Interview: Cynthia Roberts

*Please join me in welcoming debut author Cynthia Roberts. Cynthia’s first book Wind Warrior (Book 1 in her Iroquois series) will be released by Tate Publishing on June 15th.

"Hello everyone. Like all of you, I lived and breathed reading romances … it filled many long, lonely evenings when my husband worked nights in law enforcement and I was raising our children Jason and Alyssa (now 31 and 29). It proved my constant companion later when my “Cinderella” marriage of twenty-five years came to an unexpected end. There is a quote I heard once I can’t remember verbatim but goes somewhat like … “There is no greater loss than a love once known.”
I’m a true believer that when tragedy strikes and you’re standing at the edge of a fathomless abyss and all you see is darkness looking back at you, faith lies in knowing one of two things will happen. You can either let fear consume you, roll up into a ball and waste away or, you can take a leap of faith and learn how to soar like an eagle." Cynthia Roberts

Interview:
* Cynthia that is a very compelling personal story. Can you tell us about your journey to getting Wind Warrior published? How long did it take from when you finished writing it to when you were signed on with Tate Publishing?

Cynthia -I started Wind Warrior nearly 10 years ago as a therapeutic means of getting over my broken marriage. Shortly after that Mack truck hit me square on, my company was offering buyouts because of major cut backs. It took me nearly two years to find another job and I was forced to survive on simply eggs, bread and cereal. There were three more jobs that followed, all never paying enough to cover all my expenses and also take care of my mom. It was a decade of survival and the first draft of Wind Warrior sat tucked away because I just had a difficult time contending with everything I went through. In 2009 I found myself unemployed nearly 10 months. The small house I managed to scrimp and save to purchase was going to be lost to foreclosure and I took that free time to refocus on my passion for writing and set my sights on Wind Warrior. Deep in my gut I knew I was ready to rally every damn raw emotion and life experience expelled over the past ten years and redirect it all into a final rewrite.
An author I met on MySpace told me about Tate Publishing and when I submitted my manuscript , I was offered a contract within 60 days and went into production immediately the end of January, 2010.

* You were already going through so many changes in your life – how were you able to find the strength to believe in yourself despite the early rejections?

Cynthia - Karen you tend to realize after a while that everything in life happens for a reason. There were times, I must admit I just wanted to give up on everything. But I had a few wonderful friends who wouldn't allow me to give up on myself. They made me believe in the essence of who I was as a person and my importance in the this world. I'm a firm believer we are like pawns on a chess board. Every once and while we're placed in a situation to see how we will adapt. It is the choices we make and the paths we choose willingly that result in the final outcome. And so ... here I am.

* Can you tell us a little about Wind Warrior and what inspired it?

Cynthia -The first romance I ever read was a novel from Cassie Edward’s Savage series and instantly became hungry to read more. I tracked down every one of those babies; let me tell you, until I read them all. Every historical Indian romance I read from that point on was based on a Plains tribe. I wanted to focus on a tribe indigenous to my area and decided to write a series based on the five tribes that make up the Iroquois League of Nations.
And about Wind Warrior ... well ... Leslie Michaels is a visionary, and only those close to her know of her special gift and the visions that come when her mind and body surrender to sleep. It is one particular vision that haunts her dreams she does not understand and inevitably changes her life dramatically. She is forced to flee into the wilderness to escape a murderous trapper who is bent on claiming her for his own at all costs, and that means killing her father. She finds herself lost, alone and frightened in unfamiliar territory, uncertain of where to go or how to survive on her own. Fate has a way of righting the many wrongs that has brought nothing but tragedy into her life. And that is when she encounters Winnokin, a handsome Seneca war chief who first came to her in the dreams that haunted her. Not only does he prove to be her rescuer and protector, but he teaches her that tragedy does breed happiness and not just heartache and a passion to live and love deeply once again.

* What do you have planned next?

Cynthia - You're probably gonna think me is crazy ... I'm 3 chapters into Book #3 of my Iroquois series, three-quarters of the way done on a mainstream romance sci-fi adventure entitled Keeper's Watch, at the tail end of finishing another mainstream romance mystery entitled Pawn For Malice and a romantic comedy screenplay Lookin' For Love. I've got a lot of catching up to do, this late in the game. No stopping me now!

* What’s your idea of the perfect day?

Cynthia - At this stage of my life ... chuckle ... chuckle ... being where palm trees sway and tropical drinks with paisley umbrellas are plentiful . I can almost hear the sound of those Caribbean waves crashing along the shoreline of some beautiful white beach drafting a brand new island romance on a laptop, letting aquamarine waters, warm tropical breezes, and hard-muscled well-bronzed beach hunks inspire me.

Thank you for joining me today Cynthia, you're an inspiration to everyone who has had to start over and find the courage to follow their dreams – showing that yes, it can be done!

Click HERE to find out more about Cynthia and Wind Warrior.