If you want to be entered in the drawing for Cynthia’s Fudge-Laced Felonies, please leave a comment and your email or email me at margaretdaley@gmail.com. The drawing ends on Sunday evening.
Cynthia Hickey’s interview:
1. What made you start writing?
I’ve been making up stories since I was a little girl. Most of them centered my little brother as the hero! It wasn’t until I turned 40 that I actually did something about it.
2. How long have you been writing? When did you sell your first book?
I’ve been seriously writing since 2004 and have a couple of pod books out there, but it wasn’t until 2007 that I landed my real contract. I wrote, Fudge-Laced Felonies, on a dare by a friend. I didn’t even know what a cozy mystery was. LOL! I wrote the book, entered a contest, won first place, obtained an agent, and she sold the book to Barbour. This all happened within the space of a few months. What a whirlwind ride!
3. How do you handle rejections?
I pout then move on to the next project. It’s only a matter of time, God willing, is my mindset.
4. Why do you write?
Because I would wither and die if I didn’t. It’s as important to me as breathing.
5. What would you be doing with your free time if you weren’t writing?
Hanging out with family, reading for pleasure, playing computer games. I did a lot of crafts before seriously taking up writing.
6. What are you working on right now?
A historical romantic suspense set during the Depression, and another cozy for Barbour.
7. Do you put yourself into your books/characters?
Oh, yeah. My Summer Meadows, the heroine of Fudge-Laced Felonies, is as ditzy as I am. In my current wip, the female character shows more of my dark side.
8. Tell us about the book you have out right now.
Fudge-Laced Felonies is a cozy mystery in Barbour’s HeartsongPresents/Mysteries. The main character is a candy-maker who stumbles upon diamonds, a bloody glove, and a can full of cash while transplanting her rose bush. Wanting to prove to her family that she has more sense than they give her credit for, she sets out to solve the mystery and gets up to her neck in a murder.
9. Do you have any advice for other writers?
Never give up. I know most aspiring writers have heard this before, but if you feel truly called by God to write, never give up. Keep learning, keep praying, and keep writing.
10. How important is faith in your books?
They aren’t preachy, but there is definitely a theme throughout each book. It would be impossible to write without an element of faith. The story would feel stilted to me. Incomplete.
11. What themes do you like to write about?
Letting God have control. I struggle with that myself, so writing about it comes easily.
12. What is your favorite book you’ve written and why?
I’d have to say Fudge-Laced Felonies. I had so much fun. The second and third books in the series come out in 2009. It was sad to see the series end. I will miss Summer. The good thing is, I can visit with her between the pages of a book.
13. What is your writing schedule like?
I write mostly at work where I sit with Detention kids. They have to be quiet anyway, so it allows me ample time to write. I crank out, on an average, two sometimes three, chapters a week.
Visit me at www.cynthiahickey.com
