Author Cher Duncombe draws on her work as a Pennsylvania investigator and private detective to write crime fiction. At 15, her mother told her to choose her own path despite family chaos, a moment that shaped her resilience. She credits tenacity and faith as essential to success, and urges people to pursue their gifts and treat failure as learning.
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Welcome to the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Cher Duncan with us and she is an author, so welcome to the show.
Hi Tyler, it's great to be with you.
It's great to have you on and we'll dive in. The first question I have for you is, what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
When I was, when I reached the age of 15, our family was going through some serious trials, difficulties with my father, and my mom pulled me aside and said, you have a choice right here at this age, and you can become anything you want. You can go astray, you can be what they called in those days a bad girl, or you can go forward and make something of yourself in spite of it. If you go astray, people will say, well, I can understand because look at her family life, etc. Or she said, people would say, wow, she surmounted that and look what she did. And right then and there at the age of 15, I knew I wanted more. And that I was not going to let that situation hold me back. So that, that's what has driven me. And then in part, I think whatever gifts I was given just kicked in along the way. That's what happened to me.
And what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
Well, I'm an author, and for me, there's— there's— it's probably a hackneyed— considered a hackneyed expression to write what you know, and I find that very valuable. My latest book is about an investigation, and I was an investigator for many years with the Pennsylvania Office of Inspector General, And I later became a business owner of my own private investigations agency. So when I write, I write using what I know. I've read books about investigations. It seems, um, it's, it's been, uh, glamorized in many aspects, but unless you know it it doesn't ring true when you're writing about it. Or if you— some authors, I would hope, would get information from investigators, PIs, perhaps police officers. But I really think that it's important to use our creativity within the realm of our expertise, background, and knowledge.
And what is your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily industry-specific.
Tenacity. I just think no matter what we do in business, and I've had many careers, some in business, others that I've just spoken of, but I believe in tenacity. I always wanted to be an antique dealer. And so I, I invested in antiques and I had a thriving business, but I had to learn it from the ground up. And that goes, um, that there's truth in everything I've tried. So I believe tenacity is truly, truly important. You have to hang in there. You have to learn all you can about whatever industry it is, whether it's writing, painting or businesses per se. There is a lot to learn. And when I didn't have customers in my store, I was gaining as much knowledge about antiques as I could. So you really have to be devoted and tenacious.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Go for it. Just Go for it. Have your dreams and allow them to thrive. Give them life and, and do it. What is the worst that can happen, really? I mean, we fail in life and that's okay. You just get up and you try again. Maybe try something else, but I say just go for it. We're all given gifts. We may not all have the same gift, But we are all given gifts. So I think that it's, in a way, it's incumbent upon us to bring those gifts to fruition. And that's what I've done. And my many careers can attest to that.
And in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
Two things: faith and forgiveness. Without those, I would not have survived a number of hardships in my life. We all face tragedy. We never know when it's going to happen, but certainly faith and forgiveness. If I'm able to forgive, I can move forward.
And what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
One of the— I've read many biographies. I love the biography of Gandhi, but the best book I've actually read was "Thousand Broad" by Pat Conroy. And the reason I loved it is that he drew me into the characters. And when I closed the book, when I was finished reading it, I seriously walked away. Because I did not want to leave those characters. So I think that as an author, if we can design characters that draw people in, where they can empathize with them or cheer for them or maybe even dislike them, I think it's very important.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
My favorite quote is— well, there are two, but I'll give you the longer one. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Tell me not in mournful numbers that life is but a dream. Life is real, life is earnest, and the grave is not its goal. Death thou art to those who return it, but not to those who help the soul. That's my favorite.
Yes, thank you so much for coming on. The last question I have for you before we let you go is where's the best place for people to find you online?
You can Google me. I'm all over Google. You can just Google my name, Sherry Duncan. You can Google my books, Dandy Dancing on the Second Floor, one of my most current books. Cole Hollow and Echo in the Abyss. Both books are on Amazon. I'm also on LinkedIn and on Twitter.
Perfect. Thanks again for joining us. We really appreciate it.
Thanks so much, Tyler. Have a wonderful day.
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