Check Out Sherry A. Burton’s Story

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Sherry A. Burton.

Hi Sherry, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I spent most of my life looking for something to keep me focused. I have worked in fast food, as a deli lady at a grocery store, as a counter clerk at a dry cleaner, and as a professional clown (Crazy Daisy). I once got paid to walk into a busy car dealership in the middle of the afternoon and shove a pie in a man’s face. I mean, who wouldn’t love that?

I have worked as a medical biller, collections manager, and nurse’s aide. I have also owned my daycare and been a private nanny for several families. I am a certified dog trainer and certified Reiki Master. One day, I told a friend who was going through troubled times that I would write her a happy ending. To this day, I do not know what possessed me to tell her that. Other than a few poems, I had never written anything.

Shortly after beginning the story, the writing voices showed up, and the story took off in a whole different direction. As such, it was nothing about my friend or her life. Ten years later, that story continued to nag at me and eventually became my first novel, Tears of Betrayal. I was forty-nine years old and quickly discovered that I knew nothing about the technical side of writing.

Thankfully, I have some AMAZING writing voices. I always tell people I didn’t choose writing; writing chose me. I’ve gone from trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life to renting an office here in town, where I not only write but also have an awesome shipping and receiving department along with my self-appointed roadie, AKA the Hubby – that ships out autographed copies of my books and add-on items connected to the series I write.

After floating through life trying to find myself, I have never been happier.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I’d say it’s been more of an education. When I first began writing, I knew nothing about what it took to write a book. I didn’t know about protagonist and antagonist or showing versus telling. I’m sure my original editor thought I was a lost cause because my first manuscript was all over the place.

Thankfully, she was patient and taught me much about moving the story forward and staying in one head. I am still a trainwreck regarding comma placement, but thankfully, I have a good editor and proofreader to take a final look before the books go live.

As for the biggest challenge, I believe I speak for most authors when I say marketing. Writing the book is the easy part. Getting people to know they exist is an ongoing process.

I appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
A few years into my writing career, I overheard a conversation in which someone mentioned the orphan trains. I’d never heard of them and knew I wanted to learn more. My research led me to discover that the orphan trains – as they were later called were part of Charles Loring Brace’s Placing Out Program.

Now referred to as the Family Emigration Program, the program helped relocate over 250k children between 1854 and 1929. I also learned that Michigan played an important role in the orphan train movement and was the first stop on the original train sent out in 1854. If I hadn’t heard of them, others probably hadn’t either. So, I set out to write an eighteen-book saga around the orphan trains.

My goal with The Orphan Train Saga is to honor the children who rode the trains and keep their memories alive. While the children in my books are fictional, they are based on true stories, and I use history to tell their tales. I currently have six books in The Orphan Train Saga, which are clean reads and appropriate for all ages.

Since beginning my journey into historical fiction, I have earned multiple awards for my saga. While I am grateful for each one, my most coveted award came from the National Orphan Train Complex in Concordia, Kansas, which presented me with the Charles Loring Brace Award for the historical accuracy of the Placing Out Program within my books.

Last year, I donated a statue to The National Orphan Train Complex in memory of George and Joseph Timmons-Stone, two brothers who rode the orphan train to Michigan and found a new home. In addition to the Orphan Train Saga, I’m working on The Jerry McNeal Series, an ongoing novella series that revolves around Gunter, the ghost of a K-9 police dog.

While The Jerry McNeal series started as a palate cleanser between my Orphan Train books, it has taken on a life of its own, and I have a wonderful fanbase that is constantly begging for the next book in the series. I am beyond grateful to my fans who have embraced this series and who help spread the word about my books. Who would have believed this little series would take me to such heights? or Who would have believed this little series would resonate with so many?

In September 2023, The Woman’s National Farm & Garden Association – Saginaw Branch honored me by featuring both myself and my books during their 2nd Annual Literary Event, Books In Bloom. Held at Zehnder’s in Frankenmuth, Michigan, it is one of my most cherished experiences since becoming an author.

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I was traditionally published with my first two books and will always be grateful to the publisher for taking a chance on me.

I made the leap to Indie Publishing in 2012 when going that route still carried a stigma. Nowadays, authors know that it is the best way to keep their voices and set the pace. I write at my own speed and publish multiple books per year, something unlikely if I were with a traditional publisher.

To date, I’ve written and published thirty-three books, the latest of which, Sinister Winds, was released on April 23. I am working on Merry Me, book fifteen, in my Jerry McNeal Series, which will be released in late May. I expect to write and release two additional Jerry McNeal novellas and Endurance, the seventh novel in my Orphan Train Saga, before the end of the year.

While I write the books, I would not be where I am today without my team. Along with the amazing writing voices that fill my head with ideas, I have a wonderful editor, Beth Lynne, who allows me to keep my voice. I have an eagle eye proofreader, Latisha Rich, who helps with that second set of eyes before sending the book into the world.

I have an awesome cover artist, Laura Prevost, who works with my vision to create covers that reflect the content within my books. I’m blessed with a small team of Beta readers who are eager to read and share their feedback. I have a hubby who supports me one hundred percent and does everything possible to allow me to stay in the writing chair. And I have this incredible fanbase who continues to devour my books and ask me to write more.

I am beyond grateful for all my blessings and that I am finally doing what I genuinely love.

Pricing:

• Orphan Train Saga books $15.95 for paperback and $5.99 ebook It also comes in Hardcover and large print. Readers can read for free via Kindle Unlimited.
• The Jerry McNeal Series sells for $8.95 in paperback and $3.99 in e-book, also free with Kindle Unlimited.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sherryaburton.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorsherryaburton
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SherryABurtonauthor