Now it’s time to learn more about the authors we read. . .
What drew you to the genre you write?
For several years at the beginning of my career, I tried writing romance, mainstream fiction, and science fiction, all genres that I enjoyed reading and still read. I was exploring but not finding a footing in fiction—and then it hit me. The genre I read the most? Loved the most? Talked and thought about the most? Mystery and suspense! So, I decided it made sense to write in the genre I most love to read.
I wrote a mystery novel that was my “learning” novel. I’m glad I wrote it, but it should definitely never be published! My big takeaway from writing that novel was that I still had a lot to learn, but I felt most at home in the broad structure of a mystery novel.
My next mystery novel was my first published novel, featuring a PI who used computer research (very innovative in the first years of the 1990s!) to solve her cases.
What’s the quirkiest quirk one of your characters has?
The protagonist of TROUBLE ISLAND, my forthcoming debut suspense from Minotaur Books, publishing on Dec. 3, 2024, loves to swim, which isn’t particularly quirky, except that she swims almost year round, from spring through late November, in Lake Erie. She even devises a swim suit that is essentially a prototype wet suit (the novel is set in 1933) to be able to do so.
I love to swim too, but the only time I’ve taken a dip in Lake Erie was in early June, and that was plenty cold!
But my character has her reasons, based in a very traumatic event earlier in her life, for swimming even in frigid water.
How did you come up with your pseudonym?
My new novel, TROUBLE ISLAND, and my earlier work is published under my actual name, Sharon Short. However, I wrote the Kinship Historical Mysteries under the pen name Jess Montgomery.
These mysteries were quite a shift, in style and subject matter and setting, from my earlier work, and so my agent suggested I take a pen name. I chose Montgomery because I live in Montgomery county in Ohio, and the county’s arts district has awarded me opportunity grants twice, so I felt I should give a nod to my home county. Additionally, my Kinship novels’ protagonist is an Ohio county sheriff, so the nod to a county name felt appropriate. I chose the first name Jess because it worked well with the longer last name of Montgomery.
Tell us how you got into writing?
I grew up in a chaotic childhood, and reading as a very young girl was not only an escape but gave me hope that there are all kinds of ways to build a life. I was also very imaginative, and began as young as I can remember to make up stories. So, it makes sense that when I was six I wrote a little book called “The Fireman,” bound it in red construction paper, gave it a price of one cent, and inscribed “Published by Little Golden Books” on the inside of the cover. I sold that little book to my aunt. (As an adult, after my first novel really was published, I received back that little book.)
So for me, writing has always been a major part of my life. I developed my craft through reading a lot of novels as well as craft books and Writer’s Digest. I majored in English as an undergrad, and in technical communication in graduate school, but only took one creative writing course, so I really leaned on those craft books and Writer’s Digest, as well as thinking about the novels I read and how they worked (or didn’t) in my opinion.
I attended Antioch Writers’ Workshop in Yellow Springs, Ohio in 1990 because this up-and-coming novelist, Sue Grafton, was slotted to be the keynote speaker. I learned so much from her and from that workshop! I also attended a mystery writing workshop put on by Mystery Writers of America, Midwest Chapter, in Chicago in 1991. Those two conferences really helped me bring together all the craft I’d been studying on my own.
What jobs have you held before, during and/or after you became a writer?
I’ve been a retail store clerk, a technical writer, a marketing communicator, a freelance newspaper columnist, and an adjunct literature and writing instructor. I ran my own marketing communications firm, mostly a solo practice but with a few contractors on bigger projects, for ten years. My company’s name was Cornerstone Communications, and it did well until the crash of 2008. After that, I became director of Antioch Writers’ Workshop for ten years.
Currently, in addition to writing novels, I’m a contributing editor for Writer’s Digest. This means that I write a regular column for the magazine, but I also create tutorials for their tutorial program, and teach courses through Writer’s Digest University.
I’m so humbled and honored that I’ve held (and currently hold) positions in the two organizations that taught me so much about writing: Antioch Writers’ Workshop and Writer’s Digest. I also volunteer for Mystery Writers of America, Midwest Chapter, having served as the chapter Vice President and now as the President.
How many books do you have published?
Trouble Island will make sixteen. My publishing history is thirteen mystery novels across three series, one standalone historical literary novel, and one collection of my newspaper columns. Trouble Island is my debut historical standalone suspense.
Where do you write?
I have a lovely office in my house, and while I definitely work in my office, I should probably spend more of my working time there. I tend to also write on my laptop in our living room, which is fine, but it means I often keep working after dinner rather than taking a definitive break—coming home from work, if you will.
About once a week or so, I also write at my favorite coffee shop, ContempoRoast in Centerville, Ohio. Sometimes I write there by myself, and other times I meet up with writing friends.
I take my laptop with me whenever I travel, unless the trip is purely for vacation. Writing in hotel rooms is somehow very focusing. I think it’s because I can’t jump up to take care of a household task, or think about an errand I should run on the way home from the coffee shop.
When my kids were little, I’d take my laptop or a pad of paper and pen with me to their sports practices, and write in my car, or sitting on gym bleachers, or in a lounge area.
What is your favorite deadline snack?
Too many M&Ms! Don’t even get me started on the caramel variety. Seriously, please don’t… I’ll go through a whole share size bag!
For salty, I favor popcorn or pork rinds.
Who is an author you admire?
So many! But I’ll focus on Laura Lippman. Besides constructing compelling plots, her characters are so real, and her style is so immersive. In a Lippman novel, I feel plunged right into the characters lives, and like I’m experiencing everything—the emotions, the events—in the moment. And I think about the characters and stories long after I’ve finished the novels. I also like that even the antagonists of the stories are very human. Maybe not likeable, but in some way relatable. I really enjoy that as a reader and admire that as a writer.
What’s your favorite genre to read?
Mystery and suspense! I also enjoy women’s fiction, especially if it’s quirky yet heartfelt with a life message that’s woven into the characters and the story without being too obvious.
What are you reading now?
The Rumor Game by Thomas Mullen—set in Boston during World War II.
What is your favorite beverage to end the day?
If it’s summer, a limoncello martini. Fall or winter, bourbon on the rocks. Favorite bourbons: Woodford Reserve or Angel’s Envy.
What is next for you?
I’m working on a draft of my next standalone historical mystery.
Where can we find you?
At sharonshort.com, on Facebook or Instagram: @sharongshortauthor.
Now to have some fun . . .
Chocolate, vanilla, or another flavor
Chocolate!
Ice cream or cake
Cake. (Though I love ice cream with my cake.)
Fruits or vegetables
Fruits
Breakfast, lunch, or dinner
Breakfast
Dining in or dining out
Dining in
City life or country living
City (if it’s a small city that’s not so overwhelming, with lots of parks!)
Beach or mountain
Mountain
Spring, Summer, Fall, or Winter
Fall
Extrovert or introvert
Introvert, for sure! (This was the only question I didn’t hesitate to answer!)
Early bird or night owl
Night owl
And even more fun . . .
What is your favorite movie?
I love sports movies! But if I have to pick one, I’ll go with Chariots of Fire. I watched that on repeat when it first came out, though I had to pay for a movie ticket each time. I was about to start adulthood post college, and there were so many great lines that felt like wisdom to help me find my way. The movie is historical, set in the run up to and including the 1924 Olympics. (I also love watching the Olympics.) It’s heartfelt, and inspired by true stories. Hmmm, even then I had a story “type!”
You are stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves?
A full charged iPad loaded with good books. A picnic basket filled with good wine and cheese and fruit. So, I’ll be well entertained and fed while waiting for rescue that I’ve called with my third must-have: a satellite phone!
My bio
Sharon Short is the author of fifteen published books. Her newest, Trouble Island, is historical suspense and will be published by Minotaur Books in 2024. As Jess Montgomery, she writes the historical Kinship Mysteries set in the 1920s and inspired by Ohio’s true first female sheriff. Short is a contributing editor to Writer’s Digest, for which she writes the column, “Level Up Your Writing (Life).”