The mystery of writer Sally Berneathy unraveled

Mary Jane Farmer | October 27, 2015 | Reply

By Billy Keith Bucher

I first met author Sally Berneathy back in the mid-eighties in Dallas. I knew from the first moment that she was a person with whom to contend. We met while working together in a building that used to be used as a grade school but was converted into the headquarters for a company which produced legal directories. My job, besides working in the sales department, was to become well versed in talking lawyers out of their money. Boy, that was a change. Over the year or so we worked together, I found out quite a bit about Sally and we have remained friends ever since. I would notice that while she talked she would often brush back red wisps of hair from her forehead.

“Back in the 90s,” she told me recently when I visited her in Overland Park, Kansas, “I wrote romance novels. However, Harlequin/Silhouette didn’t allow me to write with my quirky sense of humor. Added to that was a love for chocolate and a nasty divorce (which) created a desire to write about murder rather than romance and (her newest novel) “Death by Chocolate” was born.

“After all, “I’ve been a writer since I was eight years old,” Sally added with a smile, “and wrote my first story . . . a mystery . . . in lieu of doing a book report. Over the years, my writing has taken many different turns. Superman inspired me to write about a clever newspaper reporter who solved mysteries. After reading “Dracula” and watching movies about the Wolfman, the Mummy, and Frankenstein, I wrote horror stories and actually made a little money in that market.

“Can you believe that?” she asked with a quick, light laugh. “But it’s true. Then, I moved through science fiction to “true” romance stories and now I’m writing cozy mysteries.

“While that may seem like a varied repertoire, I sometimes find myself thinking that nothing I’ve written has been of any consequence. My books are funny, suspenseful, and emotional, but what do they accomplish? Well, they do pay my bills, which is pretty important to me! But I am not writing the great American novel. I’m not writing to motivate others. I write about murder and chocolate and evil ex-husbands. I write to entertain myself and others.

Sally 3 “I regularly get emails and Facebook posts from readers telling me they enjoy my books. That validates that I’m accomplishing my goal of entertainment. But still that lingering doubt haunts me. Should I be striving to inspire world peace or fight hunger? My answer is always the same. ‘Maybe, but I have no idea how to go about it!’ My brain just continues to spin stories about murder with snarky dialogue.”

And surely Sally’s many readers could attest to the fact that, in this arena, she is a pro. The laughs are many and it is good to see Sally is great at spinning a dose of humor with a stick of suspense. She picks her words wisely and with a snarky manner. She has a real ‘edge of your chair’ approach to her prose. You really are not certain to know where you are going to end up in her books.

Sally sat back in her chair for a moment with a far-off look in her blue eyes.

“Then,” she said, “a few days ago I got an email from a reader saying she was going through a rough time and my books just took her away from the sadness in her life and made her laugh for a while. And that really made me feel good about myself and my craft!”

And, in the course of one of Sally’s many books there is certainly room for a lot of laughs.

“Men,” said Sally, looking down at her hands “Men! God only put them on earth so pharmaceutical companies would have a strong market for Prozac and Valium.

“I grew up, as you know, in a small town in southeastern Oklahoma where our favorite entertainment on summer evenings was to sit outside under the stars and tell stories. When I went to bed at night, instead of a lullaby, I got a story. That could be due to the fact that everybody in my family has a signing voice like a bullfrog with laryngitis, but they sure could tell stories—ghost stories, funny stories, happy stories and scary stories.

“For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a storyteller. Thanks goodness for computers so I can write down my stories. It’s hard to make listeners sit still for the length of a book! Like my family’s tales, I try to make my stories funny, scary, dramatic, romantic, paranormal and magical.

“Besides writing, my interests are reading, eating chocolate and riding my Harley.

“I have two ongoing mystery series, (one inspired by the love of chocolate — ‘Death by Chocolate;’ ‘Murder, Lies and Chocolate;’ and ‘The Great Chocolate Scam,’ ‘Chocolate Mousse Attack’ — and another centered around Charley’s Ghost — ‘The Ex Who Wouldn’t Die’ and ‘The Ex Who Glowed in the Dark.’ ‘Death by Chocolate’ and the ‘Ex Who Wouldn’t Die’ have made the USA Today Bestseller’s List.

“I also have 15 romance novels ranging from comedy to dark suspense under the names of Sally Carleen, Sally Steward and Sara Garrett. For those novels, I won several awards including National Readers’ Choice, Romantic Times Best Silhouette Romance and two Rita finalist slots.”

I asked Sally what was the most important things about her that you should want to know as a prospective readers?

Sally 1 “Simply, I guess, I love to write. I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was eight years old and wrote my first story, a mystery. When I was taking journalism in college, I got very frustrated because I had to stick to the truth in those stories. I knew I could make them better if I could just be creative! Since that time, I’ve always stuck to fiction. My greatest delight is to tell stories that entertain.

“One of the best perks in all of this,” said Sally “is getting the chance to travel at least once a year.” She has just gotten back from a week of getting to go to New York City for the annual Romance Writers America with a craft workshop which covered many genres from romance to science fiction.

“When I get home I am just totally pumped to start writing again!

“Next year ,the session is going to be at Appleton, Wisconsin. They will study things like forensic and police academy terms. It will be a total chance to add to my craft and create my stories. I can’t wait to add the information to my books. I am totally excited about the future. Other exciting news on my books is that my various series are being put into audio books. That has made a whole (new) dimension in writing them and getting to a larger audience.

“I can’t wait to start the next book!”

For more information on this author, go to her Website www.sallyberneathy.com