About Me
About My Writing Journey
About My Name
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The Short and Sweet Version:
I live in York, Pennsylvania with my two pugs, Darcy and Charlotte (named after literary characters, of course.) Writing isn’t my only job – I also work in the office of my family’s small construction business and I’m a part-time barista and shift supervisor with Starbucks. I’m addicted to coffee, history, the Cooking Channel, and all things autumnal. Join my simple living blog at Cerella Sechrist :: Author Blog or follow photos of my pugs and me on Facebook or Instagram.
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A List About Me in the Key of “I”
(originally posted on my “The Cerella Life” blog on October 25, 2010)
I wonder: at all the things I don’t know.
I know: more than I once did.
I need: regular worship to fuel my faith.
I want: my siblings to live closer.
I hear: emotion in words easier than I see it in actions.
I see: beauty in the human struggle.
I love: because I am loved.
I hate: injustice.
I am: still learning.
I am not: giving up.
I should: allow myself regular intervals to just breathe.
I should not: try to fix things that are not my responsibility.
I wish: I was better at letting go.
I regret: very little.
I cry: at the little things.
I laugh: at my own silliness.
I sing: when I can’t speak.
I swoon: at the depth and breadth of language.
I miss: the imagination of my childhood.
I make: the most of my imagination in adulthood.
I have: enough.
I learn: a little more every day.
I believe: it all gets better.
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I decided to be a writer at the age of ten. Up to that point, my list of future careers included such lofty aspirations as a lawyer, nurse, archeologist, or singer. But at ten years of age, I watched a movie in which the main character was a novelist. Never before had it occurred to me that these delicious stories I was devouring throughout my childhood began with a writer.
I immediately made my intentions known to my mother, who smiled indulgently and pronounced it a “phase.” (I was, after all, only ten.)
But through the rest of my childhood and teens, I never wavered from my decision to become an author. I spent countless hours studying the craft of writing, reading every genre I could get my hands on, and researching the steps necessary to become published.
At sixteen years of age, I completed my first historical fiction manuscript, polished it up, and began submitting it to publishers at the age of seventeen.
Several more manuscripts and many years later, I had yet to receive a book contract. Frustrated with my lack of success, I switched gears from historical fiction and tried my hand at a modern-day, romantic foodie comedy and titled it Just Desserts. After polishing up the proposal, I began shopping it around to agents, always including Hershey’s chocolate in my proposal packages. (I received many compliments on the chocolate, but it took a little longer to find an agent who found the manuscript equally as sweet!) Finally, an agent took a chance on me, and within another year, we had a contract from Summerside Press.
My debut novel, Love Finds You in Hershey, Pennsylvania (renamed for the series) was published in February 2010.
This was thirteen years after I had begun submitting manuscripts.
It was, obviously, a long and tremendously informative journey to reach that point. But the sweetness of that phone call from my agent, telling me I was going to be published, is an experience that can never be rivaled.
And my mom no longer calls it a “phase.” :)
To learn more about my publishing journey, please visit the FAQ page.
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What’s in a name?
Naming characters is either loads of fun or an exercise in frustration. Just when you find the perfect name, you realize it’s too similar to another in the story. Some have the perfect meaning, but they’re all wrong for the personality. Others suit the qualities of the individual, but they’re not quite right for the setting or time period.
And then, sometimes, the perfect name seems to flash out of the blue, and as Goldilocks said, “It’s just right.”
Shakespeare was onto something when he asked the question, “What’s in a name?”
Characters aside, I get many questions as to my own name, so I thought I’d devote a little section here to allay the occasional curiosity.
Cerella.
That’s me. Try introducing yourself with THAT one sometime. There’s usually a pause. And then, inevitably… “How do you say it again?”
Not to worry. I’m used to it. If it helps, however, I thought I’d give you a bit of a rundown on exactly what’s in a name – or at least, what there is to mine. Many people over the years have mistakenly assumed my name is some sort of generational moniker, passed down from ye-olde-ancestors. Not so.
Actually, my mother found it in a baby name book (not very original, I suppose.) Having an affinity for things unusual, she was sold on it. Being the firstborn, my father was much more inclined to let her have her way on the naming of the first child. (My siblings which followed, however, were not so fortunate. Dad put his foot down on Ariel for my brother – yes, it CAN be a guy’s name! – and Calida for my sister. Instead, they ended up simply as Caleb and Carissa.)
So no, sadly there’s no exotic story to my naming. I CAN tell you, however, that “Cerella” is of Latin derivation – the feminine form of Cyril. It translates as “of the spring” (I was born in the fall, however.)
I’ve also seen it listed as English in origin with a meaning of “Lady.” (I rather liked that one. It sounds so…Jane Austen, don’t you think???)
In any case, the proper pronunciation is like this: SURREAL-AH. (Think of the word ’surreal’ and just tack an ‘ah’ on the end.) If you can’t get it right, never hesitate to just blurt out whatever pronunciation comes to mind. I respond to just about everything. (With the exception of “Hey, you.”)
