Chatting with Sherry Thomas at #RWA18

The best part of RWA’s annual conference is, for us, getting to talk with authors we love. And we love Sherry Thomas. (If you haven’t been reading her, you need to get on that. Now!)

Dabney: What are you working on now?

Sherry: I am gearing up to go into revisions for the YA adaptation of Mulan I am writing for Lee & Low books. I decided to set the story when historians think it actually took place-5th Century China. It’s been quite an education and a challenge.

Dabney: Which of your books was the hardest to write? The most fun?

Sherry: Hardest would be a toss-up between His at Night or Tempting the Bride. I hit the WTF point in His at Night early and often! It was difficult to write—so many edits.

Funnest was The One in My Heart. I loved the heck out of it.

Dabney: What’s your prediction for the next big thing/s in romance?

Sherry: If I knew what big things were….! In 2010, I had to part ways from my first publisher. I was at RWA and my agent was shopping me around. I signed a contract that, had I known self-publishing was going to boom, I was tied down to a contract. I clearly can’t predict the future!

Dabney: What’s a word you love to use in your work? One you never use?

Sherry: Insidious. I love that word.

Penis. I hate penis as a word.

Here’s a story from long before 50SoG, back when erotic romance was on the upswing. I always go to my RWA chapter meeting whenever I can. One time, after the meeting, we’d gone out for a drink and we were talking about trends. I said, “I hate penis.” Right as I said that, the waitress was at my elbow. Later than evening, I said, still talking about terminology, “I hate penis but I love cock.” I looked up and there she was again!

Dabney: “laughing” Thanks!

Sherry Thomas’s next book is The Hollow of Fear, the third in her Lady Sherlock series. Her books have received nine DIKs (Desert Island Keepers) from AAR. If you’ve never read her, we highly recommend Not Quite a Husband, a superb historical romance, or the Lady Sherlock series–the first book is A Study in Scarlet Women.