PPWC 2014 Q&A - Cindi Myers

Cindi Myers, Author

1. What was the defining moment that made your realize you wanted to be an author?

When I was about 9, I read all the "Little House" books by Laura Ingalls Wilder and decided that telling stories for a living had to be the best job in the world. I began writing my own stories then and never stopped.

2. What is the one thing you cannot work without? What is your creative vice?

I really don't have anything. I will write anywhere, although I prefer peace and quiet to chaos.

3. If you could 'revive' any literary figure from the past for a one hour conversation, who would you choose?

Georgette Heyer -- she wrote romance, mystery and historical fiction -- she was very prolific and a gifted writer. I think she'd be fascinating to talk with.

4. What is one of your more notable or unusual conference or convention experiences?

In 2011 I attended the Romance Writers of America convention after I'd been dumped by my publisher. I had a manuscript that a dozen agents had told me wouldn't sell. I pitched the manuscript to two publishers at the conference and had offers from both publishers within three days of returning home.

5. If we asked your friends and family to compare you to a cartoon character, which would they choose, and why?

Rose from "Rose is Rose." She's a very ordinary woman who has an alter-ego who is a motorcycle riding, tattooed wild woman. That's me -- the introvert with the wilder side I keep hidden.

6. What is one thing would you like aspiring authors to know about the road to success?

There are a lot of things about the writing business that you cannot control, so try to focus on the things you can control -- the story, the writing, remembering why you wanted to be a writer in the first place. Focus on those things and you will be a lot happier.

About the Author: Cindi Myers became one of the most popular people in eighth grade when she and her best friend wrote a torrid historical romance and passed the manuscript around among friends. Fame was short-lived, alas; the English teacher confiscated the manuscript and suggested they should spend more time brushing up on grammar and spelling. Since then, Cindi has written more than 50 published novels. She is a New York Time and USA Today Bestselling Author.  Her 2012 release, The View From Here, won the Colorado Book Award for genre fiction. Her most recent release is The Mountain Between Us.