CR-Hi Eveline, Thanks for requesting an interview.  I appreciate the opportunity to reach new readers! 

 

Could you tell the readers something more about yourself before we start?

CR- I grew up in the suburbs of Boston. Moving to the city, I attended Massachusetts College of Art and majored in Fine Art. When motherhood demanded a more lucrative career, I started over and graduated from Newton Wellesley Hospital School of Nursing and the University of New Hampshire. I worked as a registered nurse for many years in the field of mental health. I put in a few more years with the American Red Cross Blood Donor Program after that. I have written several screenplays and I am currently utilizing some of these stories to inspire book-length fiction. I'm currently living in New Hampshire with my real-life hero husband, and my daughter.                                                                  - www.cyndiredding.com -

 

Past:

 When did you start thinking about becoming a writer and when? Did you follow writing courses for it?

CR-It’s funny, but it didn’t occure to me when I was younger.  It should have.  I loved my creative writing classes in high school.  I took my fist writing course in 1995, and it was a screenwriting course.  I’ve been writing ever since.

 

How did it all start? (you wrote your first book then what? your first request to get published with who, how, responses,etc)

CR-It started when my last career ended.  I was a registered nurse for 20 years.  My last patients were my own parents, and they died at almost the same time.  After that, I was wept-put, burnt-out wreck.  I went to work in a garden center for a while.  Taking care of plants cheered me up, but I wrote to deal with the deeper emotions. 

My second book, Queen of Hearts, was actually the first one to be published.  This may sound crazy, but as soon as I had finished writing it, I had a little “talk” with my mother on what would have been her birthday.  I told her what I wanted to do, and I just knew she wanted me to pursue my dream.  I sent the book to 3 publishers the next day, and all of them wanted it.

 

Now:

What is the average time you spend in writing a book?

CR-9 months for a full novel.  It’s probably a coincidence that it takes the same amount of time to give birth.  Or, maybe not?  It feels about the same sometimes. 

 

What does a regular working day writing looks like?

CR-I get up early with my husband, we have coffee and watch the news.  Then he goes to work and so do I.  My commute is much shorter than his.  I only have to walk upstairs!  I try to write all morning.  I check e-mail when I need a break or get stuck.  In the afternoon I do errands, and then I read until my husband comes home. 

 

Do you plan before you write, write everything down in schemes?

CR-I usually begin with nothing more than a title and an idea.  Regardless of what I plan, my characters always decide what they’re going to do, and I just have to hang on for the ride.  If I try to bend them to my will, they go on strike.  Translation = writer’s block.   

 

What is on your schedule right now? (busy writing new book, doing research, ..)

CR-I’m writing 2 books at once.  One is a romantic comedy screenplay that I’m converting to a short erotic comedy novel.  It’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever written, and it’s called Destiny Makeovers.  Think to yourself; “If Mel Brooks wrote romance….”  That’s how crazy it is.    The other is an original erotic comedy that I’m trying to sell to an agent.  It’s titled, Heaving Bosoms and my critique partner says it’s my best yet.  I’ve committed to two short reads for Venus Press, and I have a novella being released by Liquid Silver Books in December.

  

You and your books:

Are your ideas or characters based on real persons?

CR-Not really.  Even if I start with someone I know, the character soon takes on a personality all their own.  The person is just the inspiration.  

 

What book of yours means the most to you, took the longest, needed the most research?

CR-This is a heard question.  It’s like asking which of my children I like the best.  I love them all for different reasons.  Queen of Hearts was my first published book, like my first-born child.  Out of the Broom Closet is the most popular, and it earned me my first 5 star review.  It’s the overachiever that makes momma proud.  Surviving Mortality is the book that’s most like me, although truth is stranger than fiction.  Next is Sensation of the Seas. My characters required lots of research, went on strike a couple of times, but they taught me a lot in the end and it was worth the challenge.  Show Me the Bling is my funniest book.  It was entertaining to write and even though my hero is a smart-ass, I can’t help loving him.  Every family needs a clown.  

What are your favourite authors/books?

CR-Another tough question.  I try to read a wide variety of authors, but my taste runs toward the hot and steamy.  I’ve read and enjoyed plenty of other books, though.  Like John Grisham.  The man can write a killer story, but he can’t write a love scene without shutting down the whole thing just as you think it’s going to happen!  He makes me want to scream when he does that.  

What is your favorite genre/theme? The bookgenres you like writing on are they the same genres as the books you like writing?

CR-Yes, I write the type of books I like to read best.  Hot, funny, fast-paced and completely original.  I love a surprise at some point, and not the same old predictable ending even though the characters have to live happily ever after.

 

Future:

Would you ever consider writing in another genre? If so, what genre(s) would that be?

CR-I think someday I might go into ‘regular’ romantic comedy.  Less erotic.  I’m bound to run out of ideas for ways and places to have sex someday!   Well, maybe not.  My wonderful husband is pretty adventurous and has no problem helping me with research in that area! 

Any future plans you would like to share with us?

CR-Show Me the Bling is being released Wednesday, May 11th.  I have a contest on my website to celebrate it and that will run all summer.  I missed the Romantic Times conference this year, but I plan to go next year, April of 2006, when it will be in Daytona Beach.  My Show Me the Bling ‘cover God’ Jason Johnson, is planning to be there too.  For a peek at his pretty face, you can go to my website.  He’s an actor, model, personal trainer, boxer and ex-Marine.  Wow!  And I thought I had a lot of ambition.   

Thank you for taking the time to participate in this interview Cyndi!

CR-My pleasure!  Good luck with your review site and keep up the good work!