JOINING ME TODAY FOR BRUNCH IS
AUTHOR SARAH DALTRY
First and foremost, it is a pleasure to have you here. Welcome to Harper’s Sunday Brunch Interview!
So, can you tell us what makes Sarah Daltry tick? What got you started on the path to becoming an author?
I live in a fantasy world. Reality bites, and I am not just pimping the ‘90’s movie. I have always immersed myself in books. I’m painfully shy and I just don’t fit in. I had few friends growing up, but I always had books. I had so many worlds in books that I could disappear into and those friends never let me down. As I got older, I started crafting my own worlds – and I never stopped. Now, I write a lot of genres. As Sarah, it’s erotica and romance – and generally realistic, but under other names, I write horror and fantasy and YA realistic. I just like to spend time with people who understand.
What are you currently working on? Would you care to share a snippet?
I’m writing Lily of the Valley, which follows the same timeline as Forget Me Not, but gives us Jack’s story. It also goes past the end of the first book, so we can see some stuff we don’t in that one. I would love to share something. The book is unedited, as it comes out 9/26, but here is something from the current version:
Sandee stabs out her cigarette and squeezes my arm. Most people don’t touch me at all and no one but Alana and my grandmother hugs me, but it’s a small act of comfort and I appreciate the gesture. I know she’s only ten years older than me, and she is certainly not my mom, but I cling to her like she is. “Maybe you’re just desperate for the smile to come from the wrong people. If he isn’t gonna change, it doesn’t mean you can’t be strong enough to go, if only to make it easier on her.”
I finish my own cigarette. “Got more of whatever that was?” I take another swig of the dark alcohol and sigh. “You’re the second person to say that in the last two days. That I seek the approval of the wrong people.”
“I didn’t say approval. I just think you feel like you need to prove yourself to people who doubt you, rather than loving the ones who already believe. You’ll never make everyone happy, Jack. Even if you had the life you wish you had, someone would always be ready to tell you you’re not good enough.”
“People fucking suck, Sandee.”
She nods and moves to the door. “That they do. I’m heading back in, but take your time. It’s dead anyway.”
I climb up the side of the pallets and sit on top, staring up at the sky. There’s a weird cloud cover overhead, a strange greenish gray mass that blots out the moon and makes the entire back lot look eerie. I’m feeling guilty about Alana, about hurting her, about being such a letdown to her. It makes me feel worse about saying no to my grandma, even though what she’s asking is the hardest thing for me to do. I think back to when it all happened, about how she faced everything bravely. She sat through the trial and never shed a tear, never showed how much it tore her apart. I have to be able to do this.
I take out my phone and text Alana. I want to see her after work. She tells me she will meet me in the lot when I get out and I decide I’ll make things up to her. I don’t know how, but I’ll fix everything. I have to hope something isn’t beyond repair.
Do you include some of your own personal experiences in your books or do you prefer to use your imagination?
Yes and no. I mean, the story is not based on my life, but I also use my own experiences to shape it. I picture my college campus, people I knew, places I went, situations I lived through as I write. The novel is a conglomerate of my life, but it is not autobiographical. However, it is realistic, as it stems from my life.
Why Erotica & New Adult? What made you choose these genres over others?
I didn’t really choose them, to be honest. I write in many genres under other names. New Adult was a blend of erotica and YA for me. I love writing YA. The emotions are so raw, but you are often limited by your market, because most people don’t want you being honest. In NA, you can address sex and drugs and violence and things that really happen. And erotica just happened naturally. People have sex. Why not write about it? Sex is a huge defining factor as we grow up, too, so it makes sense it is prevalent in NA. I know for me that college was a period of experimentation and figuring things out. Some people waited for Fifty Shades of Grey. I didn’t.
Do you have a specific process or a ritual you go through when sitting down to write?
I don’t. I write when I can and when I feel motivated.
Where do you find your inspiration for your plots? Do you have any tricks of the trade you would care to share?
The characters just speak to me. Inspiration comes to me in weird places. I had the idea for the ending of Lily of the Valley in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. And it has nothing to do with anything in the museum. I just typed some notes in my phone and wrote the scene that night in my hotel room.
What is the oddest place/situation where an idea for a book/plot has come to you?
I guess I just answered that!
What makes a book stand out and perk your interest?
The fact that it is a book? Honestly, put it in front of me. That’s all it takes.
We all have our favorite authors. Can you share some of yours and tell us why you like them?
Hemingway. Because he is all about honesty and simplicity.
We all have a pet peeve, care to share yours?
Selfishness and cruelty. If we all were kinder, even a little, life would be beautiful like it should be.
When you’re not writing, what are the things you enjoy doing to relax?
Play a lot of Xbox!
Thank you so much for joining me here today, Sarah. I know my followers will enjoy this spotlight as much as I have conducting it. Good luck on all your future endeavors.
Places where you'll find Sarah online
Twitter or @SarahDaltry
Her Website
Tumblr
A Little About Sarah
Sarah Daltry writes erotica and romance that ranges from sweet to steamy. She moves around a lot and has trouble committing to things. Forget Me Not is her second full length novel, although she also has several story collections and two novellas available. Her other novel, Bitter Fruits, was available shortly, but is now in the contract phase with a major publisher. When Sarah isn’t writing, she tends to waste a lot of time checking Facebook for pictures of cats, shooting virtual zombies, and simply staring out the window.
Sarah's Latest Release
Lily had a crush on her brother's best friend, Derek for years - which led to their steamy night ten months ago in her bedroom. Now, Lily is going off to college and she and Derek are still going strong. However, when school starts, she realizes it's hard to maintain a relationship while also trying to live her own life. She and Derek find themselves falling apart and Lily has no idea where to turn.
Enter Jack. Everything about him is wrong for Lily and she knows it, but she can't stop herself from being attracted to him. When things implode with Derek, it's Jack who is there to pick up the pieces - and show Lily an entirely new set of experiences she didn't know she was missing.
Of course, Jack has his own problems and once Lily gets to know him better, she starts to wonder if she can handle all of Jack. When Derek reappears on the scene, Lily is forced to decide between two guys and herself. Can she find herself without losing the people who matter in the process?
See where it began in the short story, Her Brother's Best Friend.
PURCHASE LINKS FOR FORGET ME NOT
NEXT UP FOR SARAH ON SEPTEMBER 26TH
You met them in Forget Me Not. Now, hear Jack’s story.
Plagued
by a dark past, Jack sees college as a way out. Desperate to escape the
area where he grew up, the people who know his secrets, and his own
family, he deals with his problems through alcohol and sex.
When he first sees Lily, she’s the epitome of everything he hates. Yet something about her makes Jack rethink everything he knows and assumes about other people. Now, with the help of his best friend and lover, Jack has to decide if he wants to pursue something that he knows will only end badly.
Can Lily be one of the few people who can see Jack for who he really is – or will his darkness be too much for her to handle?
When he first sees Lily, she’s the epitome of everything he hates. Yet something about her makes Jack rethink everything he knows and assumes about other people. Now, with the help of his best friend and lover, Jack has to decide if he wants to pursue something that he knows will only end badly.
Can Lily be one of the few people who can see Jack for who he really is – or will his darkness be too much for her to handle?
Thanks for having me!
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure Sarah, Good luck with Lily of the Valley's release.
ReplyDelete