Sherrill's novel grew from his own arrival in Altoona in 2000 and exploring the old canals and locks. "Part of me is still a 12-year-old boy fascinated with this kind of stuff," Sherrill said. He concluded that "the canal system was flawed and lasted 40-50 years until it was overtaken by the railroads as a transportation system."

Sherrill admits to a huge imagination and said that "some things never make it out of my imagination, but this one did. I started consuming material that was readily accessible to learn about the canals. If you charge forward with open eyes, good things will come to you."

Although his research and interviews with park rangers and others were extensive, he made no pretense of "sticking to the truth. I have no problems taking liberties with geography or moving around mountains," Sherrill said, chuckling.

According to Sherrill, he often taps into his own insecurities in his writing, creating characters "from a collage of my own problems and people I've known. Janice has psychological issues, but some things in her life are not her fault. She matures in Steven's presence and finds her grown-up self. The closer she gets to Steven, the more the supernatural rears its head."

Sherrill enjoys "manipulating the pace" of a novel, creating suspense as he goes, as well as the passage of time. It took Janice a long time to get to the lockhouse because the author was creating a mood.

"At a reading, someone asked me if the book is a fantasy novel, and it baffled me. I had not even remotely considered it to be fantasy. But there is horror," said Sherrill. His wife easily recognizes his "novel face." She notices when he "gets glassy-eyed, as if I were watching a movie in my head. It's a great place to be. When I get excited about it, I try to step back and not rush it just to get to the end."

Often Sherrill writes for as much as seven hours a day. "I've always been blessed or cursed with imagination. I can't imagine life without imagination. I spend a lot of time in my head, making up stuff. I've always had a willingness and desire to go into my head. In fact, I'm convinced that everyone has a stream of nonsense going through their heads all the time — little narratives, little horrors they relive, triggered by something they see."

Sherrill believes that most people have such a tendency, and "if it isn't beaten out of you, you may acknowledge it and utilize it. I'm not willing to believe that there are any humans with no imagination."

---

E-mail: dennis@desnews.com