Q & A: Daniel Sherrier

Daniel Sherrier is a writer based in central Virginia. He writes the Earths in Space and RIP series, and occasionally a play he’s written gets performed somewhere. He graduated from the College of William & Mary in 2005, where he earned a degree in the ever-lucrative fields of English and Theatre.

A brief Q & A with the author:

How would you complete this line: "You might well enjoy my book if you like..."?

You’d probably enjoy RIP if you like Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Like Buffy, RIP is all about growing into young adulthood and learning to embrace your role in the world, only he does it by fighting ghosts. No vampires included, but there is that combination of humor, drama, and action I always loved in Buffy.

If they make your book into a movie, who should direct it?

Along those same lines…Joss Whedon. With both The Avengers and his earlier cult-hit Serenity, he demonstrated an ability to juggle a strong focus on characterization and all-out action. The characters come first in RIP. The ghost fights are just a fun seasoning. Also, Whedon knows how to work with strong female characters, which would be essential here, in particular with the ghost Serissa, a lively dead young woman who’s always just hanging on by a thread but keeps persevering.

What is your second favorite art form?

Theatre. I even have a degree in it, and I’ve written a small handful of plays that have been performed here and there. Those experiences have taught me to put extra care into my dialogue—how to diversify the voices, add subtext, and just generally make it fun. The dialogue exchanges in RIP, especially those between Rip and Serissa, are some of my favorite parts.

Visit Daniel Sherrier's website.

--Marshal Zeringue