INTERVIEW WITH
MYSTERY/SERIES AUTHOR: CINDY BLACKBURN
By Pamela James
MM2:
Cindy, give is the backstory on how you became an author, why you became an
author and a series author?
The first story I
wrote was back in second grade, and my teacher read it to the class. But after
that I didn't write fiction for many, many decades. I took it up again in my
forties during bouts of insomnia, and somewhere along the line Jessie Hewitt
popped into my head. I've always loved series! Once I get to know such lovable
and quirky characters I don't want to let them go--whether as a reader or a
writer.
MM2:
Where is your favorite place to write?
I'm sitting here right
now! The porch of my tiny shack in Vermont is my favorite spot. But this is
only a summer place. Back home in SC, I have a comfy chair that fits both me
and my cat. No desks, please.
MM2:
Take us thru your writing day?
I like to write first
thing in the morning. Then I putter around doing other life stuff in the
afternoons, and on ideal writing days I get back to my writing in the
evening for an hour or so before bed. I've read that time before falling
asleep is a great time to think about your story. Then your subconscious works
on it while you sleep. That does seem to work for me!
MM2:
What is the best part of writing a series?
Getting to really live
with the characters I love so much. I know them so well, when I hear stories or
snippets of dialogue in real life, I often think of how my characters will make
use of the stuff. It's also WAY less scary and daunting to start a new
book with these folks I already know. And lastly, it's SO fun to watch them
change and grow and take on lives of their own. For instance in my latest Cue
Ball Mystery, Five Spot, Karen Sembler gets herself into a romance. Karen! I
had NO idea that would happen until I began writing.
MM2:
They say it takes a village to write a book. Who is in your village?
What a great way to
put it! My husband John is CRUCIAL to all my writing efforts. I am
technically-challenged to put it mildly, and he helps me with all the
computer stuff. He also helps me make decisions on marketing and publicity, and
he's one of my beta-readers. I can't say enough good things about the Sisters
in Crime group I belong to in Greenville, SC, or the Lowcountry Romance Writers
of America I used to belong to when I live in Charleston, SC. Other authors are
always very supportive.
MM2: I
love to ask this question. Past or present what five authors would you like to
sit down and share a meal with? What would you like to know from them and what
would you tell them?
Wow, this is a hard
one. I love Dorothy Sayers, Jane Austin, Barbara Pym, Robert Parker, and Joan
Hess. I think they're all very entertaining, and so I think I'd let them talk
about whatever popped into their heads. I'd tell them the champagne I was
serving was my character Jessie Hewitt's idea!
MM2:
Tell us about where you live? Be our tour guide and of course we want to know
why you love living there?
I've already mentioned
my shack in Vermont. It's on a lake and I live here in the warm weather. I
love looking out at the waterfowl and at my flower garden leading to the water!
Inside is very rustic. Although I do have electricity and running water ...
almost always. In South Carolina I live outside of Greenville in a very cool
and spacious condo. The building used to be a highschool so I have high brick
walls and many huge sunny windows. No garden, but a balcony with
flowers. My writing chair is in the sunniest spot.
MM2: Did
you used to have other hobbies?
I used to read a lot
more! Now I'm always writing. I like to exercise--yoga, walking, biking,
kayaking. And I like to garden.
MM2:
Tell us about your family life?
One hubby, one cat, no
kids. Things are pretty quiet in our household except for when Betty the cat
thinks I've forgotten her dinnertime.
MM2:
Okay let's talk about your latest book in the "Cue Ball Series", and
what comes next in your writing career?
Five Spot!! The fifth
Cue Ball Mystery is now available! Yay! Jessie and Wilson go to a Romance
Writer's conference called the Happily Ever After. And take a guess what
happens! Oh, and there's that little side story about Karen's romance. Just
WAIT till you hear about her first date!
At
long last! Jessie Hewitt is about to take her rightful spot in the Hall of
Fame. No, not the one for pool sharks. This is the Romance Writers Hall of
Fame. Jessie’s so excited she’s even convinced über-hunky cop Wilson Rye to tag
along for the induction festivities. But things don’t go exactly as planned.
How could a conference called Happily Ever After take such a wrong turn? Take a
guess.
What comes
next? I'm working on the 2nd Cassie Baxter Mystery called Unexpected.
What's unexpected? A five year old boy named Truman steps into her life. Let's
just say, Cassie's not a kid-person.
MM2:
Here are some fun questions. What is your favorite meal, dessert, song,
holiday, place to vacation, way to distress after a long day? Also your
favorite television series and movies?
Meal--Pizza and
champagne
Dessert--Chocolate ice
cream, chocolate anything!
Song--Gosh, I don't
think I have one! But like Jessie, I like old fashioned 60's and 70's rock and
roll.
Vacation--Anywhere in
Europe when I've saved enough pennies and dimes.
Movie--Moonstruck
TV show=-Big Bang
Theory
How to unwind--Big
Bang Theory and NCIS repeats, long walks, bike rides, or kayak paddles. And as
Jessie does, a glass of champagne at happy hour is always nice!
MM2:
What would your characters tell us about you?
That I'm very
energetic and hard-working. That I have to do a lot of revising to get them and
their stories ju-uust right!
MM2:
Lastly, leave us with a quote from one of your characters?
Jessie--"A day
without champagne is just plain dumb."
Cindy,
I love this series and
hope it continues for a long time to come!
Thanks, Pamela! And
thanks for all these thought provoking questions. I hope everyone enjoys Five
Spot!
Cindy Blackburn is
living the dream! She spends her days sitting around in her pajamas, thinking
up unlikely plot twists and ironing out the quirks and kinks of lovable
characters. In other words, Cindy's a writer.
When she's not typing on her laptop or feeding her fat cat Betty, Cindy enjoys taking long walks with her cute hubby John. A native Vermonter who hates snow, Cindy divides her time between the south and the north. Most of the year you'll find her in South Carolina. But come summer she'll be on the porch of her lakeside shack in Vermont.
Cindy's favorite travel destinations are all in Europe, her favorite TV show is The Big Bang Theory, her favorite movie is Moonstruck, and her favorite color is orange. Cindy dislikes vacuuming, traffic, and lima beans.
When she's not typing on her laptop or feeding her fat cat Betty, Cindy enjoys taking long walks with her cute hubby John. A native Vermonter who hates snow, Cindy divides her time between the south and the north. Most of the year you'll find her in South Carolina. But come summer she'll be on the porch of her lakeside shack in Vermont.
Cindy's favorite travel destinations are all in Europe, her favorite TV show is The Big Bang Theory, her favorite movie is Moonstruck, and her favorite color is orange. Cindy dislikes vacuuming, traffic, and lima beans.
Cindy - your insomnia served you well!
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