Sheryl Sorrentino

Browsing Archive: February, 2012

To Critique or Not to Critique? That’s a Good Question.

Posted by Sheryl Sorrentino on Tuesday, February 28, 2012,

A few years ago, before I’d completed my first novel, Later With Myself, I was fortunate enough to have coffee with a traditionally-published novelist. A real, honest-to-goodness author who’d managed to land an agent through a Connection (see “The Elusive Elements of Success,” below) via her writers’ group. These were the first words out of her mouth—even before “Double decaf latte, please”: “You should know, I have a personal policy never to review aspiring writers’ manus...


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The Elusive Elements of Success

Posted by Sheryl Sorrentino on Friday, February 24, 2012,

My very talented (if not world renowned) musician sister-in-law, Shelley Doty, said something interesting to me the other day. According to her, anyone who achieves success in the arts, whether it be music, writing, acting or anything else, possesses four characteristics in some (not necessarily equal) measure: Talent, discipline, luck, and connections.

 

I’ve given this a lot of thought in relation to my own fledgling-yet-burgeoning writing career. Have I got talent? Naturally I’d like...


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Dr. Esquire and Ms. Scribe: Confessions of a Split Personality

Posted by Sheryl Sorrentino on Tuesday, February 21, 2012,

When I discovered my passion for writing three years ago, I foolishly thought I could stop practicing law and reinvent myself as an author. Perhaps that might be possible someday, when I retire, but for now, my life is a non-stop, exhausting merry-go-round that typically begins at 3:00 a.m. and doesn’t end until I collapse from fatigue at 8:30 each night while spending quality time in front of the television with my daughter. (And yes, quality time can be had in front of the T.V. Where else...


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It Can Always be Better . . .

Posted by Sheryl Sorrentino on Friday, February 17, 2012,

If you think your manuscript’s finished, it probably isn’t. How do we know when we’ve hit that literary “sweet spot” when we deem our work “perfect”? We can’t. We only think we can. Perfection isn’t ours to judge—that call gets made by friends, agents, and ultimately (hopefully!) readers.
 

If we hit our mark, we may have a hit. This is perhaps (but not always) the sign of a great writer. But if we don’t, then we’re simply not as wonderful as we’d like to think we ar...


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Out of Death's Ashes Springs New Life

Posted by Sheryl Sorrentino on Tuesday, February 14, 2012,

It took my dad dying for me to finally wake up, get dressed, and drag my authentic self to life’s big party. I know that might sound like a terrible thing to say, but it’s true. In dealing with my shock and anger over my father’s lifelong secrets, I discovered my own passion for writing. I had spent my entire adulthood feeling ashamed and guilty about my admittedly foolish childhood missteps when the most momentous relationship in my life had been based on hypocrisy and lies. This irony...


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LWM vs. AUE

Posted by Sheryl Sorrentino on Sunday, February 12, 2012,

If you’ve read both my novels, you already know that An Unexpected Exile is a very different type of read than Later With Myself. LWM is raw and intense; it will make you squirm. LWM has its funny moments for sure, but its emotional impact comes from my having written such a highly personal story in the first person voice. In fact, a few readers have told me it is so personal, they couldn’t make it past the Prologue.

 
An Unexpected Exile was my attempt to lighten things up a bit. It offe...


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Sheryl Sorrentino: Real Fiction for Real Women™


Sheryl Sorrentino is a practicing attorney by day who unexpectedly discovered her passion for writing after learning of a long-deceased half-brother in 2007. She is the author of five novels (Later With Myself: The Misadventures of Millie Moskowitz; An Unexpected Exile; The Floater; Stage Daughter and Stop & Frisk) with a sixth (Smarter Than That) slated for release Spring of 2017. She lives with her husband and teenage daughter in the San Francisco Bay Area. You can learn more about Sheryl Sorrentino by visiting her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/sheryl.sorrentino#!/pages/Sheryl-Sorrentino/249323025094995. Follow Sheryl on Twitter at @SherylSorrentin.

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