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With us today is Colorado native and multi-genre author, Cynthia Woolf. We're talking about her Tame series, being a full-time writer, and what she enjoys doing when not putting pen to page. Welcome Cynthia!
Did you plan to be a writer or did it just happen?
It just
happened. I studied to be an
accountant. That didn’t really work
either. I got into sales and use taxes,
reporting and paying those taxes for various companies.
What is your favorite non-writing pastime?
Gardening. I like making flowers grow. Not so much with vegetables, that’s my
husband’s forte.
When did you decide to take that step that made you a
published author?
I was in the
hospital, I thought I’d had a heart attack, it was just anxiety, but while I
was in there, I finished my second book.
When I got out I was talking to one of my critique partners who told me
about self publishing. She’s the one who
got me on the self publishing train and I couldn’t be more grateful.
Is writing a full-time career for you? If not, how else
do you spend your work day?
Currently, I do
write full time. I was laid off from my
job in June 2011 and decided it would be the time to take advantage of the
opportunity to do what I’d always wanted to, write. I’m glad that I did.
What inspired the idea behind your book?
This book, Tame A
Wild Bride, is the third in the Tame series.
I wanted to do a mail order bride book and what better place to put it
than in Creede, Colorado where my other historical westerns are set. My mother was a ‘pen pal bride’. She and my dad had met the summer before when
she was the nursemaid (nanny) for a boy with asthma. The high altitude and clean dry air was good
for him and so mother stayed with him while his parents returned to Texas. This was on a dude ranch that my father was a
cowboy on. When mother went back to
Texas after the summer was over, they corresponded with each other and finally
my dad popped the question and they were married in March of 1942.
What has been your greatest challenge in writing Tame A
Wild Bride?
My biggest
challenge with this book, as with all my books, is the middle. I know the beginning, I know the end of every
book I do, but getting them from the beginning to the end, the sagging middle,
is always a challenge for me.
Tell us about your favorite character in this book!
My favorite
character is Rosie, my heroine. She
always keeps a positive attitude, no matter what is thrown at her.
Is anything in your
book based on real life experiences or purely all imagination?
Since my book is historical there is some reality to
it. There were mail order brides. Women who for numerous reasons, found
themselves on trains west to marry men they’d never met. Many of these marriages turned out happy,
some of course did not. Even today we
have mail order brides. Women from other
countries who marry Americans to get green cards and come to the United States
for better lives.
Do you share
any personality traits with Rosie?
I am a very positive person.
I try to look at everything with rose colored glasses on. I want to see the best in any given situation
and so does Rosie. She takes what could
have been an intolerable situation and turned it into something good.
Do you have to be alone or have quiet to write?
I prefer the quiet,
but it’s not required. I don’t listen to
music when I write, though several of my critique partners do. I’m pretty good at blocking out everything
but what I’m working on.
What kind of research was involved for the series? Did
you find it became easier with each book?
I didn’t have to do
a lot of research for this book. I’d
already researched the area and the time period for my other two books in this
series.
I would read these books simply because of the covers –
all in the series are beautiful! Did you have a part in their design?
I have a great
cover designer, who happens to also be one of my critique partners. The covers she does for me are
beautiful. I find the silhouettes for
the covers and she used pictures she took from her back patio for the background
on the first two covers. For this last
one, I pulled the background picture, too.
I use Fotolia for my pictures.
Do you have plans
for a new book? Is this book part of a series?
This book is that last in the Tame series. My next book is going to be the final one in
my Swords of Gregara series.
If you could live the life of any character in any
book, which would choose and why?
I would choose
Audra from my book Centauri Dawn. She
discovers she’s a princess from another planet.
I mean, come on, how great would that be??
How do you unwind after a long writing session?
I have a glass of
wine and watch some television with my husband.
He often has to tell me to stop or I’ll keep at it into the night.
Is there a genre you wish you could write, but haven’t
made the plunge? Which one and what appeals to you about it?
I wish I could
write romantic suspense. I haven’t tried
to because I don’t read them that often but it’s very popular right now.
Why did you choose to be an Indie writer and would you
choose to self-publish again?
I chose to be an
indie author because I couldn’t get the big publishers interested in my
work. It didn’t exactly fit in any of
their slots. Being an indie author, I
don’t have to fit into anything. I can
write what I want, on my schedule and publish when I’m ready. I don’t have to wait a year or more to see my
book in the hands of readers. I can
literally put it out there today and people buy it tomorrow. It’s a win-win situation as far as I’m
concerned.
What is the best piece of writing advice you’ve
received?
Write. Just write.
You can’t edit a blank page so get your butt in the chair and start
writing.
Have you ever
literally deleted or thrown away a book you’ve written?
Never. I have a few
that still need a lot of editing.
If you were
casting your main characters for a movie, who would be your top picks?
For Rosie, I’d choose Katherine Heigl mainly because Rosie
looks like her. She’s not your typical
skinny Hollywood actress. She has a
shape and some meat on her bones. For
Tom I’d choose Robert Downy, Jr because he can be sexy and aloof, comforting
and funny.
Did the plot
of the book turn out the way you planned or did something change during the
process of writing it?
I don’t plot my books probably why I always have a sagging
middle. I’m what they call a pantser. I
put my fingers on the keys and just start typing. The books flows out of me and sometimes even
makes sense the first time through.
Favorite place?
Hawaii
Best Christmas
present?
Don’t remember. I apparently have everything I need or
want. My husband and I didn’t give each
other presents this past year because neither of us could think of anything we
wanted.
Favorite author?
Johanna Lindsey
Favorite smell?
Fresh baked bread
Favorite series?
The Mallorys from Johanna Lindsey
Favorite movie?
Harry Potter
Favorite dish?
Macaroni and cheese
Favorite color?
Purple
Favorite quote?
You
can’t edit a blank page
Your best trait?
Positive outlook
Your worst trait?
I can’t say no
The Book
Rosie Stanton climbed
on a west-bound train to answer his ad for a wife and mother, everything she
wants to be. But Tom Harris lied. He doesn't want a wife, merely a
mother for his two abandoned children and a cook and cleaner for his
ranch. Betrayed once, he's vowed never to let another woman into his
heart. Sexy Rosie upsets all his plans and threatens to invade his
scarred heart. How will he maintain his vow to keep his hands off her as
she charms his children, his cow hands, his life?
The Giveaway
One lucky commenter will win an eBook copy of their choice from Cynthia's Tame series. Tame a Wild Heart, Tame a Wild Wind, or Tame a Wild Bride. Leave a comment and your book of choice.
Connect with Cynthia!
Twitter: @CynthiaWoolf
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/CynthiaWoolf
An Excerpt
Rosemary Stanton stood
on the train platform sweating and waiting.
Sweating because it was an especially hot day in late June. Waiting for her husband. A husband she wouldn’t recognize if he were
standing right next to her.
She’d been
desperate when she answered the advertisement for a mail order bride. Wanted:
Single woman to cook, clean, and care for children on a cattle ranch in
southwestern Colorado. Will marry upon
arrival.
Well, she was
twenty-six with no prospects. Her
brother just got married and his new wife, Beatrice, didn’t want Rosie
around. She could answer this
advertisement or become a governess.
Help someone else’s children grow up into adults. Live in someone else’s house. For the rest of her life, she’d have nothing
she could call her own.
Rosie wanted a
home. She wanted a husband and
children. All the things she’d never
have if she stayed in Philadelphia. When
she’d seen the ad in the morning paper, she’d nearly shouted with glee. However, she managed to restrain herself
until she got to her room before she yelled with joy. The advertisement was tailor-made for her
needs. It got her away from Beatrice and
got her her own home all in one fell swoop.
Her brother,
Robert, though was not happy with the idea of his baby sister traveling across
the country to marry a stranger. He
grudgingly agreed to give her her dowry to take with her. Five thousand dollars. She’d take the draft to the bank as soon as
she arrived in Creede, Colorado, and married Mr. Thomas Harris. Cattle rancher. It was her “in case it doesn’t work out”
money. Though she supposed it would
belong to her husband once she married.
Perhaps she just wouldn’t tell him about it. Her conscience spoke up. That’s
no way to start a marriage. With lies
and secrets. Oh, all right. She’d
tell him and have him take her to the bank.
But not until after she’d taken his measure. If he was a cruel man, she would leave and
she sure as heck wouldn’t tell him about her money.
Even with the
dowry, there’d been few prospects for Rosie back in Philadelphia. She wasn’t pretty in the conventional
sense. She thought her face with its big
brown eyes and full lips was pleasing enough, but men apparently hadn’t. Her one beau had said her eyes were the color
of warm brandy. That was before he left
her to marry another more suitable woman.
More suitable, hah! Richer was
more like it.
Paul had expensive
tastes and married a rabbit-faced girl, heir to a substantial fortune to which
he’d have access. Well, good luck and
good riddance.
Rosie did have one
feature she’d been told was extraordinary.
Her hair. It was waist length,
wavy and a clear, golden blonde. Right
now, standing on the train platform in Creede it was bound up in a loose bun on
top of her head under her hat. It, like
the rest of her, was covered in dust and soot from the train. She’d discovered on the second day that she
could minimize the grime by sitting in the front of the car with the window
closed. But sooner or later the heat and
mugginess of the car would force her to open the window. The air came rushing in, cooling her, but
bringing with it the dirt and ash from the train’s boilers.
On the long trip,
she’d told herself again and again she’d made the right decision. This was her future.
“Excuse me. Miss Stanton?”
Rosie shaded her
eyes from the late afternoon sun and looked up at a tall man with dark
hair. His hat was pulled low, hiding his
eyes. He had a strong jaw covered with a
shadow of whiskers.
“Yes. I’m Rosemary Stanton.”
He took off his hat
and held out his hand. “I’m Tom Harris.”
Read more: http://www.amazon.com/Tame-Wild-Bride-Series-ebook/dp/B008QNVC14/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343706138&sr=8-1&keywords=tame+a+wild+bride
