Author on the Couch: Cindy Charity


Today I’m conducting a session with…Cindy Charity

***GIVEAWAY*** Leave a comment for Cindy and share this post to be eligible to win an e-book of THE COMPASS!!
Enter to #win an e-copy of The Compass by @author_cindy. #books Click To Tweet

 

Me: Tell me about an experience that had a profound impact on your life.

Cindy: My father was diagnosed with cancer when I was twelve. My parents were divorced, and he came to stay with us for a few months. I can remember each conversation we had, and his wishes for me and my siblings. When he passed, I promised myself that when I found the one thing that made me happy, I was going to go after it. My father never realized his dream, and in chasing mine, I’m doing it for him as well.

 

Me: What personality trait of yours helps you most as an author?

Cindy: My inexhaustible imagination! I’m forever spinning a tale (or two or three!) in my head. I’m a Pisces, the dreamers of the zodiac, so I tend to spend a lot of time with my head in the clouds lol. At times it’s not the greatest thing as I tend to get distracted when working on a project.

 

Me: What personality trait of yours hinders you most as an author?

Cindy: I tend to procrastinate. There’s nothing more I can add to that LOL!

 

Me: What was your high point as a writer—a time when you were happiest, on cloud nine, flying high? What happened?

Cindy: My highest point as an author was when I hit the publish button on Amazon (I’m a self published author) Don’t get me wrong, finishing the book was a high as well, but sharing it with the world, well it was like being drunk on New Year’s Eve (Or on wine Wednesday 😉 )

I remember staring at the computer screen after I had uploaded everything. All the boxes were checked, my cover was good, as was the formatting. I think I sat there for a good hour, just staring. I had all of these thoughts: what if the book was so bad, that Amazon invited me to take it down? What if a group of ‘real’ authors decided to burn me at the stake for thinking I was any good…..a bit dramatic, however, this was what I was thinking.

But then I hit that button, and a million butterflies took off in my stomach. And then….I cried lol but they were happy tears.

My father never realized his dream, and in chasing mine, I’m doing it for him as well. @author_cindy #AmWriting Click To Tweet

Me: What was your low point as a writer—a time when questioned your path as a writer, a time when you felt really crappy about your writing? What happened? How did you get over it?

Cindy: The lowest point that I had (and I’m sure more will come) as a writer was when I was told that I was wasting my time, that while my ‘little hobby’ was cute, I needed to consider giving up and maybe find a real job (I had a job, two in fact—I’m a supply teacher as well as a personal support worker) Those words changed how I wrote. I pushed myself to be ‘perfect’, editing while I wrote. It was like wheels spinning in mud, because no matter what I typed, it was wrong. This went on for a few months, and I soon began to think that maybe this person had been right. I had no money to pay an editor, I had to rely on friends to beta read, I had to save every penny I could to get book covers made and formatting done (my credit card had a starring role, believe me)

One day I woke up and said, that’s it, I quit. I took every supply job I could get and for awhile, I was ‘normal’. I was also extremely unhappy. I discovered that had to write. It was like breathing.

I went back to the computer and opened up the WIP I had abandoned. And I fell in love all over again. I still faced the negativity, and the hostility that I was ‘back at it’ but I decided that I had to be okay with that, that some people will never get the drive and the determination of an artist. I also reached out to the romance writing community, and found an amazing support group.

Every time I begin to question myself, I send out an S.O.S. and soon my social media outlets are flooded with positivity and encouragement.

I discovered that had to write. It was like breathing. @author_cindy #AOTC #AmWriting Click To Tweet

Me: How many books have you written? How long does it typically take you to write a book? What’s the most painful part of the writing process for you?

Cindy: I’ve written and self published a five book Paranormal Romance series. I have several other WIPs in various stages, and notes for more projects. Sometimes a story comes to me fully formed, and when that happens, I can get a book written (about 70,000 words) within a month’s time (that doesn’t include edits and revisions)
The most painful part of the writing process is getting the words out of my mind and onto the computer screen; the translation can be difficult sometimes. Seeing a scene written on the screen can look so wrong, yet in your mind, it was fantastic.

 

Me: What causes stress in your writing life? Why?

Cindy: My family causes me the most stress. Once I’m in the zone, everything else ceases to exist, my family, as much as I love them, don’t get it or understand it. So there are many interruptions and it throws me off my stride. I have to be very selfish with my writing time and when I have to stop to explain this over and over again, well, let’s just say it doesn’t make me a happy camper. lol!

 

Me: If you could be any character in any book for a day who would you be? Why?

Cindy: Hermione Granger. Because: magic, wicked smart, lover of books and knowledge, and she is so confident in herself and her abilities. I just love how she is a natural leader; she didn’t have to make excuses for her beliefs or for being smart. She made sure that she was seen as someone strong and more than capable of achieving whatever task was set before her. And she is a fierce and loyal friend.

 

Me: Tell me a little bit about your Paranormal Romance novel THE COMPASS!

 

Cindy: Darkness is coming…..in truth, it’s already here. The only thing that can defeat it is the Compass. Only problem is…..she doesn’t know.



Feisty and defiant Ali Hayes, is determined to break free from her controlling parents. New York is the perfect place to assert her independence and prove once and for all, that she wasn’t crazy. However, strange events begin to happen, threatening to open the door to the past that she swore she had nailed shut. And when a sexy, immortal warrior, claiming that she was needed to save the world, tries to abduct her off the street, Ali has to rethink the whole sanity thing.


As a warrior of Agrona, Finn O’Shea was tall and imposing, in battle, he knew no equal. He had come to Earth’s realm in search of the one destined to save his world. When he finds her, he soon learns that he would need more than just his sword…..he needed magic. The very thing he had turned his back on.

 

Me: Share with us a favorite paragraph or two from The Oracle.

Cindy: Thoughts traveled from the positive to the grim. The journey to this moment, the years that had piled on, one after another as it had unfolded, had been exhausting. So many times throughout this voyage, each side thought they had beaten Fate; on the side of everything good, the belief was that they had found a way to avoid this moment. While on the side of evil, the thirst for bloodshed was welcomed with frenzied anticipation.

The paragraph above was taken from The Oracle, book five in The Divided Star series, just before the big battle scene. It’s one of my favorites because it not only applies to what is happening in the story, and what the overall theme is of the series, but it speaks of life in general.

We all struggle in life, and those struggles can be referred to as battles. We face them every day, both on a person level and on a bigger scale. There’s a sense of being torn between good and evil, a good decision and a bad one. It can be tiring, and the desire to give up is always nipping at our heels. Yet at the same time, we think we can cheat the outcome, cut corners—the result, more often than not, is that we end up on the losing end.

Being good, making the right decision (even if the bad one is more appealing) is a never ending struggle. We always must hold onto our truths and be on the side of good.


Buy links for THE COMPASS

INKTERA

SCRIBD

AMAZON

ITUNES

B&N

KOBO


You can Visit Cindy Here:

INSTAGRAM

AMAZON

FACEBOOK

PINTREST

TWITTER

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Abbie Roads writes dark emotional novels featuring damaged characters, but always gives her hero and heroine a happy ending… after torturing them for three hundred pages. RACE THE DARKNESS and HUNT THE DAWN are available now! SAVING MERCY Book 1 in the Fatal Truth Series is available now.

RACE THE DARKNESS

HUNT THE DAWN

SAVING MERCY

About the author: abbieroads