Sherri Wood Emmons will be joining us soon to answer questions about The Sometimes Daughter. If you have a question for her please post it below...

Is it difficult to write about a character as flawed as Cassie? Did you ever get angry with her decisions and actions as a mother even though you wrote them for her?

Hey,
How did you get your idea for the novel, and why did you decide to write from Judy's perspective, rather than Cassie's?

I feel you were very familiar with the whole 60's and 70's culture thing and wondered if you were young during that time as you portrayed it so accurately.

Why did the book just end without really any resolution to the Judy/Cassie relationship? Did Cassie ever come around to being a mother to Judy and her son. Any thoughts of a second book with the same characters?

Hi gwendolyndawson,

Thanks so much for writing!

Cassie is a deeply flawed character, and some parts of her story were hard for me to write.

I don't actually start out writing with a plot in mind. And I don't usually know where the story is going until it's already halfway there. So, for a long time I thought (and hoped) that Cassie might finally grow up and become a real mother. But it didn't happen. She just wouldn't grow up. And that caused me some angst during the writing process, because I really wanted Judy to have her mom.

I gave up a long time ago trying to make my characters behave the way I want them to. It's a funny kind of process, "birthing" them and letting them go in the world. They do things that make me cringe, but I have to let them be who they are.

-- Sherri

Hi sarahd,

The idea for this story came when I was watching a documentary about Woodstock. Did you know that three babies (I'm pretty sure it was three) actually were born at Woodstock? I started wondering what that would be like, what it would mean for someone to have such an iconic place and time as a birth date. So the first line, "I was born at Woodstock," started floating in my head, and the story followed from there.

It never occurred to me to wright from Cassie's point of view, although that would be a good story, too. But Judy was the voice in my head, so hers is the story I told.

Thanks for writing!

-- Sherri

Hi joyces,

I was born in 1961, so yes, I did grow up in the 60s and 70s. I'm a bit older than Judy and a bit younger than Cassie, so my experiences were somewhere between the two. I knew people very much like Cassie's friends, and I knew people very much like Judy.

Thanks for asking!

-- Sherri

Hi jennab,

First of all, thank you for writing!

I've gotten several emails from readers who thought the ending of the book was too abrupt, and in retrospect, I think an epilogue would have been a good idea.

That said, the story felt done to me when I finished it. It did not tie up prettily, but then life doesn't often tie up prettily. Cassie is a complex and deeply flawed character, and honestly, I don't know if she would ever really grow up and become a responsible mother. I do believe she wants to try.

I think the book ends on a hopeful note. Judy has finally realized that she has people who love her, and that she is part of a real (if not quite conventional) family. And that felt like enough.

As for a sequel, that's a possibility. I'd like to see Judy find her half-sister someday. So ... maybe?!

-- Sherri

I really enjoyed Prayers and Lies and The Sometimes Daughter. Are you working on another book now? If so, can you tell us a bit about it? Thanks!

Hi AntoinetteC,

Thank you so much! I am nearly finished with my third book, titled The Weight of Small Things. It's a departure for me -- not a coming-of-age story, not told in first person. I decided to try something different.

This one is about a group of friends in their early thirties, ten years after college graduation. And everyone's life, it seems, is in transition. So they must rely on each other and their friendship to see them through.

It will be released in April 2013.

Thanks for asking!

-- Sherri

There's a link on your website to recipes from your books but the links don't seem to work. I'd love to see the recipes if they are available. The link is at http://www.sherriwoodemmons.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=65&Itemid=80

Hi JuliaB,

I am, indeed, going to put some recipes from the books up on my website. So many people have written to ask for them! I just haven't done it yet. Sorry!

My next book is almost done, and as soon as it is sent off to my editor, I will be posting recipes from both books.

Thanks so much for the reminder!

-- Sherri

Hi again, JuliaB,

Your question prompted me to do what I had been procrastinating. The recipes are now up on my website: http://www.sherriwoodemmons.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=65&Itemid=80

Thanks!

-- Sherri