I was in the third grade when I took my first official stab at being a story teller. The political speaker had to wait until Granddad finished his performance. When everybody was gathered and before the political speaker took the stage, Granddad would stand up in his wagon and start “spinning yarns.” He had the crowd. He would drive his flat-bed wagon pulled by a team of mules to the back of a gathering crowd.

He lived in Louisiana at a time when political rallies were the primary entertainment. He was a larger than life red-headed, red-bearded Irishman. But I know him from all the family stories. My paternal grandfather died 4 years before I was born. This story-telling gene goes back at least one more generation that I know of. I listened in awe as my mother, father, aunt and uncle told stories. That could be because everybody in my family sings like a bullfrog with laryngitis, but they sure could tell stories. When I went to bed at night, instead of a lullaby, I got a story. Writing books is the most fun career I’ve ever had, and it’s by far the hardest.ĭuring my childhood, our favorite entertainment on summer evenings was to sit outside under the stars and tell stories. I prefer to think of myself as multi-talented instead of flaky. I’ve been a legal secretary, a paralegal, a real estate salesman, a writer for FEMA, a computer programmer, and a novelist.

(There’s a story there.) I have a BA in literature, one of the least marketable degrees around. I am not fond of the weather in Kansas City, but my friends are here now.įiona: A little about yourself (ie, your education, family life, etc.).Īfter going to night school for 18 years, I accidentally graduated. I always thought Dallas winters were too long and too cold. I got to Texas as soon as I could, having heard from my Texas mother how much bigger and better everything was down there. I was born and raised in McAlester, Oklahoma, a small town in southeastern Oklahoma in the foothills of the Kiamichi Mountains. The good news is…I’m the only Sally Berneathy out there! I was so thrilled to get my real name back, I had to use it. It took me three long years to divorce Mr. So why did I decide to use it instead of an easier pseudonym when I began publishing mysteries in 2011? Of course there’s a story! When I wrote for Harlequin/Silhouette and other traditional publishers in the ‘90s, I used a pseudonym or my married name…Sally Steward. It’s three syllables long, hard to spell, hard to pronounce, and hard to remember. Let’s get you introduced to everyone, shall we? Tell us your name. Hello and welcome to my blog, Author Interviews.

Sally berneathy books