An Inspired Journey into Paranormal Thrillers with Sherri L. Dodd

PHOTO: Author Sherri L. Dodd brings together real-life spirituality and thrilling mystery in her compelling paranormal fiction.

From Fitness To Fiction Through Grief And Magick

Sherri L. Dodd shares how her spiritual studies, personal loss, and rich life experience inform her *Murder, Tea & Crystals* trilogy blending mystery, magick realism, and emotional depth.

Sherri L. Dodd writes with the soul of a seeker and the heart of a storyteller rooted in wild, myth-laced soil. Raised in the humid, haunted hush of southeast Texas, where ghost stories curl through creek beds and folklore is as natural as bare feet on hot dirt, Dodd learned early that imagination was both sanctuary and compass. Her transition from non-fiction fitness author to the conjurer of Paranormal Thrillers is not a shift—it is a return. With Murder Under Redwood Moon, the first in her Murder, Tea & Crystals trilogy, Dodd steps confidently into the liminal space between reality and the uncanny.

Dodd’s fiction is steeped in lived experience—of grief, motherhood, devotion, and mystery. There is a steadying hand behind the wild beauty of her narratives, drawn from years of holistic theology study and spiritual exploration across traditions. Her characters are seekers too, especially Arista, whose journey moves from suspense to transformation across the trilogy’s arc. Dodd crafts these tales not merely to entertain, but to illuminate the places where loss sharpens perception, and where belief becomes both a mirror and a map.

What sets her storytelling apart is a quiet, persuasive sense of truth. The magick she writes of is not fantasy for fantasy’s sake—it is grounded in natural rhythm, human experience, and spiritual intuition. Whether she’s weaving the energies of Sedona’s vortexes into her plotlines or recalling a real-life brush with the strange, her work pulses with authenticity.

In a genre too often crowded with noise, Sherri L. Dodd offers resonance. Her stories remind us that mystery doesn’t need to shout to be heard—it already lives in the trees, in the desert wind, and in the long shadow of the moon.

Sherri L. Dodd writes with warmth, insight, and originality, crafting layered narratives filled with heart, spirit, and authentic supernatural intrigue.

In Murder Under Redwood Moon, how did your personal experiences with the paranormal influence the story’s development?

We lived in the Santa Cruz Mountains for many years, and there is an eeriness to them as well as a comfort. So, my experience with that ambiance brought life to the story. Furthermore, while writing the book, I had a strange encounter which made it into the book—the leopard throw rug incident was taken right out of my own current day life!

What inspired the setting of Sedona, Arizona, in Moonset on Desert Sands, and how does it enhance the narrative?

My husband and I visited Sedona a couple times on the way to hike the Grand Canyon. During the second visit, we walked to a ‘male’ vortex, but got lost on our way back and ended up running the trail in the darkness with little bats flying at us. That night I had a very unusual anxiety attack about being so far from my children. The metaphysical explanation was that the energy from the vortex disrupted my equilibrium. Pretty powerful effect! So, for book 2 – Moonset on Desert Sands – I thought it would make for an apt setting that Arista and Bethie be part of that new age community. In addition, I loved the contrast of the barren desert and red-rocked topography to the lush green redwoods.

“We lived in the Santa Cruz Mountains for many years, and there is an eeriness to them as well as a comfort.” – Sherri L. Dodd

Can you discuss the evolution of Arista’s character throughout the Murder, Tea & Crystals trilogy?

Read separately, the trilogy starts as a suspenseful, cozy murder mystery in Murder Under Redwood Moon, followed by a psychological thriller in the second book. By the end of book three, I believe the reader will find this trilogy has been Arista’s coming of age, comprising her abandonment, trauma, hardships, and finding the ability to rise above the chaos and heartbreak in order to experience her future blessings. The moral being our typical lives can become upended with tragedy, but once trouble passes, we can find meaning and reward are still possible.

How do you balance elements of magick realism with traditional mystery tropes in your writing?

I learned a lot about the modern-day Pagan community while writing this trilogy. I found when you erase the exaggerated theatrics of Hollywood’s version of witchcraft, and bring it down to Earth, the balance of magick realism and mystery becomes quite easy. The magick just ‘is’ … it’s a way of looking at the life around us and finding the otherworldly elements in vegetation, animals and events. This is not a supernatural ability; it is something an average person can access, if they have the desire.

Your background includes fitness and motherhood; how have these aspects influenced your storytelling?

My conscientiousness as a mother keeps the sexuality very PG/PG-13 in my books. While my kids are new adults, they don’t need to have ‘mother’s sexuality’ shoved in their faces. Not that it’s a bad thing, but some things I prefer to keep private. Therefore, what little sex there is in the books could be shown on television. Further, the second book is very mother-oriented—Arista’s mother and a secondary pregnant character, and the love and sacrifice those mothers were willing to take for their child. The fitness aspect is translated through the action scenes, whether mountain biking through the redwoods in Murder Under Redwood Moon, the security guard busting into action in book two, or even the physicality of a fight or two in the books. Movement is life!

“The magick just ‘is’ … it’s a way of looking at the life around us and finding the otherworldly elements.” – Sherri L. Dodd

What challenges did you face transitioning from non-fiction to fiction writing, particularly in the paranormal genre?

Writing about fitness was easy. Learned facts put to paper. Fiction is a vast realm of endless possibilities! Losing my father, I immersed in another world to heal from the loss. For Murder Under Redwood Moon, I kept with the guidance of “is this believable?” Having supernatural experiences, I went with what rang similar. Could it happen? In the final two books of the trilogy, I dug a bit deeper and added more fantasy elements. I’m not talking elves or dragons (which I love), but more to the effect of what you would find in witchy movies.

How do your personal beliefs and studies in various religions inform the spiritual elements in your novels?

My Bachelor’s and, soon-to-be, Master’s degrees are in Holistic Theology, and I have studied a few religions. I was raised Episcopalian, confirmed as Catholic in my mid-twenties, spent fourteen years immersed in Buddhism starting in my 30s, and for this trilogy, fell back on my Pagan studies from late teens/early twenties. Rather than focusing on the differences, I see the connections and the possibility for compatibility, especially Celtic Paganism and Catholicism. That is why I made Arista a Celtic Pagan, and her love interest, Shane, a Catholic. There are so many ways that we could drop the fear and, subsequently, anger from our differences and find peace with the similarities.

What advice would you offer aspiring authors interested in blending personal experiences with fictional narratives?

Write what you know. It will come naturally, and people will not have a good basis with which to accuse you of something fake. If you do not know ‘it’, spend time learning ‘it.’ Not only will you find enlightenment in your studies, but your story becomes that much more believable. Ultimately, your reader gains the benefit as well.

“Our typical lives can become upended with tragedy, but once trouble passes, we can find meaning and reward are still possible.” – Sherri L. Dodd