Cutthroat Business of Writing with Cheryl S. Smith

My name is Cheryl S. Smith and I am a writer. I think I was born addicted, and I think it was the fault of my father. He never wrote to be published, but he penned some of the funniest, most ironic letters ever sent to companies and politicians with whom he was dissatisfied. My own first book was printed in crayon in a black cardboard notebook, with illustrations of the monsters inhabiting my home (thanks for my brother and sister).

My writing career operated in a sort of reverse, work-your-way-down fashion. I started in television, writing for sitcoms mainly. . . really good sitcoms. But the only person I know of who made a career living in New York and writing for Hollywood was Rod Serling. I was no Rod Serling. I thought about moving to L.A., but the closest I could bring myself to come was
Northern California.

It didn't take long to realize that writing for television was not a good career for me, temperament- or healthwise. So I started writing nonfiction, self-syndicating travel and food articles to newspapers. Then I tossed in some humorous articles about dogs, and that gave me somewhere to go as self-syndication slowly became more and more impossible. Soon, I was a full-time dog writer, with articles and books and awards being regularly produced. And that kept me happily and healthfully occupied for years.

But this country girl was not happy in the increasingly crowded confines of California, and I moved to Washington state, where I found open space with less extreme weather than New York. I am happy here still, with dogs, a feral cat colony, rescued llamas, a small flock of chickens, koi, and local ducks trying to raise their families while dodging local eagles. But the nonfiction gradually became not quite fulfilling.

So I have now switched back to my roots in fiction. After much experimentation and practice, I pounded my fist mystery in the Fishing for Mystery series into shape. It is available as an e-book, Cutthroat Business, now. I am hard at work on the second installment, Sole Suspect, happy to promote my Olympic Peninsula and maybe teach a few people a thing or two about our national parks and forests. In the third book my protagonist Rusty Travers will be on the bass tour, and I very much appreciate the help of another writer, Robert Montgomery, who has been covering the tour for years. (For those of you who don't know, no bass are harmed in the competition on
the bass tour.)

Anyway, Rusty is pretty outspoken and opinionated, and people seem to either like or dislike her pretty quickly. I hope you'll find her entertaining.

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Come back Wednesday for an excerpt from Cheryl’s new book, Cutthroat Business.