Location: United States
Member Since: March 28, 2015

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Sharon Miller

Biography

She is an author, freelance writer, and editor. The Clay Series has been a long-time project for which she has done extensive research into the archaeology and prehistory of the Tucson Basin and the history of the the Spanish entrada into Southwestern United States. Her own affinity for the Sonoran Desert helped to create the character of Anna, the protagonist of the first book in the series, The Clay Remembers.

In her work as an editor, she specializes in working with authors who wish to self-publish print and e-books. As owner of Buckskin Books and Writing and Editing Services by Sharon, she offers editorial and writing services across a broad spectrum, including editing at multiple levels, and preparing digital manuscripts for e-publication and print manuscripts for print-on-demand technology.

In addition to collaborating with Cristy Kessler on 5 S.T.E.P.S to Becoming Your Own Patient Advocate, she co-authored "Effective Writing for Teacher Researchers," in Teachers Taking Action: A Comprehensive Guide to Teacher Research(2008), and, Doing Academic Writing in Education: Connecting the Personal and the Professional (Erlbaum, 2005).

Her fascination with the archaeology of the Southwest is the subject of a novel, The Clay Remembers, which will be released on May 1, 2015. Two additional novels are in the works as part of The Clay Series. The Clay Endures is the story of Esperanza Ramirez, a nineteenth-century woman whose husband homesteaded the site of an ancient Hohokam village, the site Anna, in The Clay Remembers, excavates. The third book is the story of an twelfth-century Hohokam woman whose village is in decline and who crafts the pot that brings her together with Esperanza and Anna.

Sharon lives in Tucson, Arizona, with her husband Jim, their son Jeff, a rambunctious dog named Hannah.

Smashwords Interview

Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
I remember writing it, but not what it was about or what it said. I was in the second grade and I had truly discovered the written word. WORDS! Books were filled with words and that was exciting. I didn't just write a story; I wrote a BOOK. I came home from school every day and climbed into the window seat in the dining room and wrote and wrote and wrote. I filled a marble-backed composition book from the front to the back. Every page was covered with words. I remember writing the very last word that fit on the last page; it made me so proud: I had written a book! I don't know what happened to that precious book--I suspect it got discarded when we moved from that beautiful, large house to a very small, sad house. I wish I could read it today and enjoy what it was that I thought would make a book.
What is your writing process?
I'm mostly a seat-of-the-pants writer, although I do plan a general story arc, and I know where I want to go with the story. I spend a lot of time on building characters. I write their physical description, their back stories, and what it is they want from life and the other characters. I decide on the setting and what I need to know about it, and then I drop my characters into that place and watch what happens. I love it when my characters do something that totally surprises me. Sometimes they take me in directions I didn't know they would go. After I have the whole story drafted out, I go back and begin revising, recasting, filling in what's missing, throwing out what doesn't work. The latter often means "killing my darlings." It might have been Stephen King who said that about cutting out those clever turns of phrase that you think are wonderful, but which do nothing to push the plot forward or to demonstrate characters. I'm a relentless reviser, having been accused of wearing the "Scarlet R." Sometimes I don't know when to stop revising. My books and stories have multiple drafts before I can finally say they are finished.
Read more of this interview.

Where to find Sharon Miller online

Website: http://www.sharonkmiller.com
Twitter: @authorskmiller
Blog: http://boxeldersandblackberries.wordpress.com

Books

The Clay Sustains: Book 3 in The Clay Series by
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 97,070. Language: English. Published: September 23, 2017 . Categories: Fiction » Historical » USA
When she marries the man her father chose for her, she learns the shaman in her new village is a man who had previously terrorized her. Because he is determined to control her and the village, she must learn to use her power by calling on the raven, her spirit, to resist. With the lives of her family and the future of the village at stake, she must confront his magic, but at what cost?
The Clay Endures: Book 2 in The Clay Series by
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 81,460. Language: English. Published: July 30, 2016 . Categories: Fiction » Historical » USA
When her husband brings her to a lonely ridge north of the Santa Catalina Mountains near Tucson, Arizona, to start a cattle ranch in 1865, Esperanza Ramirez struggles to help him achieve his dream. Can she survive the desolation, the tragic loss of a child, her husband's indifference to her struggle, and an attack by outlaws? Will she know what to do when the Apache makes his move?
The Clay Remembers by
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 85,360. Language: English. Published: April 13, 2015 . Categories: Fiction » Women's fiction » General
In the Arizona desert, hiding from her abusive husband, Anna Robinson sifts through layers of the past, bringing lost objects to the light of day, while preferring that her own past stays below ground. Voices of the past guide Anna in her quest to restore balance to the present—to find her place in a tradition she can see and hear, and happiness with a man whose past is as haunted as her own.

Sharon Miller's tag cloud

archaeology    cultural heritage    domestic violence archaeology anthropology tucson chicago horseback riding catalina state park santa catalina mountains pusch ridge romero ruins    hohokam    homesteading    homesteading fiction    prehistorical fiction    spirituality    strong women characters    western adventure 1865    western american history    western desert    western fiction ebook    western historical fiction    westerns 1800s    womens fiction