#WriterWednesday Interview with Sarah E. Burr

I’d like to welcome my friend and talented author, Sarah E. Burr, back to the blog for #WriterWednesday.

Favorite thing to do when you have free time: I enjoy reading manga, watching true crime shows, listening to true crime podcasts, and video gaming.

The thing you’ll always move to the bottom of your to-do list: I really despise grocery shopping for some reason. It’s such a chore for me.

Things you need when you’re in your writing cave: For a productive day of writing, I require a beverage, a candle, my dog, Eevee, and my computer.

Things that distract you from writing: I always get sidetracked by social media (YouTube videos, especially) and laundry.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Writing the first three chapters of a new book is the hardest part of any writing project.

Easiest thing about being a writer: I have no trouble coming up with people to kill off!

The coolest thing you’ve bought online: I am obsessed with my new wax warmer.

The thing you wished you’d never bought: I have no shopping regrets! Everything has its purpose.

Something you’re really good at: I’m great at designing book-related content for social media.

Something you’re really bad at: I’m terrible at anything remotely athletic.

Something you wanted to be when you were a kid: I wanted to be a detective or FBI agent.

Something you do that you never dreamed you’d do: I never dreamed I would actually get to write amateur detective stories for a living.

Something you wish you could do: I wish I could speak more than one basic language.

Something you wish you’d never learned to do: I wish I had never learned to suck on my teeth—it’s a horrible habit that I can’t stop after doing the Invisalign treatment.

Favorite places you’ve been: I loved my adventures in London, England, on a Nile cruise, and in Athens, Greece.

Places you never want to go to again: I mean, I hate going to the dentist, but we do what we must!

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: I did a massive zip-lining course in Jamacia.

Something you chickened out from doing: I refused to drive a convertible along California’s coastal highway (I ended up just being the passenger).

The most exciting thing about your writing life: I get to visit so many incredible places and people with all the different series I write.

The one thing you wish you could do over in your writing life: I would have used more pen names for all my different series!

Best piece of advice you received from another writer: A guest on The Bookish Hour told us that even if you aren’t actively writing, you are still “writing” because you are always thinking about your work. That advice has helped me to cut myself some slack and take more restful breaks.

Something you would tell a younger you about your writing: Be kind to yourself. You’re doing the best you can.

About Sarah:

Sarah E. Burr is the award-winning author of the Glenmyre Whim Mysteries, Trending Topic Mysteries, the Book Blogger Mysteries, and the Court of Mystery series. She currently serves as the social media manager for the New York chapter of Sisters in Crime and is the creative mind behind BookstaBundles, a content creation service for authors. Sarah is the co-host of The Bookish Hour, a live-streamed YouTube series featuring author interviews and book discussions. When she's not spinning up stories, Sarah is binging true crime podcasts and enjoying walks with her dog, Eevee. Stay connected with Sarah via her newsletter: https://bit.ly/saraheburrsignup.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: http://saraheburr.com

Socials: https://bit.ly/sarahsocialmediahub

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Sarah E. Burr

I’m so excited to have the multi-talented Sarah E. Burr on the blog today. I just returned from a weekend at the mystery conference, Malice Domestic, and Sarah was our panel’s fabulous moderator on how Nancy Drew has influenced us as writers.

Here’s Sarah’s interview…

A few of your favorite things: I love candles, Funko Pops, and big coffee mugs.

Things you need to throw out: My dog, Eevee’s, old BarkBox dog toys – they’ve seen better days.

Things you need for your writing sessions: A cup of coffee, my OneNote document (where I keep everything related to characters, setting, plot, etc.), a candle burning, and a quiet workspace.

Things that hamper your writing: I easily get consumed by my Instagram feed and YouTube videos about video games. Also, any loud noises outside totally frustrate me (leaf blowers will be the death of me)!

Things you love about writing: I love creating new worlds and places I’d like to visit. I enjoy when my characters want to teach me something, too.

Things you hate about writing: Writing the first three chapters is always the hardest. Setting the scene is tricky and is often the biggest hurdle for me to overcome.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Not having anyone understand your story as much as you do. When I worked in healthcare IT, my coworkers “got” my problems and the challenges I was facing. While my fellow authors understand the process and challenges of writing a book, no one besides me really gets what I’m trying to put down on the page. It’s tough to experience that alone, especially when I can’t make sense of it myself.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Making progress. Even if I just spend a day thinking about my book or manuscript, I’m making progress. It might not feel like it, but progress IS being made!

Words that describe you: Driven, dedicated, dreamer

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: Anxious, Type-A, perfectionist

Favorite foods: Tacos, cheeseburgers, pepperoni pizza, and brownies

Things that make you want to gag: Any type of seafood

Favorite smell: Eucalyptus (also the hardest word for me to spell)

Something that makes you hold your nose: Fish, both fresh and cooked!

Something you’re really good at: Singing

Something you’re really bad at: Anything sports-related

The last thing you ordered online: A birthday gift for my nephew – a set of Richard Scarry books!

The last thing you regret buying: A dress that didn’t fit, but at least returning it was easy enough.

Things you’d walk a mile for: Friends, books, ice cream, and Eevee, my dog!

Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: Network or Cable News

Things you always put in your books: Best friends and fun adventures.

Things you never put in your books: The bad guy winning.

Things that make you happy: Taking Eevee for a walk and writing “THE END” in a manuscript

Things that drive you crazy: Being late to anything!

About Sarah:

Sarah E. Burr is the award-winning author of the Glenmyre Whim Mysteries, Trending Topic Mysteries, and Court of Mystery series. She currently serves as the social media manager for the New York/Tri-State Chapter of Sisters in Crime and is the creative mind behind BookstaBundles, a content creation service for authors. Sarah is the co-host of The Bookish Hour, a live-streamed YouTube series featuring author interviews and book discussions. When she's not spinning up stories, Sarah is singing Broadway tunes, reading everything from mystery to manga, video gaming, and enjoying walks with her dog, Eevee. Stay connected with Sarah via her newsletter: https://bit.ly/saraheburrsignup.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: www.saraheburr.com

Trending Topic Mysteries: https://bit.ly/amznttm

Glenmyre Whim Mystery series: https://bit.ly/glenmyrewhimmysteries

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorsaraheburr/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorsaraheburr/

The Bookish Hour: https://www.youtube.com/@itsbookishtime

#WriterWednesday Interview with Sarah E. Burr

I’d like to welcome the fabulous Sarah E. Burr to the blog today for #WriterWednesday, spring edition. Make sure to check out her wonderful series.

Favorite spring treat: You can't keep me away from a Cadbury Milk Chocolate Egg with a Caramel Center. It's got to be one of the best chocolate/caramel combos out there.

A spring treat that makes you gag: Peeps. I know they are an Easter candy staple, but I was not a fan even as a kid. I think I pretended to like them for the longest time before turning my sweet tooth elsewhere.

Something you only do in the spring: Spring cleaning. After a long winter, I throw open the windows and deep clean my home within an inch of its life. I must do it during the spring when it's still cool outside because I always work up a sweat by the end.

Something you'd never do in the spring season: Go swimming in the ocean. When I lived in Florida, I used to, but as much as I love swimming, the New York Atlantic usually doesn't get to a swimmable temperature (for me) until July.

Favorite spring beverage: I am obsessed with the Peach Passionfruit Refresher from Dunkin'. It's my go-to "It's warm out" drink. Honestly, if I could hold the cold cup in the winter, I'd drink it all year round, but it's definitely a sign of spring when I order my first one.

A drink that gives you a sour face: Energy drinks. Red Bull, Monster…I tried a sip of Red Bull once, and that was enough.

Favorite spring smell: Honeysuckle. I love the simple, light sweetness. It's one of my favorite scents.

Something that makes you hold your nose: Fresh mulch. It's everywhere this time of year where I live, and the smell always leaves me coughing with watery eyes.

Best spring memory: When I was a kid, my family traveled to Bermuda a few times during spring. When April/May comes around, Bermuda's weather is at the perfect spot where it's warm but not too warm. I loved the adventures we had while visiting. It's such a beautiful island.

Something you'd rather forget: I grew up in Maine, where spring meant mud season. One time, I slipped on the playground during recess and landed in a massive pile of mud. My jeans were completely soaked through with slimy dirt. I looked disgusting. Luckily, my mom was able to drop off a set of clean leggings at school so I could continue the day without looking like I'd just walked out of a sewer.

Best spring break story: I guess this might not be considered "spring break" since it technically was a class, but I left to spend a trimester abroad in Egypt and Greece during a college spring break. It was the first time I'd traveled internationally beyond tropical vacation spots, and the history of both countries was astounding. I recently watched the new Death on the Nile movie and was amazed to see the places I visited featured on screen. It brought back a lot of fond memories.

A spring break story you want to forget: In seventh grade, for our spring break, a friend and I went down to one of the only malls in Maine with our moms for a "girls' weekend." What started as a super fun time ended with me being so, so sick. We were shopping, and all of the sudden, I just collapsed. It turns out I had an insanely high fever. My mom got me back home, only to fall ill herself. So, we spent the rest of our spring break recovering.

About Sarah:

Sarah lives near New York City, where she writes the Trending Topic Mysteries, Glenmyre Whim Mysteries, and the Court of Mystery series. Sarah is a New York Tri-State Sisters in Crime board member, serving as the chapter's social media guru. She also enjoys creating digital content for authors with her graphic design service, BookstaBundles. When she's not writing or reading, Sarah is singing Broadway show tunes, video gaming, or taking walks with her dog, Eevee.

 Let’s Be Social:

Newsletter: https://bit.ly/saraheburrsignup

Website: www.saraheburr.com

Facebook: https://bit.ly/saraheburrfacebook

Instagram: https://bit.ly/saraheburrinstagram

Twitter: https://bit.ly/saraheburrtwitter

Sarah’s Social Media Hub: https://bit.ly/sarahsocialmediahub

Book Links:

 #FollowMe for Murder: https://bit.ly/followmeformurder

You Can’t Candle the Truth: https://bit.ly/glenmyrewhimmysteriesbook1

Court of Mystery: https://bit.ly/courtofmystery