Summer Splash Interview: S.D. Ferrell

Today, we have an interview with S.D. Ferrell! Here's a little bit about her.

S.D. Ferrell is a writer, self-published author, and creative artist. Ms. Ferrell was born the 1st of October 1960 in Norfolk General Hospital, in Simcoe Ontario Canada. She grew up on a small hobby farm in Windham Centre, with her parents, six sisters and one brother. 
Her fondest memories of childhood were on the farm and the time she spent outside with her siblings. They had grand adventures in the forest that curved around the property. She remembers a majestic willow tree with long flowing branches that grew beside the laneway – they swung from those branches until they were giddy with laughter. There were also cherry trees in the front yard that she climbed, and sat on the branches for what seemed like hours on end. Among the leaves she was free to allow her mind to take flights of fancy.
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Nature was a playground for a little girl with a vivid imagination who would one day grow up to be a writer. "Is it any wonder," Ms. Ferrell says, "that my debut novel starts in a forest and one of the main characters throughout the series is a tree." 
S.D. is a proud mother to five daughters and a grandmother to fourteen wonderful grandchildren. She presently resides in Simcoe Ontario and is working on the third book in the series, The Long Road Home. She and the artist, Evee Fex-Chriszt, are busy completing the 4th and final book in the series, The Keeper’s Guide.

D.R.- Dancing or singing?
S.D.- I love to dance, it is one of my favorite things to do.

D.R.- Beach or woods?
S.D.- I like both. I prefer early morning walks on the beach, before it gets too hot or crowded. I have a kinship with the woods though that is undeniable. There is something comforting about being surrounded by the trees and all the lush undergrowth. I love the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves, the trickling of water as is flows through a creek, the songs of the birds as they nest and fly overhead, and the colours in the woods are so vivid and varying in contrast. I think the woods speak to me on an artistic level.

D.R.- Coffee or tea or something else?
S.D.- I drink both actually. I like coffee first thing in the morning. I tend to drink tea when I am not feeling well. I usually add a little bit of honey, ginger and lemon to it. As for the something else, I have been known to top my coffee off with a shot or two of Bailey’s Irish cream. I also drink a lot of Pepsi. I have tried for years to curb my thirst for it, but have failed miserably.  It is a go to remedy for when I am stressed or when I am creating.
 
D.R.- What's the food or drink you always tell other people to try?
S.D.- Peanut butter and dill pickle sandwiches. I ate them when I was kid, and still do as an adult.

D.R.- What book do you recommend the most?
S.D.- Besides my own, I recommend William Goldman’s abridgment of The Princess Bride. I loved reading all his side-bar notes. They gave a glimpse of life in Hollywood from a first-hand perspective.  It was a very interesting and enjoyable read.

D.R.- Where is the one place you think everyone should go?
S.D.- Back home, where it all began. I think visiting where you grew-up as a child is important in a therapeutic sense.  If you have never left home, I think you should go wherever your heart desires.

D.R.- How do you get ideas for stories?
S.D.- Ideas find their way to me, I am just open to receive them. I hear a lot of authors say, “It just came to me.” In a lot of ways that is true. I think ideas are constantly floating around and if you are open to receive them, they will find their way to you.

D.R.- Which genres do you write and what's your favorite one?
S.D.- Presently, I have self-published titles in, Fantasy Adventure, Adult Comedy, and Cozy Erotica. I don’t really have a favorite genre, but I do have a fondness for comedy that tends to make into every genre I write in.

D.R.- What do you do if you see your idea has already been done?
S.D.- I create it anyways. There are infinite possibilities when storytelling in respect to plot and twists, characters, dialogue, geographical and time positioning that to deny yourself the opportunity to tell a story, because someone else has had the same idea is unfortunate.

D.R.- Tell me about the biggest surprise your own character, story, or setting has given you.
S.D.- I think the biggest surprise for me is that I have created a character, Jasper, that readers have fallen in love with and have a vested interest in his well-being. It is truly unexplainable how wonderful I feel when readers talk about him or ask what is in store for him. He was supposed to be a minor character, but ended up being the hero of the first book, The Valley Time Forgot. His story was to gradually fall to the back as we highlighted the actual heroines of the story the Whipple Wash Fairies. However, because readers related to him so passionately he was given a bigger part in the second book The Shadow of Erebos. Jasper’s story will continue in the 3rd book where he will find himself, once again, the centre of attention. 

You can find out more about S.D. Ferrell on her website, connect with her on Facebook and Twitter, and buy her books from her Author Central page on Amazon.