Sherrie Hansen Decker Interview

I'm welcoming Sherrie Decker to The Borrowed Book today. Sherrie lives in a 116 year old Victorian house in northern Iowa who, just like her, got a second chance when she rescued it from the bulldozers grips and turned it into a bed and breakfast and tea house, the Blue Belle Inn. “Love Notes” is Sherrie’s fifth book to be published by Second Wind Publishing, and her debut Christian Inspirational novel. She attended Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL and University of Maryland, European Division, in Augsburg, Germany. Her husband, Rev. Mark Decker, is a pastor and Sherrie’s real life hero. She enjoys playing the piano with their worship team, needlepointing, renovating and decorating historic houses, traveling, and going on adventures with her nieces and nephews. Welcome, Sherrie.

You've just had a book to release. Give us the title and a blurb about it.

LOVE NOTES was released on June 4 and is available on amazon.com, smashwords.com and at www.secondwindpublishing.com.  

Hope Anderson’s heart is finally starting to thaw.
Tommy Love is treading on thin ice – he wants the only thing Hope has left.

For Hope, recreating the past - reopening Rainbow Lake Lodge and seeing it bubbling with families, children, and laughter again – means new life. It’s the only way she can honor her late husband's legacy.

For Tommy Lubinski of Tommy Love and the Love Notes fame, Rainbow Lake means coming home - peace, quiet, seclusion - and a second chance at stardom. Once he’s bulldozed the lodge and built his dream house overlooking the lake, everything will be perfect.

Hope is sinking fast, but she’ll be fine if she can just keep her head above water until spring. Tommy’s troubles run a little deeper, but there’s no need to worry for now… Rainbow Lake is frozen solid. Or is it?

Where did you get your idea for this book?

My husband’s aunt and uncle own a cabin on Bear Island Lake near Ely, MN. Every summer, we go up north for a visit. On one trip, when we were out boating on the lake, Pat showed me an old lodge with cabins where she and Frank spent their honeymoon, and the story grew from there.

Tell us a little about Hope Anderson. What makes her determined to have Rainbow Lodge?

Hope’s late husband, David, who died in a tragic car accident, was raised at Rainbow Lake Lodge. His family and hers are gone. She and David had no children. The lodge is all she has left. Hope believes that fulfilling she and David’s dream of reopening the Lodge - filling it with love and laughter and children once again – will honor David’s memory.

Your hero Tommy Lubinski seems to have other plans for the lodge. What has happened to bring him back home?

Tommy Lubinski has been waiting for eons for the perfect piece of lake front property to come on the market so he can build a quiet, private, secluded home with a view. When his old friend and classmate, Billy Bjorklund, tells him that a prime parcel of land on Rainbow Lake will soon be available, Tommy thinks he’s found the perfect place to write a new hit song.  Tommy would never admit it, but he’s deathly afraid of being forgotten. That’s why he’s determined to write a new hit single, one that will make him a star with the younger generation. 

What do you hope readers will take away after reading Love Notes?

I hope that those who read Love Notes will have their sense of hope restored, that they’ll start to believe that God can and does work miracles, that you’re never too old to find hope, joy, peace and love, that God is a master at surprising us with second chances.

In addition to writing, you run a bed and breakfast. I saw that you are starting a new activity on the first Friday night of the month for guests. Tell us about this venture.

I’ll have owned the Blue Belle Inn for 21 years as of August 1^st. After two decades of doing what I do, it’s an ongoing challenge to come up with new ideas and activities that will generate renewed excitement about visiting the Inn. My latest idea is to have an open mike night the first Friday of every month. Hopefully people will come and read their poetry, sing, play an instrument, read aloud from their books… We have ears to listen! Anyone who performs will get a free piece of dessert - kind of like singing for your supper – in a good way. I’d love it if I make some new friends who are creative and enjoy sharing their talents.

What are you writing now?

I’m working on a book set at St. Conan’s Kirk in Scotland called Wild Rose. The hero is a vicar and Rose is, well, a bit wild. I can’t wait to write the scenes between her and the church ladies of St. Conan’s.

Do you have any advice to give to beginning authors?

My advice to beginning authors is to be brave and tell people about your story whenever you have the opportunity. Soon, it will become second nature, and you will have the confidence you need to pitch to editors and agents as well as customers and book store owners and librarians who will want to buy your book. Writing is everything, but so is selling yourself as an author. Together, the two make a winning combination.

Thank you for being a guest on The Borrowed Book today, Sherrie. To find out more about Sherrie go to http://www.bluebellebooks.com/.