CentreStage with Sheryl Browne: Ode to reviewers and supporters

Welcome to the latest edition of CentreStage!

CentreStage showcases talented and exciting authors from around the world. These authors might tell you about their writing, or their lives, or any subject that is dear to them. Today, the wonderful Sheryl Browne is visiting CentreStage for the second time. I think she had such a great time on her previous visit, she simply had to come back. I am honoured!

But alas! Sheryl is having a weird time on CentreStage today. I seem to have gone… funny. I usher Sheryl in with undue haste, shutting the door firmly beside her, stealing a surreptitious backwards glance down the corridor. ‘You know the score… over to you, Sheryl! Here’s the mic… off you go…’ Sheryl gives me a worried look but springs into action.

**Sheryl enters**

Ooh, I’m in the spotlight, again.  ‘Ta-dah!’  *Takes centre-stage*

‘Ahem, I’d like to start by… Oops, hold on.’  *Attempts to adjust microphone, which is currently eyebrow level.  Grunts and fiddles.  Microphone plummets to kneecap level.  Smiles sweetly, dips surreptitiously, yanks it back up and smacks self in the head*

‘Ahem…’ *Starts again, now a bit cross-eyed* ‘My husband and I… Whoops, no, wrong speech. Bear with me. Um,’

*Thinks, finger poised on chin* ‘Ah, yes, I’d like to start by saying thank you to all the lovely people who have…  Pardon?  Yes, I know, I’m not receiving an Oscar, Nicky.  Yes, I know your next guest is due.  I am trying to get on with it.  Honestly, if your stage props were up to par, sweetie, we wouldn’t have been delayed in the first place.  Humph!

‘Now, where was I?  Um? Right, yes.  I’d like to start by thanking all the people who have been so uber-supportive during my book launches, first and foremost, my fellow authors and friends at Loveahappyending.com’ *pauses to cast Nicky a pointed glance* ‘without whose guidance and constant encouragement, I would have possibly been swept away by the tidal wave that is Twitter, like a little speck of dust in cyberspace.  Yes, it is quite eloquent, isn’t it?  Thank you, Nicky.  Wha’d’y’mean: if a bit long-winded??’

*Glances miffily over at Nicky side-stage, points nose in air and turns back to audience*

‘I would also like to thank all the lovely readers who have bought my book, in particular readers and reviewers, who have gone to the trouble of posting up some fabulous reviews.  Without people who are prepared to give of their time to do that, writers who are struggling to make a name for themselves might possibly sink without trace.  Yes, Nicky, I know I’ve gone all poetic now.  Thank you for that.  Shhhut up!  I’m trying to be serious.  Wha’d’y’mean, I don’t do serious?  This is me, being serious!

‘I’ve lost the plot now.   Ah, yes, reviewers.  Seriously, if you…’ *microphone plops to ankle-level* ‘Do not utter a word, Nicky.  Yes, you are.  You’re tittering.  Stoppit.  Ahem! If you haven’t thanked your reviewers, do it now, profusely.  They’re quite partial to chocolates, I gather, preferably Belgian or Hotel Chocolat.  And wine, a nice chilled Chablis, possibly, or…  OK, now I’m not being serious.  The thing is they do it for FREE, in their own time. They have tbr piles up to their armpits and probably impaired vision because of it, so if you’ve given a reviewer a hard time, chasing or moaning, feel ashamed. Very, very ashamed.

‘Likewise, if you invite someone to take centre-stage on your blog and then give them a hard time! Will you please stop giggling, Nicky!  It’s putting me off!  Thank you!  I’d just like to end by… No, I did NOT bring a coat.  I’d just like to end by thanking Lovehappyending.com again, and all my Twitter and Facebook friends for their tremendous support.  Having two book launches quite close together has been a bit demanding promo-wise and I simply couldn’t have done it without you.  Also, Safkhet Publishing – THANK YOU – for helping me to get my books where they should be: out there for people to enjoy.  Comments are always truly appreciated.  Good comments more so, obviously, but the not so-good…  Well, you write, you learn.  Every little comment and piece of advice is always taken on board if you are…  All right.  All right. I’m going. Anyone would think you have someone important on next.  Honestly.’ *Turns to strop side-stage, passing next guest en route*

‘Hi JK.’

**Sheryl exits**

At this point, the door opens and I bustle in, bearing a tray with biscuits and two steaming cups of tea. ‘Here we are, Sheryl,’ I breeze, somewhat breathless. ‘Sorry it took so long, someone seemed to have been messing about in my kitchen… Sheryl? Sheryl?’

I catch sight of myself already in the room and drop the tray in dismay.  ‘Who are you?’ I shriek, fearfully. ‘And what have you done with the lovely Sheryl…?’ The impostor turns and flees. Well, I never. What was that all about? 

Let me tell you more: About the lovely, talented and unflappable Sheryl Browne

Now residing in Worcestershire, Sheryl grew up in Birmingham, UK, where she studied Art & Design. She wears many hats: a partner in her own business, a mother, and a foster parent to disabled dogs. Creative in spirit, Sheryl has always had a passion for writing. A member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, she has previously been published in the US and writes Romantic Comedy because, as she puts it, “life is just too short to be miserable.”

Sheryl’s debut novel, RECIPES FOR DISASTER – combining deliciously different and fun recipes with sexilicious romantic comedy, is garnering some fabulous reviews! Sheryl has also been offered a further three-book contract under the Safkhet Publishing Soul imprint. SOMEBODY TO LOVE, a romantic comedy centring around a single policeman father’s search for love, his autistic little boy and the boy’s Autism Assistance Dog, launched July 1 with an immediate 5* review.  WARRANT FOR LOVE, bringing together three couples in a twisting story that resolves perfectly, released August 1.

You can visit Sheryl on her website, on Facebook and on Twitter. Sheryl is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and a featured author with innovative reader/author project, loveahappyending.com.

Now for more about Sheryl’s recent double release…

Somebody to Love

How do you tell her?

After a turbulent marriage to a man who walked off hand-in-offshoot with something resembling a twig, divorced mum, Donna O’Conner, doubts happy endings exist. She’d quite like to find herself an Adonis with… pecs …and things. Alas, that’s not likely, when her only interest outside of work is hopping her three-legged dog in the park, carrying a poop-scoop. In any case, Donna isn’t sure she’d know what to do with an Adonis if she fell on one. When PC Mark Evans comes along, gloriously gift-wrapped in blue, however, she can’t help wishing she did.

Mark, a single father, is desperate for love. He doesn’t hold out much hope, though, that there is a woman out there with a heart big enough to love him and his autistic son. Enter big-hearted Donna, plus three-legged dog. And now Mark has a dilemma. Pretending not to mind her house-bunny chewing his bootlaces, he’s smitten with Donna on sight. Should he tell her his situation up-front? Announcing he has a child with autism spectrum disorder on a first date tends to ensure there isn’t a second. Or should he skirt around the subject, which amounts to a lie? When one lie leads to another, can he ever win Donna’s trust back? Admit that he didn’t trust Donna enough to let her into his life?

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: Somebody to Love has been made with love… love of animals. Sheryl Browne has done excellent research on assistance dogs, specifically their use with autistic individuals. With a focus on romance with police officers, appealing to all readers who love our boys in blue, the author’s “teasing but not telling” style makes this read appropriate for anyone, including young adults and older teens.

Somebody to Love is endorsed by Danemere Animal Rescue Centre and Our Dog Publications. Watch the video… and you can get the book directly from the publisher if you wish. Somebody to Love is also available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

Warrant for Love

It can’t get any worse, can it?

Leanne Curtis has shared more than her heart and her home with her womanising man. She’s shared her pin number. The scales are peeled painfully from her eyes when she spots female footprints on the inside windscreen of his car. Devastated, Leanne storms off into the night. He wasn’t going to pay her back when he sold his flat, his bolthole, his shag-pad, probably, the absolute…! Shivering on a street corner, Leanne comes up with a survival plan. She’s no choice. If she’s to keep her son in PS3s, Leanne needs a lodger.

Brought up in care, Police Constable Paul Davis doesn’t communicate well. On duty, he’s gloomily contemplating his impending divorce. His wife sleeping with his sergeant is not helping his morose mood. His sergeant has a history, and Paul needs to find somewhere decent to live in order to gain custody of his son, fast. And to keep his job. Wrongfully arresting Leanne Curtis for soliciting, he muses, whilst avoiding five-star-freezer looks from her friends, might not be the best way to do it.

Could fate have brought them together, though? Leanne needs a respectable lodger. Paul needs a home. One thing leads to another, and Paul can’t quite believe his luck. When a blackmail plot ~ cooked up by Leanne’s friends ~ threatens their budding relationship, however, is Paul compelled to uphold the law? Or will he risk everything to make sure Leanne’s abusive ex gets his comeuppance?

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: Warrant for Love is not your typical rom-com where only one gal gets the guy — Sheryl Browne brings together three couples in a twisting story that resolves perfectly. With a focus on romance with police officers, Warrant for Love appeals to all readers who love our boys in blue. Complex yet everyday relationship problems makes this read appropriate for young adults and older teens.

You can obtain Warrant for Love directly from the publisher, and from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

Wow! What a post.  Love Shery’s humour and style. And an impostor on my blog stirring up trouble… it’s all fun and games over here at CentreStage!

Thanks for visiting again, Sheryl, and I promise next time I’ll have the tea ready, the stage set up and the premises searched for impostors. Maybe PC Paul Davis can help me…