Topic: Author Interview
Joyce Sterling Scarbrough the person:
1. What three words do you think describe you as a human being?
Fair, unpretentious, passionate.
2. How do you think others would describe you?
Witty, intelligent, friendly
3. Please tell us what you are most passionate about outside of writing.
My husband
4. Do you have any pets? If so, introduce us to them.
Our dogs are two mixed-breed orphans: a female named Puppy (horribly unimaginative, I know!) who is most definitely the "alpha dog," and Alex, whom my kids call Toe-short for Giganto. Don't ask me why they call him that, because he's about the size of our cat, a gorgeous long-haired black male named Tevian, who is hopelessly in love with Puppy. Seriously, sometimes they need to get a room!
5. What is your most precious memory?
From my life before my kids were born, it's listening to my daddy tell me stories he made up before I fell asleep at night. After that, it's holding each of my three babies for the first time.
6. What is your most embarrassing memory?
I guess it would be the time I was at the checkout in the grocery store and noticed the teenaged male cashier's eyes had grown to the size of half dollars and his face was the color of the plums he was ringing up. My youngest daughter-15 months old at the time-had gotten a tampon out of my purse and stuck it up her nose. (Yes, it fit. All my kids inherited impressive nostrils from their father!)
7. If you weren't a writer, what would you be doing with your life?
I'd be in a mental hospital wondering who were all these people in my head screaming for me to write their stories.
8. In two paragraphs or less write your obituary.
Joyce Sterling Scarbrough lived her life immensely grateful to God for blessing her with the multiple gifts He gave her, and she did her best to use them to make Him proud.
Joyce Sterling Scarbrough the writer:
9. Can you describe the time you realized you were indeed a "real" writer?
With my first book, TRUE BLUE FOREVER, all the ladies I worked with were reading it chapter by chapter as I wrote it. The first time I found a crowd waiting in my cubicle for me to come in so they could read the next chapter, not to mention arguing over who got to read it first, I knew I'd written something special.
10. What is going on with your writing these days?
I have four agents reading sample chapters of my third novel, SYMMETRY, and I'm about halfway finished writing my fourth one.
11. What are your future goals for your writing?
I want my books to be so widely read that my characters will become recognizable by just their first names. You know, like Scarlett, Rhett, Harry, and Sam-I-Am. :-)
12. Can you describe a typical writing day for you?
My writing schedule depends on where I am in my plot. If I'm just getting started or tweaking, revising, or (God forbid!) stuck on how to get from one scene to the next, I try to write for at least an hour or so in the morning and another before I go to bed. If I'm writing a big scene or the climax of the book, I write every spare moment I can scrounge-on scraps of paper or napkins if necessary. I've even been known to fake an illness to get out of social obligations so I can write. (Don't tell my sister!)
13. Why do you write?
I have stories that must be told.
14. What writer most inspires you? Why?
Stephen King is my favorite writer, and although I admire him for his talent, honesty and imagination, Harper Lee has to be the writer that inspires me the most. She wanted to write something that would strike a chord with the world, and she definitely succeeded.
15. How do you define your writing?
Fiction from the heart. All my books are essentially love stories, but they're also about lifelong friendship, family dynamics, rivalry, and how children's self-image is so greatly influenced by their parents.
16. In one sentence-what do you want people to say about your writing in fifty years?
"Joyce Sterling Scarbrough's books can always be counted on to make you laugh, cry, yell, or sigh, and sometimes all four within the same chapter."
Joyce Sterling Scarbrough the details:
17. Can you tell us where to find more information on you? Website? Blog?
My Author's Den-http://www.authorsden/joycelscarbrough1
Blue Attitude-http://joycescarbrough.blogspot.com
18. Is there a place where readers can reach you?
Through Author's Den or at joycescarbrough@yahoo.com
19. Can you list all your book titles so people can look for them?
TRUE BLUE FOREVER-ISBN 0-9722385-9-X and DIFFERENT ROADS-ISBN 0-9722385-3-0
20. For new readers-what can they expect when they read your book(s)?
TRUE BLUE FOREVER is a coming-of-age story about four unforgettable teenagers growing up on the Alabama Gulf Coast in the late seventies. It's about first loves and first kisses, fierce rivalries, lifelong friends, sports, and super-cool muscle cars. Think "Friday Night Lights" meets "A Walk to Remember."
DIFFERENT ROADS is a much grittier story that features a heroine whose mother dies when she's six years old and leaves her with an abusive drunk of a father. She grows up to be a trash-talking hellion who takes crap off nobody, and she lives in fear of anyone finding out she's also a frightened little girl terrified of the dark. When she meets her male counterpart in college, sparks don't fly-flames do!
In conclusion:
21. Take as much space as necessary to speak to our readers-what would you like them to know about you and your writing?
For as far back as I can remember, I've made up stories to entertain myself before falling asleep at night. Sometimes I'd get an idea during the day and could hardly wait until it was bedtime so I could watch the story play out in my head. When I was plotting my first novel, I realized it was the same process I'd been using to make up stories all those years. That's why both my books are written for pure entertainment, inspired by the spirit of the wonderful books I've loved all my life. Readers will see the influences of GONE WITH THE WIND, LITTLE WOMEN, and FOREVER AMBER, with shades of MY SWEET CHARLIE and FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON. My books are definitely character driven, but there's enough action and conflict in them to appeal to readers of all ages and both sexes. To read sample chapters, go to my Author's Den and introduce yourself to Jeana, Mickey, Billy Joe, Wade, Cole, Jaycee, and Bud. I promise you won't forget them anytime soon.
