Interview with debut novelist Cheryle Boyle

Today's special interview focuses on debut novelist Cheryle Boyle who is here to chat about 538: Murder, Suicide, and a Mother’s Love.

The novel is a faction about family dysfunction and the prevailing love that sustains a mother. Lilly, happily marries and is full of life as she births five beautiful children. Life takes a drastic turn and she finds herself in a place that she never had dreamt of being. The jowls of life keep a tight rein on Lilly as she suffers great loss, but her strength in God and the love for her children push her forward.  There are days that she lives by simply putting one foot in front of the other. The drama that unfolds, at times, is unbelievable. From the eldest child to the youngest, the anxieties are obvious. Lilly finds herself at times unable to interact and is often heard reciting cliché’s, words she lived by, ”When it rains, it pours, A Bird in the Hand is Worth Two in the Bush, It’ll All Come Out in the Wash.”  Lilly is strong, resilient and loyal, and her inner strength causes her to persevere. 

Bio:

Cheryle Boyle is a wife, mother and grandmother. She enjoys experiencing life and making memories with her family. Cheryle lives in Georgia and enjoys sewing, cooking, embroidery, reading and shopping with her granddaughters. She loves writing and shares some family interactions in her book, thus creating this faction (Facts + Fiction = Faction).

Please tell us about your current release.

My current release, 538: Murder, Suicide, and a Mother’s Love is a faction of a dysfunctional family where the mother, Lilly, is the main character, and all that befalls her. She falls in love and has a wonderful marriage, five beautiful children, and then tragedy strikes. The family is never the same. Lilly tries her hardest and her loyalty, resiliency and perseverance keep her moving forward. The love she has for God and her children propels her to withstand all the turmoil. She births more children and the chaos continues. Lilly stumbles upon her youngest child’s diaries and this affords her a unique opportunity. 

What inspired you to write this book?

I was inspired to write 538: Murder, Suicide, and a Mother’s Love due to the fact that so many children experience dysfunctional families. I wanted to draw attention to the dysfunction and the effects that it has. You ask any adult, at some time in their childhood they experienced dysfunction; some worse than others.

Excerpt from 538: Murder, Suicide, and a Mother’s Love:

Eventually seven children were going to have to grow up without a physical father; the eighth child would grow up without an emotional father. They would never know the warmth of a male shoulder to cry on, the warmth of having a daddy to talk to or to tuck them in at night. Some would remember him, but most were too young. The babies, would never realize the lines in his face or the sound of his voice. The eldest would carry the last memories in his broken heart forever. The youngest would carry a scared little girl. This would affect them all with every endeavor that would come before them. This was not what Lilly had wanted for her children that she loved more than life itself.

What exciting story are you working on next?

I have a lot of stories I am mulling around. I would like to develop the character, Sadie, from my current book and see where else she goes on her journey. I am also working on a psychologically twisted story with narcissism and paranoia which involves a stalker and Sadie is caught in the middle. I would love to also explore the world of children’s literature. I need to write at least a few children’s books for my 12 grandchildren.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I have always been a writer. From my late adolescence, I felt I was a writer because everyone always responded well to my stories. I just never took the time to develop them into something other than short stories until now. I had carefully categorized and organized my writings throughout the years, (this was a blessing) and I sat in my office one day after taking a sabbatical from writing for about six years, and read over my works. I was so emotional at the voice these writings had, I knew at that very moment, I owed it to myself to pursue this further.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

Yes, I write full time. I usually get up in the morning and grab a banana and something to drink and then head to my computer. I try to write every day for about 4-6 hours. More if I am lucky. I love writing. I do have to admit that marketing some day’s does gets in the way. I usually write for a while, put a load of laundry in or do some housekeeping chore, and then back to writing. Otherwise, my legs go to sleep and I can barely stand.

When not writing, I try to interact with my grandchildren as often as possible by way of letting them tag along on some of my errands or just getting our nails done together. They have such faith in me and offer me inspirational ideas. I also enjoy sewing, quilting and machine embroidery. I try to sneak that in as much as possible.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

In order to get seriously into my writing, I have to put on headphones and listen to a soundtrack for background. This eliminates all outside interference. I can then tune the world out and go within and just allow my characters to develop. It’s amazing how they just show up on the page. The deeper and more focused that I go, the faster I type. It’s hard for me to stop when it all flows like this.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I always wanted to be a teacher and everyone thought for sure that I would be. I played teacher all the time as a child. But mostly I just wanted to be a wife and mother, and that I did.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the readers for taking the time to peek at my interview and allow me to be a part of a moment in their lives.

Links:

Website | Book trailer | Amazon

Thank you for being here today, Cheryle!