Interview with Sharon Mayhew

Author of Keep Calm And Carry On, Children

Where are you from originally and where do you reside now?

I currently live in Lake Saint Louis, Missouri, which is a long road (and flight) from my birthplace, Hillingdon, England.

If you currently reside somewhere besides where you were born, what’s the story that lead from there to here?

My parents split up when I was pretty little. Eventually, my mum met an American at a nearby Air Force base and they fell in love. After two years of persevering, she had full custody of me and we moved to a small town in N.E. Iowa. In my teenage years we moved to Central Arkansas where I attended High School and College. Each of these moves has their own set of challenges, but I pushed forward and met my now husband of 33 years. I followed him up and down the center of the U.S. and back again to Missouri, along the way I taught elementary school and had a bright, brilliant, beautiful daughter.

What made you decide to write and publish your first book?

The initial seed for Keep Calm And Carry On, Children came from my grandparents telling stories about days gone by. My grandfather’s family, like so many patriotic families joined the war effort in any way they could. One thing his mum did was take in two evacuees for the entirety of World War II.

Strangely, they didn’t speak about the war until about 2010, at that point I would sneak back up to my bedroom and jot down notes of Grandad and Nanny’s stories. As the years went on, I started taking notes on my Iphone while they were telling me about their experiences. When they saw how interested I was in the history of the British people during that time period they started taking me to historic places related to the war and I started buying books, fiction and non-fiction, purchasing reprints of wartime documents, and doing independent research on Operation Pied Piper. As a former elementary school teacher, I read The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe every year, but just considered it fiction until the conversations began with my grandparents. I shocked, amazed and a bit horrified that people sent their children to live with complete strangers in the countryside in the north of England. Those children had to be incredibly brave to persevere through the Blitz, through the uncertainty of their future with strangers and if or when they would reunite with their parents. I had to share what all I had learned.

How would you describe your books to first time readers?

Great question! I would say we all face challenges in life. Some when we are young and some when we are older. Keep Calm and Carry On, Children is a story about how British children, during WWII, persevered and overcame their situations.

Who do you feel is most likely to connect with the topics you write about?

This is hard to answer. A lot of people reached out to me after reading Keep Calm And Carry On, Children. Many of them have parents and grandparents that served during WWII, I even video chatted with a reading class of sixth graders who read my book.They all admire the perseverance of the characters in such a hard time. I hope it connects with anyone who has struggles and that it helps them see they too can persevere.

What unexpected or surprising thing did you learn during the process of writing and publishing?

It surprised me how much of my own emotion is reflected in this story. Although, my story is different than Joyce and Gina’s, I had to persevere through some challenges, like immigrating to America. There were lots of challenges, but I used that down to the core British Attitude and I pushed forward.

If you could, what advice would you give to your past self before embarking on this journey?

It’s the same advice I would give any new to writing writer: Listen always. Take notes always. Research always.

How many people would you ideally like to reach with your books?

LOL! I would like more than my mum,my grandfather, my husband and my daughter to read it. I’ve already accomplished that so everyone else is just gravy.

What has been the biggest challenge and frustration during the process to date?

Ohmygoodness! I did not realize how shy I would all of a sudden become. I spent years in front of a classroom, a PTO, parents, and a faculty without ever getting nervous, but trying to sell yourself in public is much harder than I expected. Pushing myself to hand out business cards and bookmarks to potential readers has been another big challenge.

What’s your biggest strengths when it comes to book a) writing, b) publishing and c) marketing?

My biggest strength, when it comes to writing, is my “voice.” I become the characters as I’m writing, editing and revising. One of the hardest scenes I wrote was when Joyce encountered the Black Marketeers. I felt ill writing it, but it needed to be in there.

Getting published is a challenge for any writer. I would say my persistence made my dream come true. As a pre-published writer you can’t submit to ten houses and give up, you keep submitting until you get a yes. Sometimes you stop and evaluate and revise then go back to submitting. I did this twice.

I don’t think I have a strong point on marketing. I’m very new to the whole concept. I do think I’m relatable. If someone reaches out to me on Facebook, Twitter or my blog I always respond. I’m grateful for those connections. To me it means my words made an impact on that person.

What’s your biggest weakness when it comes to book a) writing, b) publishing and c) marketing?

LOL! I answered my weakness for marketing already. I’m just so new to it. Hopefully, when my next book comes out I’ll be more confident and knowledgeable.

Trust issues probably are negatively affecting my publishing opportunities. I had a bad agent experience several years ago and it’s made me not be very open to querying agents.

Lots of writers have the same problem as I have…a shiny new idea pops into our head and we abandon the project we are working on. I can’t even begin to count how many first and second drafts I have on my computer.

When do you think you will write your next book?

Keep Calm And Carry On, Children was left open ended on purpose. The reader could use their imaginations to decide what happened next or if the publisher requested a sequel I would have a starting spot. So for right now, I’m thinking about what might happen next and how to research it.

Are you self published or did you use a hybrid publisher, or a traditional publisher?

Black Rose Writing, a small independent publisher out of Texas, published my book in September of 2019. My experience with them has been positive. They are light on editing, so much of that falls on the author.