Author Spotlight: Sherry Morris

Sherry Morris won 2nd prize in Fiction in the Northwind Writing Award 2024 for her story “Green Tights”. It is an honor to feature her Q&A here on Raw Earth Ink as part of our promotion of truly exceptional authors.

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Q & A

Candice: Sherry, first thank you so much for your great submissions. What stood out to all the judges was the originality of your writing. You are a writer who stands out for this reason: in your selection of subject, title, and how you formulate your story. In a world of “sameness” how do you achieve the impossible, and stay original? 

Sherry: Gosh, what an interesting and original question! I don’t plan to be original, I just try to write stories about characters I find interesting. Or I’ll write an ‘ordinary’ character who has something interesting happen to her and see how she responds. I’m always on the lookout for interesting facts or news stories to use in my fictional stories. When I hear or read something I think is interesting, I write it down—either in the notes section of my phone or in a little notebook I carry with me. Then, later, I go back and see if a story or character develops, or if the snippet can be used in a story or piece of flash I’m currently working on. I’m glad you think my ideas are interesting and original too!

CD: Is it abundantly clear you are able to mesh the power of humor, original perspective, and concepts that are out of the ordinary in your writing. Is there a story behind how you write as you do? 

Sherry: I often write without much of a plan and just throw various interesting bits I’ve collected (see above) together and see what unfolds.  The ‘voice’ of the story usually comes to me first and that determines the setting/location of the story and helps me figure out who the character is, what bits fit for this character and story, and what bits are for another story. Maybe some of the ‘out-of-the-ordinary-ness’ comes from the fact that I’ve been lucky enough to live in several different countries, each with its own unique and interesting ways that seem ordinary to the people there, but are fascinating to me.

CD: Beginning your piece I didn’t know what to expect, the obvious question being, how would green tights factor in and how important could green tights be? That’s half the surprise of the story, the way you work in things that don’t seem possible to relate, yet somehow you do. Is this true of most of your work or did you particularly employ this in “Green Tights”? 

Sherry: I suppose it’s a feature of all my stories… linking together things that don’t seem to have any connection into something coherent. I see story writing as similar to putting together a jigsaw puzzle. My stories start out as many various pieces, the odd and interesting bits I’ve collected, a character’s voice and then a setting/location. My job (and challenge) as a writer is to take all these disparate bits and fit them together into an interesting, and hopefully meaningful, story that fits together well. Luckily for me, I love putting together puzzles!

CD: For short stories, the importance of the ‘opening line hook’ is more important than ever. Did it take you a long time to create your hook for this piece? 

Sherry: I always knew the story would start with the protagonist finding Marianne in a ditch. I saw that image straightaway in my head and there was never any doubt that was how the story would open. I spent time finessing and polishing that first line—it was a startling image—and I wanted the opening line to match it.

CD: How important to you is the necessity of the unpredictable and the original in a short story specifically and if so, why? 

Sherry: I suppose it’s quite important though I’ve not really thought about it in that way. I simply try to keep the story interesting to me. Because if I’m bored as the writer writing it, then the reader will be bored reading it—and that’s no good.

CD: When beginning your story, did you know exactly where it was going to go, or did it make itself known someway through? 

Sherry:  I wrote this story quite a while ago now, pretty much all in one go. Then I forgot about it and discovered it on my laptop I don’t know how much later. I had always wanted to write a story where a woman thinks the cracks in her bathroom mirror are the face of the Virgin Mary (a news story I’d heard on the radio) but I didn’t want to write a story ABOUT that woman. What I thought would be more interesting is to write about a woman (Lilith) who is the opposite of the cracked-mirror woman (Marianne) and have them interact. It was always the voice of Lilith I heard so I had to figure out what a tough character like Lilith could learn from someone as vulnerable and seemingly helpless as Marianne. I didn’t know how the story would end. I usually don’t know how my stories will end, but when I got to the end, I knew this was the right ending for it.

CD: Is the genre of short story telling one that is personally important to you and if so, what’s the story behind that? 

Sherry: I always wanted to write short stories, I fell in love with them in middle school where I was introduced to stories like “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. They made a huge impression on me and that’s my preferred format to write. But short stories take me a long time to get right. I love novels too, but I’ve never had the slightest desire to write a book. Too much work! I discovered flash fiction (very short fiction) and write a lot of that. I have most of my success with flash fiction but my heart remains with short stories.

CD:  Was there a particular person or persons who inspired or encouraged you to become a writer?

Sherry: As a kid I’d always been a big reader but I never thought much about writing stories until my high school English teacher inspired me. He taught Creative Writing and sparked something in me—he’s the reason I became a writer. He encouraged me throughout high school and college to write. He told me I was a writer. Even after I moved to the UK we stayed in touch—I’d visit him and spend time with him and his family when I was in the States—they were all very generous and kind to me. I always shared my writing success with him, and he even appears in a few of my stories. He passed recently and it’s a deep, deep loss. I know he was proud of me and he knows that every time I write a story, it’s because he believed in me. 

CD: Did you think your writing would be received with as much love as it has been, when you submitted? Or did you fear it would be misunderstood/not related to? 

Sherry: I’m always delighted when a story I’ve written is accepted and I was dumbstruck to learn all four pieces I submitted to The Northwind Writing Award had made the shortlist. When a writer finds her ‘tribe’—the editors and readers who ‘get’ her work—it’s magic!

CD: I felt such sadness in this story which, juxtaposed against the humor and insight, was at times very disquieting (in a very good way). Do you see this story as being ultimately sad? What’s the message there? 

Sherry: I see “Green Tights” as a story where the main character grows. She learns to accept help, that she can’t always do everything on her own, and that help is sometimes on offer from the most unlikely sources. The lesson is to be open to change. Lilith also learns everything in life isn’t one thing or the other: crazy/sane, black/white… Sometimes things are…green. So I see it mostly as a positive story.

CD: I have always personally appreciated and loved the dark humor genre, where something is ultimately quite upsetting but the way it’s written makes you smile at the same time. Is that a genre you often write in? Do you find it is one you are very comfortable with? 

Sherry: I belong to an in-person writing group that meets once a month to share and critique work. Often the comment is that my stories are a quirky mix of humour and sadness/pain. I don’t set out to do that when writing a story but I’m glad I can—in a way this replicates life.

CD: How much of your own direct lived experience relates to what you write and what you include in your writing? 

Sherry: There’s almost always a kernel of direct experience somewhere in my stories. Not necessarily a character, but an observation, item, or detail. Sometimes it is a direct living experience but altered. I hardly ever completely make something up—I find I don’t need to; real life is interesting and strange enough.

CD: As a writer, was there a time when you were unable to write and how did that affect you? 

Sherry: A few years ago, during the pandemic, I struggled to write anything. It was a stressful time, but also with all the free time I had (because we couldn’t go out and do things), I felt I *should* be writing. And that self-pressure made me unable to write anything. I’ve discovered the busier I am with non-writing projects, the more intentional I am when I do sit down to write—otherwise I procrastinate. So I try to keep busy with other tasks and projects (photography, local charities, presenting a spoken-word radio show) to give myself a smaller window of time to write. And then I write more productively. 

CD: Please share any other aspects of your writing life.

Sherry: I’ve recently started presenting a monthly, online spoken-word show featuring short stories and flash fiction through Inverness Hospital Radio. The show focuses on stories with a Scottish Highland setting or stories by writers with a connection to the Highlands—though sometimes I include stories I’ve simply fallen in love with and want to share. The hour-long show includes music and chat and the plan is to also have interviews with local writers. The programme airs on Fridays at noon UK time and there is also a Listen Again feature. Check out ‘Sherry’s Shorts’ via the website or MixCloud. I source the stories for the show myself which means I’m reading more short stories and flash fiction which is fantastic. You learn so much about writing from reading other writers. I would definitely suggest volunteering to read for print and online journals or competitions. It’s an invaluable experience.

CD: I’d love to know personally how you came to the decision to call this “Green Tights”?

Sherry: I’ve learned titles are super-important in a story—especially in flash fiction when the word count is small. I usually spend time thinking about the title, considering what best encapsulates the story or, better yet, expands the meaning of the story. But sometimes, as with “Green Tights”, it’s simply a key item in the story. You could say, the title subtly suggests an idea I mentioned earlier—not everything is black or white, sometimes it’s green. And green is the colour of spring, new starts—which is how the story ends, with a new start.

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To read The 2024 Northwind Treasury, including Sherry’s winning piece, you can purchase it in paperback on Lulu, Barnes & Noble, or Amazon, or as an eBook on Kindle. To see the list of contents and winners, visit our winner’s page.