Sherrie Lord, novelist
Describing Sherrie in one word:
"Charismatic" — says her eldest son.
"Passionate" — says her youngest son.
"Is nut-job one word or two?" — says her husband.
I just know:
I can't resist a pretty hat, a cute tote bag, or sparkly things.
If the crowd is going that way, I'm heading 180 degrees of that. I don't follow trends.
And in my life, around me . . . Anything but BEIGE, anything but VANILLA, and anything but BLAND!
PERSONAL
* I grew up in a little town in Wyoming (in Wyoming, they're ALL little towns).
* My mother was a nurse, my father, an internist.
* I moved to east Idaho on the back of a Harley chopper a few weeks after I graduated high school in 1974.
* I pledged my life and devotion to Jesus in 1976.
* I've been dealing with a chronic illness since 1998, which makes me grind to a halt sometimes. But I enjoy working and being productive. And God has yet to un-call me from writing novels.
FAMILY
* I married my favorite biker in 1975.
* My husband and I have two sons, who magically turned out to be responsible and intelligent men of integrity. They're also playful, clever, witty, and incredibly multi-talented.
• Our eldest son has given us a granddaughter. Our son from my husband's previous marriage has given us a granddaughter and twin grandsons.
SCHOOL / WORK
* I started working as a disk jockey on my 16th birthday.
* I didn't begin college until I was 31, starting in special ed before I switched to geology then to environmental science.
* The year I earned my bachelor's degree, my husband received his master's in nuclear engineering.
* I was working on a master's in industrial health and safety when I landed my first contract, for not one, but two books. Yep, I quit college.
• I returned to radio for a while, lured to be the bubbly half of a morning show team. I had to retire when health issues made it difficult to get up at 4:30 every morning to be at the station by 5:30, and on the air by 6:00. My writing was suffering as well.
• When I retired from radio in 1999, I'd chalked up more than 10,000 hours at a microphone. Sometimes I miss it and think about going back.
PLAY
* I started riding my OWN motorcycle in 1997.
* I now ride a 2006 BMW R1200RT; that's a sport-touring model.
* All my recreation activities take me outdoors — sailing, cross-country skiing, walking, and camping.
* I love to decorate my house, love to paint and sew and all that. Funny, but every room is some shade of blue, though all the rooms are fun and in bright, Crayola colors.