment given to you as an actor? I took a three week intensive with a casting director, and after we finished the scene in the last week, he told me he could easily see me as a contract role on the show.
16. What is your least favorite smell? Rotten eggs
17. Do you have any advice to give to aspiring actors? If a kid from a small town in Illinois with no formal training can move across the country and find a place in this crazy entertainment world, there is no reason you can’t do the same. You will most likely need lots of patience and a strong backbone, and most people from back home won’t understand the extent of what you are doing. But you will. As long as you believe this is what you were made to do, you will find a way to make it happen.

Ryan's Links

http://www.imdb.me/ryanshaughnessy

Demo: http://youtu.be/hZ9ox8Q2HbI

Viral Clip: http://youtu.be/hbeEuYAZFL4

@RynoShaughnessy (Twitter and Instagram)

Thanks for stopping by!
Sherry Gammon