I haven’t featured very much fiction from LBGTQ authors or in the LBGTQ genre so I’m thrilled to welcome Sherryl D. Hancock to Linda’s Book Bag today to tell me about some of her writing and help me redress the balance.

Staying in with Sherryl D. Hancock

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Sheryl. Thank you for agreeing to stay in with me. Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it? 

Hi, thanks for having me! Missez is the next release from my Wild Irish Silence series.It’s the companion book to Hitz that came out earlier last month. This book is one of the many I wrote in what I call my “past life”. I have always felt my life has had two big stages.

In my first adult stage of life I did what was expected of every young woman, I found a man to marry. Five years later I had a child, and a second one a year after that. Something was always missing though; my life was missing love. I stayed married for twenty-one years, and during that time, to fill the void, I started writing romance novels. I loved rock stars – Def Leppard was my favorite in high school! I graduated in 1985, so they were IT in those days! So from that was born novels involving men with long hair. One of those books was the two books now known as Hitz and Missez.

(You’re making me feel old now. I got married in 1983 so I’m old enough to be your mother!)

I dreamed of a man that would be kind and sweet, romantic and funny, someone who would take me places and care about what I thought and felt. That’s when women like Nicolette Harris, and a host of other leading ladies, was born as well as a bunch of wonderful leading men! None of these books were ever published, nor did I really try to get them published. I wrote them for me.

(I wonder how many other authors have books like that lurking in their past?)

After twenty-one years, and a lot of self-discovery I determined that I was a lesbian. My husband and my kids understood. I divorced and so a new phase of my life began. When I met Tirzah my life changed forever, I had found my soul mate. I know people talk about that kind of thing all the time, but this is the relationship I’d always written about! She is kind, she is considerate, and she loves me just the way I am. This is the relationship I was born for!

(How brilliant to have found your true love at last!)

With my status in life changed, I embarked on a whole new set of writing, thus started the WeHo series. They are novels about love and relationships in the lesbian world. When I wrote the first one, When Love Wins, I based it loosely on my wife Tirzah and her time in the Air Force. After writing for about a month or so, Tirzah read what I’d written and LOVED IT! She was determined that my book see the light of day and that others read it. When it was turned down by the first publisher we submitted it to, she decided to publish it herself. She figured out how to use Create Space and got us published on Amazon. We created the covers together, with me arranging items that went with the theme of the book and Tirzah photographing it.

(It seems fitting somehow that the love of your life became so closely involved in getting your book out there. Tirzah sounds lovely.) 

I continued to write, and we continued to put them up for sale on Amazon. We were doing really well by January 2016 and that’s when my publisher Vulpine Press found me and signed me to a contract with them. Vulpine even opted for continuing to use our pictures for the covers of the books. It’s been a great ride ever since! Now they’ve started publishing my previous books, including the MidKnight Blue series, and now the Wild Irish Silence series. And this is all thanks to my wonderful partner in crime, Tirzah. Is it any wonder I love her so much? She supports me in all things!

(No surprise at all to me!)

What can we expect from an evening in with Missez?

The book continues the story of Billy Montague and her struggle to stay sober and keep her relationship with Skylar on track. It’s also the continuing love story of Jerith Michaels and Nicolette Harris and how they deal with the separation of demanding tours and Nicolette’s job as a cop. It’s the ups and downs of life in a rock band, when it collides with the life of a narcotics enforcement officer and all that entails.

(Crikey. There sounds as if there’s a cracking plot there Sherryl.) 

What else have you brought along and why? 

First and foremost, I wanted to bring a picture of me and my wonderful wife from our wedding in 2014.

(You both look so happy there. What a wonderful photo.) 

The other picture I brought was of my mother and me. My mother has always been my biggest fan and has read everything I’ve ever written and encouraged me to write more. She was my fan when no one else was reading anything I wrote. She’s the best friend a girl could ever have, and she’s always supported me no matter what. Even when my first marriage was on the rocks, she just wanted me to be happy. She welcomed Tirzah into our family with open arms, and adores her just like another daughter. There has never been a moment when my mother didn’t love and support everything I did. It’s been amazing to realize how easy my “coming out” was compared to so many others in the LGBTQ community, I feel very lucky.

(Your Mum sounds wonderful. My husband used to be a wedding photographer and we did the photos for a lesbian couple whose families refused to attend. It was so sad.) 

Lastly I brought a picture of me with my two children. They have always been very supportive of this change in my life. They want me to be happy, and they both love Tirzah greatly and treat her like their “other mom”. They are two very special kids who I adore, and who have stood by me no matter what happened. I have also now earned the title of “grandma” thanks to both of them having baby girls.

(Congratulations again!)

My family and my life is why I write about love. The funny thing is I used to write about love, but never really understood it. Now I do, and it’s everything I always wrote about and so much more! I want everyone to recognize love when they see it, and I’m hoping my books can help them do just that!

Thanks so much for staying in with me Sherryl to tell me about your books and writing. It sounds to me as if you truly write from the heart and I wish you every success – both with your books and in your like with Tirzah.

Missez

Jerith and Nicolette are trying, against the odds, to make their relationship work. Long distance is never easy, and Jerith’s ongoing struggle with his band only adds more complications.

Billy is trying to let go of the source of her addiction, and finding it’s easier said than done. Her demons are never far away, and it doesn’t take much for her to slide back into her old ways. When Skyler pulls further away from her, the consequences are devastating for everyone.

Billy and the Kid are at breaking point…can they still make Hitz or will it all be Missez from now on?

Published by Vulpine, Missez is available for purchase from your local Amazon.

About Sherryl D. Hancock

Having grown up in San Diego, Sherryl worked for the State of California, at the Department of Justice, which taught her the inner workings of law enforcement.

​Always the romantic, Sherryl began making up stories as a teenager, but the writing increased most fervently after marrying her wife, Tirzah! Together they decided to self-publish the first few books in the WeHo series, before catching the eye of the innovative fiction publisher, Vulpine Press.

Even now the books are being professionally produced, the books still keep the same original flavour, whilst being distributed all over the world. Tirzah’s photographs regularly grace the front covers.

You can find out more about Sherryl on her website, on Facebook and by following her on Twitter @Sherryl_Hancock.