Interview with Sherilyn Decter, author of Innocence Lost

What can you tell us about your new release, Innocence Lost?

Innocence Lost is the first book of a five book series Bootleggers’ Chronicles. The inspiration for the series is a quote by Martin Luther King, Jr: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy.”
So much of the crime that sprang up In America during Prohibition (time period for the novels) came about not because of evil people, but because good people stood by and did nothing while evil happened.
The main character, a widow with a young son, must decide how she is going to respond when a young boy is murdered by bootleggers.

What or who inspired you to become an author?

I’ve always been a voracious reader, and like most people who love to read, I’ve always wondered about whether I could write a book. When I retired, I cast around for what the next chapter of my life would look like and decided to turn my hand to writing. With five books under my belt now and the next series started, I gotta’ say—I love it!

What’s on your top 5 list for the best books you’ve ever read?

• I love anything by Lee Child,
• The Three Pines series by Louise Penny,
• Dennis Lahane’s Live by Night,
• Historical novels set in Tudor England
• Any of Michael Connelly,

Say you’re the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?

Louise Penny and her early days and the struggles as she brought her first Gamache story to life.

What’s your favorite thing about writing?

I love getting the idea and working it into an outline. Then the first draft is the next fave time. Very exciting to begin to see the story take shape. I’m not a big fan of editing.

What is a typical day like for you?

Super early riser- up around 4AM each morning. I write until 7, pack my husband’s lunchkit, write again from 9-noon, then my lunch, author stuff until 4 and then start supper.

What scene in Innocence Lost was your favorite to write?

The scene where Maggie realizes that Frank is a ghost. She’s a very practical, common-sense person confronted by the unexplainable. He’s a Victorian police inspector struggling to let go of his preconceptions about women and learn to work with a woman in 1920.

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

Life’s roughest storms prove the strength of our anchors.
Perfection is the enemy of done.

Sherilyn Decter is the author of the new book Innocence Lost

Connect with Sherilyn