And our Sue's Clues Mystery Author is:

Our Mystery Author this round is Sherrie Hansen. Having just published her first book, Sherrie has already gained the interest of readers to enjoy her books and is at work on novels to follow her debut.

Sherrie shares a bit about herself below. When you are done here, check out the links below to learn more about her and her writing.

http://www.secondwindpublishing.com/SherrieHansen.html
http://www.mcpress.com/articles/2009/04/19/news/news03.txt

Thanks, Sherrie!

1. Tell us about your family—they must be very excited to have an author in the family.

My husband is very excited and proud that one of my books is now published. Since my husband is the pastor of a Lutheran Church, I was a little worried about what the ladies at church would think of NIGHT AND DAY, since it does include some steamy scenes. He nipped things in the bud by announcing—at a Ladies Aid meeting—that my book was now available and that it had sex scenes. So far, everyone I've talked to has loved it.

My parents were one of the first to buy a book, and my Mom just finished reading it. Some of my brothers and sisters and their spouses (there are 5 of us) have been very enthusiastic, and others are like, "What's the big deal?" Keeps me humble. Some are seeing themselves in the book and trying to figure out which character is based on which family member. I'm sticking to my story... it's ALL fiction!

2. You operate a Victorian Bed & Breakfast and Tea House. Sounds like fun but a lot of work! How did you get started? I'll bet you meet quite a few interesting people as well.

I moved back to the Northern Iowa / Southern Minnesota area to be nearer my family after 12 years in Colorado Springs, Colorado. My family lives in a largely rural area, so opening the bed and breakfast was primarily a way to create a job for myself so I could live where I wanted to live and be near the people I love. The bonus is that I've thoroughly enjoyed doing what I do, and met a lot of wonderful people as well as getting to know my wonderful nieces and nephews.

3. I see you like to renovate old houses... Do you basically 'flip' them when you are done?

I've only flipped a house one time in all the renovation projects I've been involved in. The others, I've either done as part of my job description (I was a property manager in Colorado Springs), for my personal use, or to expand the bed and breakfast.

4. And you like to travel. Where are your favorite destinations?

In recent years, I've traveled in Scotland, England and Wales, Denmark and Norway, to Prince Edward Island, Alberta and British Columbia in Canada, and to Montana to see Yellowstone National Park. My husband's family lives in California, and I always enjoy seeing them as well as their beautiful state. I really like poking around small towns in the Midwest, too. You never know what treasures you might discover. Much as I love to escape to exotic, far-away places, I've learned that there's a lot of beauty right here in my own backyard!

5. Tell us about your book, NIGHT AND DAY.

NIGHT AND DAY (a short synopsis)

It's midnight in Minnesota and daybreak in Denmark when Jensen Marie Christiansen (The Little Mermaid) meets Anders Westerlund (Ugly Duckling). It's love at first... write—until they discover she's on one side of the world and he's on the other. By that time, their hearts are tangled in a love affair as complex as the computers that brought them together. Even in a world full of technological miracles, it seems unlikely they can bridge the ocean of barriers that lie between them—until they start to read a hundred-year-old stack of half-charred letters that Jensen rescued from her brother's bonfire.

Although Jensen has no idea what an impact history will have on her modern-day world, it's no mystery why she's prone to romanticizing the past. Her parents have moved to Arizona, her brother is cleaning out the attic of their century-old family home, and her soon-to-be ex-boyfriend has had a vasectomy without consulting her. Not to mention the fact that the only fabric store in a fifty mile radius is going out of business, and people who used to buy her handmade, designer quilts are flocking to the discount stores to buy cheap knockoffs from China.

When Anders Westerlund logs on to the internet, he isn't looking for romance—especially not with an American. He's there for one reason only—to talk to his son, Bjorn, who has recently moved to Seattle. Anders, an air-traffic controller whose parent company at Copenhagen International Airport has just been bought out by a U.S. conglomerate, views the unsettling effects of globalization and his son's new job as two more reasons to dislike Americans.

When parchment paper and faded ink meet computer screens and fax machines, the old-fashioned magic of a great-grandmother's letters sets the stage for a steamy Internet romance... and the unraveling of a hundred year-old mystery.

Frederik and Maren Jensen may have been different as night and day, but their marriage was a happy one... Frederik tending his family's land near Copenhagen, Denmark, and Maren busy mothering her babies, quilting, and making Danish Wedding Cakes... And then, one autumn day, the unthinkable happened...

The only thing later generations of their family knew is that whatever happened affected Frederik so profoundly that he uprooted his family from the land he loved and brought them to America.

Night & Day... Will fantasy become reality, or will oceans and time keep a second pair of lovers apart?

6. What's next?

NIGHT AND DAY has been so well-received that the editors at Second Wind Publishing have already been asking when my next book will be ready. I've got a wonderful Christian Inspirational ready to go—LOVE NOTES, and I'm working on two books set in Scotland—BLUE BELLE OF SCOTLAND is almost done, and WILD ROSE OF SCOTLAND is off to a good start. Hopefully you'll be seeing more of my books in print very soon.