Welcome, Cynthia! We're thrilled to have you as our special guest today. Please tell us about yourself.
Cynthia Owens: I believe I was destined to be interested in
history. One of my distant ancestors, Thomas Aubert, reportedly sailed up the
St. Lawrence River to discover Canada some 26 years before Jacques Cartier’s
1534 voyage. Another relative was a 17thCentury “King’s Girl,” one
of a group of young unmarried girls sent to New France (now the province of
Quebec) as brides for the habitants (settlers) there.
My passion for reading made me long to write
books like the ones I enjoyed, and I tried penning sequels to my favorite Nancy
Drew mysteries. Later, fancying myself a female version of Andrew Lloyd Weber,
I drafted a musical set in Paris during WWII.
A former journalist and lifelong Celtophile, I
enjoyed a previous career as a reporter/editor for a small chain of community
newspapers before returning to my first love, romantic fiction. My stories
usually include an Irish setting, hero or heroine, and sometimes all three.
I’m the author of The Claddagh Series,
historical romances set in Ireland and beyond, and The Wild Geese Series, in
which five Irish heroes return from the American Civil War to find love and
adventure.
I’m a member of the Romance Writers of
America, Hearts Through History Romance Writers, and Celtic Hearts Romance
Writers. A lifelong resident of Montreal, Canada, I still live
there with my own Celtic hero and our two teenaged children.
Q: Please
tell us about your latest release. Do you have a review you could
share with us?
A: Yesterday’s
Promise is the fourth book in my Wild Geese Series. It’s the story of
battlefield surgeon Declan Morrissey and Valerie Stanton, the courageous nurse
who served at his side.
She
broke the promises they made on the battlefield. Can they overcome their past
and have the happily ever after they dreamed of?
…Like the Wild Geese of Old Ireland,
five boys grew to manhood despite hunger, war, and the mean streets of New
York…
An
army doctor, Declan Morrissey fought for the survival of every
wounded soldier, rejoicing when they recovered, mourning bitterly when they died.
Valerie Stanton was his beautiful battlefield nurse,
strong, courageous, and dedicated.
He never dreamed she was an heiress, or that she’d
break his heart in a desperate gamble to save the life of another man.
Now that they’ve found each other again, can they
overcome past deception and claim the happily ever after they dreamed of?
Q: Sounds wonderful! Please
tell us about your favorite character in the book.
A: Oh, do I have to limit it to one? I loved each and
every character in this story, including my villains. I adore Valerie and
Declan, both as individuals and as a couple. But if I really have to choose
just one, I supposed it would be Edmund Stanton, Valerie’s tortured brother.
His journey from a traumatized war veteran to a man determined to take charge
of his life was an absolute joy to write.
Q: He sounds great! Which
element of story creation is your favorite?
A: Definitely character creation. Let’s
face it, creating the characters that make a story is a little like the child’s
game of imaginary friends. Of course, the biggest difference between that game
and story characters is that you can’t make your characters do what you want
them to do. I’ve discovered through trial and error (and a lot of on-paper
arguments with various characters) that it’s their story. They tell it to me,
and then they guide my hand in writing it.
Q: Very cool! What inspires
you? What motivates you?
A: History inspires. Ireland inspires me. Most of all,
Irish history inspires me. There are so many stories in Irish history, both tragic
and triumphant. Stories of famine and survival, of emigration and those who
stayed behind. And of course, the legends and the music are wonderfully
inspiring. In fact, the song The Fields
of Athenry gave me the backstory for my very first heroine, Siobhán
Desmond.
What motivates me to write? An absolute and compelling
need to tell my stories my way. Ever since I was a very young child, ideas,
stories, characters and scenes have played in my mind, and they’d stay in my
mind until I went to my room and wrote them down in my “secret book” (in
reality a loose leaf notebook). I don’t know how many of those notebooks
littered every conceivable corner of my room, but most of them were filled from
cover to cover.
Q: What is your
writing process or method?
A: It depends on the book. When I began writing Deceptive
Hearts, Book 1 of the Wild Geese Series, I did extensive research,
plotting and character creation. I had character sheets, timelines, and so on
that I kept in a binder and referred to during the course of writing the book.
With Yesterday’s Promise, it was completely different.
I wanted to write Declan’s story and I came up with the bare bones of the
story. I even had a heroine, Sarah, though I wasn’t completely happy with her.
Then Valerie Stanton burst onto the scene, and I was off and running. No real
plotting, no extensive character sketches, and not much research. But the
characters were very real in my mind, and they willingly told me their story.
And I had an absolutely wonderful time getting to know them!
Q: Can you
share with us “the call” story?
A: Like most writers, I suppose I will always remember
“The Call.” It was July 15, 2006. I’d had some correspondence with my editor
already, so I knew she was interested in In Sunshine or in Shadow (Claddagh
Series, Book 1), but I’d had too many rejections to really get my hopes up
until I signed the contract.
It was a Saturday, and it promised to be a busy one.
Not only was I taking my then-ten-year-old daughter into town to see a touring
production of Cats, but as we were having company that night, I had a thousand
things to do. I woke early, and only checked my e-mail through force of habit.
I think it was about 6 a.m. I opened my inbox, and there it was. “I’d like to
buy your story.”
I think I screamed. I know I cried. Then I flew up two
flights of stairs to tell my husband…and I woke the kids as a result.
The show was great, dinner was delicious (we got
take-out), but all I can remember was saying, over and over again, “They like
me!”
Q: What’s
next for you?
A: I like to have a lot of projects going at the same
time, and right now I have four. At the moment, I’m wrapping up Wishes of the Heart, which I hope to
have on my editor’s desk in the next few days. It’s the seventh book in my
Claddagh Series, historical romances set in Ireland and beyond, and it’s
Cinderella-with-an-Irish-twist.
Once that’s done, it’s time to think about Christmas.
I’m working on a novella that’s a spin-off of My Dark Rose (Wild Geese 3). The
Christmas Mirror shows Nuala Donavan where her heart truly lies. After
that, I’ll write the final full-length novel of the Wild Geese Series, The Carousel, Kieran Donnelly’s story.
And while I’m working on those stories, I’m planning a
new Irish historical fantasy series, The Five Princesses of Glenrath, set on a
mythical island off the Kerry coast which is based on Tir na nOg, the legendary
Land of the Ever Young.
I’ll be giving away a signed copy of
Deceptive Hearts, Book 1 of The Wild Geese Series, to a lucky commenter!
Check out this fantastic and emotional excerpt!
Visit Cynthia online!
Thank you again, Cynthia, for being our special guest today!
USA Today Bestseller and Award-winning author of urban fantasy and medieval historical romantic suspense, Terry Spear also writes true stories for adult and young adult audiences. She’s a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves and has an MBA from Monmouth University. She also creates award-winning teddy bears, Wilde & Woolly Bears, to include personalized bears designed to commemorate authors’ books. When she’s not writing or making bears, she’s teaching online writing courses. Originally from California, she’s lived in eight states and now resides in the heart of Texas. She is the author of Heart of the Wolf (Publishers Weekly's BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR), Destiny of the Wolf, To Tempt the Wolf, Legend of the White Wolf, Seduced by the Wolf, Wolf Fever, Heart of the Highland Wolf, Dreaming of the Wolf, The Highland Wolf in Paradise, Deadly Liaisons (vampire romantic suspense), Winning the Highlander’s Heart, The Accidental Highland Hero, A Ghost of a Chance at Love (Time Travel Western Romance), The Vampire…In My Dreams (young adult), Deidre’s Secret (young adult) and numerous articles and short stories for magazines.
The USA Today bestselling author of award-winning Scottish historical romance. Her favorite pastime is exploring Scotland, and taking photos along the way. She also enjoys creating hot, Highland heroes and spirited lasses to drive them mad. She lives in the mountains of North Carolina where she is crafting another Scottish story. Please visit her website at www.vondasinclair.com
Added
some wind chimes with glass baubles and a blue glass bottle for some
interest. A sparrow jumped on the wind chimes, scared himself and jumped
on the feeder while a house finch watched him. The fairy wind chimes
didn’t scare them off.
These are the copper ones on the other bird feeder.
The frog is protecting the 3 little tomatoes.
And the fairies are watching over the chives.
While
Max is watching over the rose and lavender garden fairy. I’d forgotten
all about my fairies, still waiting to be unpacked and find a home here
too.
