#ThisorThatAuthor Interview with Terry Shepherd
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I’d like to welcome author, Terry Shepherd, to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!
A few of your favorite things:
My beautiful granddaughter jumping into my arms when she sees me. Watching my kids parenting their kids and animals. The smile on my wife’s face when I first see her every morning.
Things you need for your writing sessions:
I write in Vellum and then, run my daily word count through Pro Writing Aid. The last step is narrating it to mp3 audio. It’s always surprising what you find when you read your writing aloud.
Things you love about writing:
I love the characters best. I try to populate my tales with highly diverse casts. Researching the culture and talking to people about their life experiences is a treasure trove. It builds empathy and has given me a unique perspective on the rich variety that makes up humanity. The highest compliment you can get is to hear someone say, “Hey! You told my story!”
Things you never want to run out of:
New people to meet. Kindness. The desire to create.
Words that describe you:
Optimistic to a fault. Impatient with myself. Driven. Passionate.
Favorite music or song:
I’m a sixties guy. Anything from 1963 until 1974 is my wheelhouse. I favor Motown and early Beatles but also love Earth, Wind & Fire and the Manhattan Transfer. I was a rock drummer as a kid and still can’t listen to Buddy Rich’s West Side Story Medley without getting chills.
Something you’re really bad at:
Handwriting. Learning to type in 9th grade was a life changing experience.
Things to say to an author:
“Here’s what I enjoy about your storytelling…”
Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book:
“Your book was terrible and I won’t tell you why.”
People you’d like to invite to dinner (living):
The famous: Authors David McCullough & Megan Abbott, Record Producer Bones Howe, Barack and Michelle Obama
The important: My closest college radio friends
The nicest thing a reader said to you:
“You made me believe I could be a heroine, too.”
The craziest thing a reader said to you:
“Your LGBTQ character is exactly like me and we’ve never even met. Have you been stalking me?”
About Terry:
Terry Shepherd writes thrillers for grown-ups and detective stories for kids. His first published fiction, the Jessica Ramirez Thriller “Chasing Vega” is a 5-Star hit in both English and Spanish. Book two, “Chasing The Captain” is due out in May. He’s the author of the Waterford Detective series for children and the forthcoming kids time-travel history series "Students In Time." In 2020 he and his wife, Colleen co-wrote the "Juliette and the Mystery Bug" series, teaching kids how to protect themselves from Covid-19 and other “mystery bugs." Terry hosts the Authors on the Air podcast, is co-chair of the Sisters in Crime / Capitol Crimes 2021 Anthology committee and watches the sun come up on the ocean from his home in Jacksonville, Florida.
