Sharon DunnA little mystery, a little romance, a whole lotta fun
Sharon Dunn is mom to Jonah, Ariel, and Shannon. When she isn’t writing, she is taking kids somewhere, soaking in a hot tub trying to get ideas for writing or making pets out of all the dust bunnies under her furniture. Her latest book is called Death of a Garage Sale Newbie, the first in the Bargain Hunters mysteries.You can read more about Sharon and her books at www.sharondunnbooks.com Welcome to Portrait of a Writer!
Sharon, tell us a little about your family and your call to write.
I am the daughter of a phosphate miner and I am still anticipating when
I started writing sort of by default. I had always done theater as a creative outlet, but after our first son was born and a stage managed a church play while my husband spend a month of evenings at home with our little one, I realized theater wasn’t going to work with having a family. I had the sense that I could write, but didn’t consider it for a creative outlet until after I had kids.
How did you get your first “writing break?”
I got a red ribbon at the county fair for some poems I wrote when I was in the second grade. I’m still waiting for my big break, the one where a big time publisher knocks on my door (without any work on my part) and offers me a six figure advance and a movie deal. In the event that fantasy never happens, I am simply working at improving my craft, putting my time in each day.
As far as getting a break with book publication, Kregel published my first three books in the Ruby Taylor mystery series. The first book Romance Rustlers and Thunderbird Thieves was published in 2003. That was after three or four years of writing it and about two years of sending it out to publishers. You work for your breaks in this business.
What do you write and why this genre?
I write mysteries that usually have a thread of romance. It really is true that you need to write what you love to read. I got hooked on Agatha Christie in college and went on to read Sue Grafton and Sharyn McCrumb. Now I read mostly Christian fiction. I really like Brandilyn Collins. I have tried other genres and what I find is that I can’t get a plot rolling until a body drops.
Do you have any recent contracts and up coming releases?
I’m really excited about my new series Bargain Hunters mysteries coming out the end of March. The taglines is that it is four women who are bonded together by the need to clip coupons and be first in line at doorbuster sales get drawn into a mystery when one of the Bargain Hunters is missing. The first book is called Death of a Garage Sale Newbie.
What do you hope to accomplish through your novels?
Most of all, I want to create a fun, follow the clues mystery that entertains readers and keeps them turning pages without fear that they will have to wade through sex and gore to find the mystery. On another level, I really strive to represent the Christian journey honestly, so I have less than perfect character that readers can relate to. This new Bargain Hunters series has a theme of how we as Christians think about money and finances. Some of the spiritual lessons my characters learn mirror my own.
And now for the tough questions… How do you balance being a mom, wife, and writer?
I don’t think it is possible to balance everything. The “to do” for all those roles just keeps getting things added to it. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and sometimes I do. When that happens, I ask God what is the “one” next thing I am supposed to do. After that one thing is done, I do the next thing after that.
Do you think it’s possible to give yourself fully to raising children, writing, working full time, and keeping in shape? If not, which one for you has to take a back seat?
Yeah, sure you can do all that, for like one day and then after that, you’ll fall over dead from exhaustion. I gave up keeping in shape a while ago. Also, I made a deliberate choice that having a spotless, magazine perfect house wasn’t a priority, writing nourished me more. Since the writing has become more intense, I’ve given up sewing. There are sacrifices. We don’t entertain that often and it takes three days to get the house presentable before one of the kids’ birthdays, but something has to give and I don’t want it to be my kids or my hubby.
When do you find the time to write, and do you ever feel like you’re neglecting your children when you write?
I have my moments and I always got to pray through it. Cause sometimes it is just the enemy trying to kill my dream hitting me in my vulnerable place. Sometimes, though I am using the writing to escape and not deal with the hard work of being a parent.
How do you handle interruptions in your writing life?
One of my novels, I think it was my third Ruby Taylor, Cow Crimes and the Mustang Menace was written at the kitchen table with the kids running through and coming to me for snacks and conflict resolution. I started writing when my kids were babies, so sometime they were playing at my feet while I tapping on the keyboard. Interruption is a way of life when you have kids, so you just accept that it will happen.
Now that my kids are a little older, we have a rule, you don’t interrupt mama unless the house is on fire or someone is bleeding. That works most of the time, but when the interruptions happen, I just have to accept that I will have to get up from my keyboard.
How do you get back into the flow of writing after you’ve been interrupted?
Interruptions are hard because you are pulled out of the world of story telling and back into the world of dust bunnies and grocery lists. I have tried different things. For a while I had headphones with musical soundtracks to help block noises out to get back into the flow of writing if I did get interrupted. Also, my desk is faced so it is in a corner without much visual distraction. Sometimes the best thing to do is to just reread what I just wrote and try to get back into the rhythm that way. When the kids are home in the summer and on weekends, I find that if I don’t do the writing first thing, it won’t get done. I have my coffee and sit down to write. If I am in my chair by eight, I can write until about eleven when I get the kids lunch and then we can do something fun. The kids are pretty good about getting up and getting a granola bar and reading or watching cartoons. When they were little, I had to wait for a time when they were napping or my hubby could watch them.
How do you position yourself to HEAR God’s voice when all the noises of life are swirling around you? I don’t know if I have mastered that. I go on walks in the summer so I can pray then and I take a long soak in a bath most nights. I have pretty much lived in the psalms since my kids were born. It’s possible to read a section of a psalm and get a little nourishment that way. I have always struggled with hearing God’s voice even before I had kids. I’m so glad I have a God who is faithful and patient.
If you do feel your priorities slipping, what do you do to get back on track?
I got to tell you there are times when I get depressed because it doesn’t feel like I am moving forward. There are tasks that don’t get done for months…or ever. For example, I have hefty bags full of stuff I want to take the thrift store for donation in my bedroom. They have been there for at least eight months. My priorities slip when I fixate on and get overwhelmed by tasks like the hefty bags. I have to remind myself of what has eternal consequence. What I invest in my children, the time we have together is what matter. My writing will still be here after I am gone, that matters.
I think it is important for my kids to learn a little independence and that Mom gets to have dreams too. But I know my priorities are slipping when the kids start fighting with each other, that is usually the red flag that tells me I’m spending too much time at the keyboard.
Has there ever been a time God told you to set aside your writing to focus on other areas of your life? If so, how did you handle that?
I’ve never had long periods of time where I felt like God was asking me set the writing aside, but there have been days when the kids were sick or we needed to spend a day shoveling out a room or whatever. On those days, I knew I wouldn’t be able to write that day. When that happens, all I have control over his my attitude. I can be upset because my plans got messed up or I can enjoy the time with my kids.
Did you ever feel like you’ve “missed” God in regards to writing, that maybe you should be doing something else?
Writing is so nourishing to me, I don’t know what else I would do. Even if I wasn’t writing for publication, I would set aside time to journal. The voice that I have to shut out is the one I hear after a writing failure or rejection then I hear that voice that says “why are you wasting your time with this writing. Why don’t you spend time cleaning your house. You are not a good mom.” I have to make a deliberate choice not to listen to that voice.
What advice would you give to writing moms who are have their hearts set on publication?
Take small steps and set incremental goals. I started writing when I was pregnant with my oldest son. At that time, I didn’t even think I could do a novel. I did articles and short stories. I sent stuff to contests. Byline magazine has some great ones. Sometimes my only goal was to have two or three pages of something ready to show my critique group.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
I just want all writing moms to know that in the course of filling out this interview, I had to do it in at least three segments (I kind of lost count). I dealt with a conflict between my nine and twelve year old about an i-pod. I talked to my oldest son’s math teacher about his grade. My husband called from work to remind me to call the auto shop about our car. I stopped to give my youngest son a snack and have a conversation about financial management (he is trying to save his allowance for a game boy sp and not spend his money impulsively).
I think the most important thing about writing and having kids is that you shouldn’t hold out for the ideal circumstances for writing (silence and a big block of time) because that isn’t going to happen too often. I have found that the job tends to expand to the amount of time allotted for it. When the kids were little and hubby would watch them for an hour, I was very focused and got a lot done. Now that I have a little more time, I don’t know that I am that much more productive. Use whatever time God provides.
Thank you so much for sharing with us here at Portrait of a Writer. God bless you and your family as you write and raise your children.
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