Interview: Sheri Cobb South

 I am SO happy to be hosting an interview with Sheri Cobb South today! :D

Where is your favorite place to write (and why)?

I do almost all my rough draft writing at Starbucks. Shortly after moving to Colorado, I had the pleasure of meeting science fiction goddess Connie Willis at Starbucks for coffee. She said she did all her writing there, since when she tries to write at home she’s distracted by other things that need to be done. I decided to give it a try (at a different Starbucks, one nearer to my house), and I’ve been amazed at how prolific I’ve become! That meeting took place about a year ago, and since then I’ve completed two manuscripts (John Pickett mysteries #3 and 4) and am now about halfway through a third (John Pickett #5).

That is so awesome! I'm amazed at how people can stay focused on what they are working on in there! :) 

I love Starbucks! I think it would be so neat to visit the original cafe! :D

Which is your favorite of your characters (and why)?

I would say it’s a toss-up between Ethan Brundy and John Pickett. Since I’ve written multiple books about them, I’ve gotten to know them on a deeper level than I have my other characters. Also, they both go against genre expectations, as neither is the typical rakish Regency hero.

 

I've yet to read your John Pickett mysteries, but I am definitely an Ethan Brundy fan! =) He has such great character!

Do you find the research aspect of writing fun, or a dead bore? :)

Interesting choice of words, since one of my mysteries is titled A DEAD BORE! Actually, research is a bit of both. The book that was the most fun to research, though, wasn’t a Regency at all, but BABES IN TINSELTOWN, a mystery set in 1936 Hollywood. What a fascinating period! In that book, Hollwood hopeful Frankie Foster is renting a room at the Hollywood Studio Club, a real boardinghouse for young women employed in the movie industry. When I read a tidbit about how the girls would sometimes sunbathe on the roof, and small planes would fly overhead to check them out—and sometimes crashed due to the distracted pilots!—I knew I had to include it in the book somehow.

Haha! I don't think I'd ever seen this one- strange! I love the cover, it's so cute! :D

What/who inspired you to write regency fiction?

Like so many of us, I came to the Regency period through the books of Georgette Heyer. To this day, she’s one of my favorite authors, and I’m always thrilled when reviewers comment that my style is somewhat reminiscent of hers.

Ah! I love Georgette Heyer as well! :) I DO think you have a similar style! You both write in a simple but captivating way with tons of humor and quick-witted, intricate characters; with both of you, I always read the stories for the comedy and fun of it, and then by the time I finish, I find that I fell in love with all the characters without realizing it! 

Can you tell a little about your current writing project?

Right now I’m working on John Pickett mystery #5. It involves the fire that destroyed the Theatre Royal at Drury Lane on 24 February, 1809, and when John Pickett is injured escaping from the burning theatre, Lady Fieldhurst (finally!) realizes how much she cares for him. It’s a lot of fun to write, but I’m having such a good time plotting the romance aspects of the book, I’m having to make myself focus on the mystery!

I've read a series that centers around Theatre Royal, Drury Lane- I love it! I love theatre, and it's such a fun setting for a story! (Obvsiously;)) I'm looking forward to your upcoming release! :D

Do you plan on adding any more books to the Weaver series in the future, or do you think it will remain a trilogy?

I don’t have any plans to at this point, although I’m a firm believer in “never say never!” I think I can say with reasonable certainty that I won’t pick up in the 1840s with the next generation, although there’s certainly opportunity for that at the end of FRENCH LEAVE. (For those wondering about that epilogue, I would say Willie Brundy definitely does what he says he will do; he is, after all, his father’s son!) A reader once asked that I write Theodore, Viscount Tisdale’s story, and even suggested a plot line in which Theo needs money and has to go to his wealthy brother-in-law, Ethan Brundy, to beg for a handout, and finds himself having to work off the debt at the mill. It’s not a bad idea, actually! After I finish my current work in progress, I’m thinking about taking a break from John Pickett and writing another Regency romance, but at this point I expect it to be a stand-alone title with all new characters.

Wow, I really like that plot idea! :) Yay! ^_^ I love your regencies, and I'd love to meet some more of your characters! :)

What is your favorite Period Drama film?

A&E’s Horatio Hornblower! In fact, Ioan Gruffud’s portrayal of Horatio was the inspiration for John Pickett (although as his character evolved, he became more of a person in his own right), and Horatio’s bond with the nonfictional Captain Sir Edward Pellew is what gave me the idea of introducing the real-life magistrate Patrick Colquhoun as a mentor and father figure for John Pickett.

 

I haven't seen that one, actually, but I loved Ioan Gruffudd in Amazing Grace! :) That's neat! I love hearing from authors who they imagine (or where they got their inspiration for) their characters! Now that I know that, I'll probably picture John Pickett like Gruffudd when I read it! ;p

What do you like to do best when not writing? 

I like to read (naturally!) as well as do needlework--knitting, crocheting, and counted cross-stitch--and I sing in my church choir. I'm an avid follower of University of Alabama football--Roll, Tide!--so Saturday afternoons in the fall will usually find me parked in front of the TV.

 

What is your favorite season?

I think there’s something to enjoy in all of them! But I recently moved to Colorado from Mobile, Alabama, where there’s a long summer and then a brief rainy season in January and February, I’m really enjoying fall. I love the changing leaves (especially the aspens!) and driving up to Rocky Mountain National Park, only about half an hour away, to see the elk and hear them bugle. I confess, I’m even enjoying the snow, although I’m still a bit nervous about driving in it.

 

 

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Anywhere and everywhere! I love to travel, period. England draws me like a magnet, of course, and my husband and I went there for our 20^th wedding anniversary. Sometime over the next ten years we’d like to cruise the Mediterranean (hello, Venice!) as well as go on a European river cruise. (Needless to say, I’m going to need people to buy a LOT of books!) This year we’ll be taking a cruise on the English Channel, with stops in Rotterdam and the island of Guernsey, before spending a few days in London. I’m planning to have my picture taken in front of Number 4 Bow Street, where the magistrate’s court was—John Pickett’s old stomping ground!

That is SO cool! =D I really want to visit England some day. Well, with your love of travel, I know you'll enjoy all those places when you go, so I don't have to advise you to. ;) That'll be really neat for you to go where you write about! :D

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this and stopping by my blog!! :D

Thank YOU for asking me!

Happy weekend, everyone! :)