Bio
 Okay. This is the part where you learn something about me and about my writing. So, kick back, take yours shoes off - I did – and get comfortable. This could take a while – but I’ll try to make it as painless as possible.
In the ABOUT ME, department, I’m a born and raised Midwesterner and love living on our acreage in rural Iowa. My husband, Tom, raises quarter horses and we have two very spoiled dogs, Ellie, an English Pointer and Boomer, a Brittany Spaniel. Both take exception to eating off the floor. We spend as much time as possible at our cabin in Northern Minnesota in the summer where we love to entertain family and friends. Our cabin is on a beautiful, glacial lake with breathtaking scenery and good fishing. And I LOVE to fish – yeah, I even bait my own hook. Yuck.
We are also doting, adoring grandparents of little Kayla and her brand new brother Blake. I’m an amateur potter (when I can find the time), I love music and love to keep fit by walking and exercising. I had the ‘walk’ of a lifetime when I hiked the Grand Canyon with friends in March of 2004 but I’ve got to tell you, when I stood at the top and looked down, I definitely had a “What am I thinking?” moment.
(Click here to see my photos).
Family comes first for me, always. But, there are bills to pay and my writing income contributes to the budget. For that reason, I treat my writing as a job. A typical weekday for me is getting up between 6:30 and 7:00, settling in to write shortly after and working until 4:30 or 5:30 and sometimes later, depending on whether or not a deadline is looming. If I take a day off during the week to play, then I will make it up by writing on Saturday or Sunday that week. That said, I generally plan my contract deadlines around family plans and vacations.
In the ABOUT MY WRITING department, I would suspect that my story about getting published is similar to many other writers. I have always been and still am an avid reader. Books are so magical … one day I realized I wanted to create a little magic of my own and started writing my great American novel. Of course it wasn’t all that great but the writing experience was exciting enough that I wanted to keep trying and improving.
That first book was like a teething ring. I chewed on it over and over again and submitted it over and over again receiving a lot of positive feedback but rejections, just the same. I learned a lot writing that book. The second one also made the rounds and I came very close to selling it, but, I received that much awaited “I want to buy your book” call on my third manuscript and sold to Bantam’s Loveswept line. I wrote seven books for them and then contracted with Silhouette Desire. Now, with almost thirty category romances under my belt, I’m branching out into single title romantic suspense for St. Martins Press. And I’m loving the new freedoms and format!
(Click here to read more about THE
BODYGUARDS).
Whether I’m speaking to a group or simply visiting with a reader, my most often asked question is:
Where do you get your ideas? The truth is, I don’t always know. I realize that sounds strange but there it is. Sometimes a song will prompt a story. Sometimes a photograph or a scene in a movie. Most often, it’s the characters who first appear to me and once I know who they are, their story unfolds.
Since selling that first book, it’s been full speed ahead ever since and every day remains a learning experience. I hope that never changes!
Best,
Cindy
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