Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sarah Dhue. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Sarah, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

One of my earliest memories is me and my dad laid out on the floor with a set of crayons and a piece of paper. We were doodling together and he taught me my color wheel. He started with red, yellow, and blue, then colored orange, green, and purple in between, explaining how each primary was combined to make each secondary; then he put a brown dot at the center and said that was all the colors put together. I remembered that throughout my entire childhood and into my adulthood; I think I still have the paper somewhere. From as early as I can remember, I loved art and telling stories. My parents fostered reading and creativity from a very young age. I think my love of reading is what grew into my love of writing. They always encouraged us – me and my sister – to be creative, and to be whatever we wanted to be when we grew up.

Sarah, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Sarah J Dhue. I was born and raised in the Alton/Godfrey area of Illinois. My first love is writing – I have been writing since elementary school. I completed my first book in the summer of 2010; that book, ‘For Two Cold Minutes,’ was first printed locally in 2012 and finally became my first self-published book in August 2014. I participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2019 – one of the resulting novels, ‘Welcome to Lake Vautour,’ recently earned a The BookFest award!

In the spring of 2017, I partnered with the then-owner of my local coffeeshop, Maeva’s, to create a networking and sales event for authors called Writers of the Riverbend. We did several of these together, and then when she sold the business, I continued doing them on my own. These have been great opportunities for forging new relationships both personally and professionally.

While writing is my first love, I completed my first Associate’s Degree in Computer Graphics in 2015, where I studied graphic design, photography, and social media. I completed my second Associate Degree in 2018, this time in Web Design, where I studied web page layout, animation, and video production. I recently went back to school and completed my Bachelor’s in Graphic Design. Using my graphic design skills in my writing, I layout my own books and design my book covers. My long term goal in the graphics vein of my life recently shifted to wanting to be a graphic design high school teacher, while still writing my books in tandem.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I will mention the book title, but there was a specific chapter that really changed my life when it came to writing. ‘Bird by Bird’ by Anne Lamott is a fantastic read for aspiring writers, but as a younger person, I always found it hard to complete projects because I was always trying to find the absolute perfect wording. The chapter in ‘Bird by Bird’ titled ‘Shitty First Drafts’ really changed my whole view of writing; that you don’t get it right the first time, there will tons of revisions. You don’t have to be perfect straight out the gate and that view kills creativity. I started trying to write with a “strike while the iron’s hot” mentality and it changed everything. It was soon after that that my writing really took off. I carried this philosophy with me into my times participating in NaNoWriMo, and the result have been some of my favorite books I’ve written, namely ‘Monsters’ and ‘Welcome to Lake Vautour.’

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I have always loved the idea of having people read my books and enjoy them. As a high schooler, I had so many friends who said they hated reading. That obviously stemmed from what we were reading in English classes, and reading is so much more broad than that. I wanted me peers and other young people and just people in general to love reading. I realize, being predominantly a horror and paranormal author, my style will not be for everyone. But I love telling stories that people love to read. I love doing farmer’s markets and vendor fairs, and having repeat customers because they loved the last book so much. So for me, the most rewarding aspect is having these stories and worlds and characters I’ve created be read and enjoyed by others. Nothing beats that.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sarahjdhuephotos.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SarahJDhueAuthor
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-j-dhue-73246a73/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sarah_iWrite
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOJNlGiNI-rBZa2LOnwG0wQ/videos

Image Credits
Image 1 Credits To: Inferno Imagery, Image 4 Credits To: Joe Moran, Image 6 Credits To: Audrey Parsell