BookView with Sharon Wagner, author of Chorus of Crows

It is inspired by my dad’s real-life battle with Parkinson’s. Without the strange happenings that he endured, I may not have picked up a pen at all. But I felt compelled to create this story.

Sharon Wagner – 13 March 2026

The Back Flap

When retired farmer Oren Walton receives an offer for a romantic hook-up in his rusty R.V., he embarks on a summer-long respite from the blight of loneliness and the progression of his Parkinson’s. Finally, Oren feels happy. But there’s a problem: Oren’s daughter, Sedona, thinks he hallucinated the whole affair.

Strange happenings percolate on the farm. Oren battles trickster crows and sleepwalks into deadly farm machinery mishaps. Visitors arrive like an infestation of corn smut, and a miracle of birth occurs on the porch, both foul and fabulously freaky. Life on the farm has always been weirder than a lutefisk supper since the abrupt death of Oren’s wife and the explosive incident at the spot behind the barn. When puzzling things happen to Sedona, too, the mystery grows.

Sedona discovers her dead mother’s diaries and finds comfort in her mother’s words. Still, they don’t insulate her from the dangers of living with her dad’s increasingly malevolent delusions. Lavinia, Oren’s annoyingly real lady friend, thinks Oren is off his rocker. And Jeb—Sedona’s summer romance—is sure of it. Only one thing is certain: no one will survive the pestilence at the farm unless an answer from the stars can solve the mystery of the spot.

About the book

What is the book about?

Chorus of Crows is a book about aging, family drama, and the mysterious and mundane horrors that everyone hopes won’t afflict them, but sometimes they do. Retired farmer Oren Walton has Parkinson’s disease, along with heavy loss and heartache. After he meets a mysterious woman who adds companionship and spice to his lonely nights at the farm, he feels happiness and a bit of youth once again. When his daughter unexpectedly arrives, she believes the affair is all in his head. Hallucinations can be a symptom of Parkinson’s, so reality is blurred and elusive. After Sedona’s arrival, a hellscape of strange happenings, farm machinery mishaps, deadly encounters, and unwanted visitors plagues the farm like an infestation of rust borer. But is it real?

When did you start writing the book?

In 2017, or maybe even earlier. Chorus of Crows is the novel that started my writing journey. It is inspired by my dad’s real-life battle with Parkinson’s. Without the strange happenings that he endured, I may not have picked up a pen at all. But I felt compelled to create this story. It was cathartic and burst forth, almost like in an alien movie!

 How long did it take you to write it?

A long time. I may have written for a year, and edited for another year. Agent queries followed with much rejection since this was my first manuscript. Meanwhile, while vacationing in Sedona, Arizona, a place that inspired part of Chorus of Crows, I had a dream that led to my second novel, The Levitation Game. I put Chorus of Crows aside, wrote and published The Levitation Game, then returned to rewrite and edit Chorus of Crows, a novel that had always felt personal. And the horror genre really pulls me in.

 Where did you get the idea from?

My dad’s hallucinations. He experienced almost everything I wrote about in Chorus of Crows. I garnished them with a cinematic quality. But real life is often scarier than fiction. Sometimes I think America is living a horror story right now. Reading about horror worse than our own can make our lives seem more digestible.

Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?

No. I wouldn’t call my learning process a struggle. Character development may still be a challenge for me, while the story comes easily. Writing this book over many years was my masterclass, and now, while I’m writing my current WIP (work in process), I feel at the top of my creative game.

What came easily?

The plot. I’m writing my third and fourth books now, and to this day, the story flows. I’ve never had writer’s block. But I’ve always been creative, so that’s the easy part. The machinations of writing are harder to learn. But I have a larger toolbox now. Three to four books will do that–grow your box. Plus, an author needs to read as if it were their part-time job. That’s how I learned.

Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?

They are fictitious, but Oren is a combo of my dad and a couple of my teasing and humorous uncles. My extended family loved to tell jokes. Family get-togethers were never dull. I didn’t realize how lucky I was until I learned that other families didn’t have fun, lively Christmas dinners. All of my characters have a wee bit of me in them as well. I was a flight attendant in my twenties, and when I began writing Chorus of Crows in 2017, Oren’s daughter, Sedona, quit and walked off the plane during boarding. I guess it was a secret fantasy of mine. But I later deleted and rewrote that scene.

Do you have a target reader for this book?

Monster, psychological, paranormal, and supernatural horror readers. But I write with a humorous, literary, and almost cozy style. So I hope it transcends genre. But don’t be fooled by the cozy part. This book is scary. It also travels geographically somewhere. All of my books do, since travel is my muse. It has small town mystery, scares, romance, and even a wee bit of sci-fi.

How was writing this book different from what you’d experienced writing previous books?

It was my first book. At the time, I was surprised to learn that I had such an affinity for writing since I was a children’s book illustrator. But I simply began painting with words instead of watercolor. This story is different because it is personal and takes place in a fictional town very much like the one where I grew up.

What new things did you learn about writing, publishing, and/or yourself while writing and preparing this book for publication?

I learned almost everything! I’m still learning. I learned that I could persevere through hundreds of rejections and come out on top. This book and all of the masterfully written books I’ve been reading my entire life taught me everything I know. Working with two small presses and doing most of my own marketing has been a trial-and-error, epic learning experience. Again, my toolbox is bigger now. But maybe someday I can trade up to a big five. Fingers crossed!

End of Interview:

For more from Sharon Wagner visit her website.

Get your copy of Chorus of Crows from Amazon US or Amazon UK.