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Thursday, October 30, 2014

It is a pleasure to welcome fellow Solstice Publishing author, Cynthia Ley with her new release, Creeps and Creepers. This book is free from 10/30 - 11/2/14, just in time for Halloween! 


Feature: My Story…As a Writer
Cynthia Ley


1. When did you first become interested in writing?
            I’ve always loved to write, but was scared off of fiction writing for a long, long time. Too many creative writing classes where the second half of the assignment was to read our work aloud in class. I was painfully shy back then and could not imagine a more terrible fate. Sharing something that comes from your imagination can be pretty terrifying. So for a long time, I poured my love of writing into research work.

2. What is your latest release? Tell me something about your book.
            My latest release, in time for Hallowe’en, is a collection of tales entitled Creeps & Creepers: Three Eerie Tales. The blurb is: “Grabby floors, grabby dates, grabby places. All with very different motives.”  In other words, some funny, some eerie, and some just plain strange.

3. Are you currently writing another book ?
            Yes. It has an historical basis, and is along the lines of a chiller.

4. How do you fit writing into your life? Is there a time that you prefer to write?
            Not really. I scribble down ideas as they hit me, and write stories when the Muse tells me to. Sometimes that’s 2am. Sometimes it’s in the shower.  Once time she got me in the parking lot at Costco. Then again, Muses aren’t particularly time-sensitive!
            I rarely just sit down and write a story from start to finish in the sense of idea-fruition. I usually write down ideas and give them whatever amount of time they need to percolate. Then the story writes itself.

5. Can you give me a teaser from one of your books?
            You bet! These are from Creeps & Creepers: Three Eerie Tales.

From Benefits:
            Back in the day, there were a lot more problem places around here. That’s what happens when you build over a shady part of town. I put a stop to a lot of that nonsense. I’ll tell you, when that development of Forest Glade was finally finished and folks moved in, my phone was ringing so much I had to turn it to vibrate just to get some sleep. One house in particular.

From Rinse, Repeat:
            Six AM. Selene awoke to another grey day. The glory days of autumn were definitely over. Now the earth and sky merged together in the November fog. There was no telling where one set one’s foot, once outside.
            At least she had gone to sleep wearing her fuzzy bathrobe. That helped with the comfort level, at least. The tie had come loose. She retrieved it and wrapped her robe closed, snugging the tie around her waist. Much better, she thought.

From She Who Commands:
            The first time she asked him to come over, he found her house, just barely. There was no yard to speak of. What grass there was had been overrun by weeds. What was once a handsome hedgerow lining the property had gone to seed, and now parts of it threatened to consume the house itself. The old tree in the front yard overhung the front door. He was reminded of a big cat in mid-pounce.
            It made him really uncomfortable. Don’t be an idiot—it’s just a tree. Even if it felt predatory.
           



6. If you had the chance to begin the writing process over again is there anything that you would have done differently?
            Maybe start doing it sooner, but maybe not. I think it was very much a “right time-right place” kind of thing. Life experience counted for me!

7. Lastly, what advice would you give aspiring writers?
            Keep at it. Don’t be blinded by your own ego. Writing is a profoundly personal act and letting your work loose in the world can make you a little nuts, if you let it. Be open to critiquing. Be learning. Keep practicing. Keep submitting. Be professional and polite.
            And give the independent publishers (aka “indies”) a chance (like Solstice, for instance). I was thrilled to have found Solstice—the staff and authors are amazingly supportive and forthcoming with help and advice. My kind of place! :-D
            If your manuscript is accepted by a publisher, don’t go all starry-eyed over the thought of raking in the dough hand over fist. It very rarely works that way. Reputations take time, and WORK, to build. An author friend of mine recently got his first royalty check, and showed me what he spent it on, at least in part—a tall cup of expresso. Ah, the sweet smell of success! J



OTHER BOOKS:     Perfect & Other Stories (Amazon bestseller)
                                    Tales of a Twisted World

Both of these are shorts (under 100 pages), and, like Creeps & Creepers, are e-book format only, available through Amazon. Short stories are great for those who find themselves reading on the fly, or want that one last tale before sleep.







SOCIAL MEDIA

Blog: www.authorcjl.wordpress.com   I mainly talk about writing. One fun part for readers is all the author interviews. You can learn a lot from other peoples’ experiences!


Twitter: @CynthiaLey2





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