On tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club - Discovery (The Orphan Train Saga, Book 1) by Sherry A. Burton @authorsherryaburton @coffeepotbookclub
I am back with another fabulous virtual blog tour from The Coffee Pot Book Club. Today I am chatting to author Sherry A. Burton. But before we get to the interview let's have a look at Sherry's fabulous book:
While most use their summer breaks for pleasure, third grade teacher Cindy Moore is using her summer vacation to tie up some loose ends concerning her grandmother’s estate. When Cindy enters the storage unit that holds her grandmother’s belongings, she is merely looking for items she can sell to recoup some of the rental fees she’s spent paying for the unit.
Instead, what she finds are secrets her grandmother has taken to the grave with her. The more Cindy uncovers, the more she wants to know. Why was her grandmother abandoned by her own mother? Why hadn’t she told Cindy she’d lived in an orphanage? And how come her grandmother never mentioned she’d made history as one of the children who rode the Orphan Trains?
Join Cindy as she uncovers her grandmother’s hidden past and discovers the life that stole her grandmother’s love.
What inspired you to start writing?
I had a friend who was going through a tough time. I hated to see her so sad, and so one day, for reasons still unknown to me, I told her I was going to write her a happy ending. I thought it was going to be a simple story that would help to cheer her up. The voices showed up and that simple story, which ended up being nothing about my friend, turned out to be my first novel, Tears of Betrayal.
What was the hardest part about writing this book?
I guess I will say the research. Discovery was my first foray into historical fiction, and, at the time, I was not used to pausing my writing to look things up. I remember a scene where one of the characters had to turn on the windshield wipers. I was like, wait, were windshield wipers even invented back then?
Does one of the main characters hold a special place in your heart? If so, why?
I’m going to say Mildred, as I modeled her after my own grandmother. Both were distant and had secrets to tell. While I will never know why my own grandmother chose to hold me at arm’s length, I somehow feel closer to her by writing this story.
If your book was to be made into a movie, who are the celebrities that would star in it?
I’ve actually given this a lot of thought over the last couple of years since beginning the journey with The Orphan Train Saga. The answer is none. I wouldn’t want viewers to think of this as a -fill in the name of any actress movie. I would prefer them to use unknown actors. My hope is by choosing unknowns, the viewer watches the film for the content and not for the name attached to the movie.
What do you hope your readers take away from this book?
To expand on the previous question, I hope to honor the memories of the more than 250 thousand children who rode the historic orphan trains to find new homes. Too many people are unaware of The Placing Out Program or that over a quarter of a million children were sent west in search of new homes. My goal with the eighteen book saga is to change that.
Born in Kentucky, Sherry got her start in writing by pledging to write a happy ending to a good friend who was going through some really tough times. The story surprised her by taking over and practically writing itself. What started off as a way to make her friend smile started her on a journey that would forever change her life. Sherry readily admits to hearing voices and is convinced that being married to her best friend for thirty-eight plus years goes a long way in helping her write happily-ever-afters. Sherry is the author of The Orphan Train Saga novels, a planned eighteen book historical fiction saga that revolves around the historic orphan trains. Books in the saga include Discovery, Shameless, Treachery and Guardian. Loyal, the fifth in the saga, expected to release summer of 2021. Sherry resides in Michigan and spends most of her time writing from her home office, traveling to book signing events and giving lectures on the Orphan Trains.
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