Interview with Cindi Myers

Hi everyone!  I have Cindi Myers with me today so lets all give her a big Coffee Time Romance welcome.   Hi Cindi, I am so glad you could be here with us to tell us about your new book A Soldier Comes Home.  Let me just say that this is one great story.

Thank you for having me!

First, why don’t you tell us a little about yourself and how you began your writing career.

I decided when I was about 9 years old that I wanted to be a writer. My parents were worried I couldn’t make a living as a writer, so in college I studied economics. While I was still in college, I began writing for a local newspaper. They offered me a full-time job when I graduated, so I forgot all about going to work in a bank and became a journalist. I did that and a number of other odd jobs over the years, then decided to get serious about my writing. I wrote 10 complete manuscripts and collected a trunk full of rejection slips before I finally sold my first book in 1997.  I’ve now sold somewhere around 37 books.

Congratulations on the upcoming release of A Soldier Comes Home from Harlequin.  What made you decide to write this story?

This book evolved from a collection of newspaper articles I had about our soldiers in Iraq. One set of articles was about soldiers who got ‘Dear John’ letters from wives and girlfriends while they were overseas. I thought this was so sad and the romantic in me wanted to give them all happy endings! The other set of articles was about Native American soldiers from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota and that gave me my subplot. From there my imagination took over .

Would you mind telling us a little about the story itself?  Who the characters are and what they do.

A Soldier Comes Home is the story of a soldier, Ray, who comes home from a tour of duty in Iraq and discovers his wife has left him and their three-year old boy. He’s trying to pick up the pieces of his life and raise a son he hardly knows when he meets Chrissie, the young widow who lives next door. Having been hurt by his first wife, Ray has a hard time trusting Chrissie. Chrissie lost her husband early in the war and though she’s attracted to Ray, she doesn’t know if she can risk loving a soldier again. They have to find a way to let love heal their past hurts.

Was it tough for you to write this story?  Do you have family members who are in the military?

I do not have any family in the military, though I have the utmost respect and admiration for those who do serve and their families. This was an emotional book to write, but rewarding.

You have written quite a number of books for Harlequin, which one was the easiest to write and which one would you say was the hardest?

I think every book has hard parts and easy parts. It’s sort of like having a baby — once the book is done you forget the hard stuff and focus on the good.

Do you have any other books that are soon to be released?
I have a lot of exciting things coming up — In September and October 2008, look for two Blaze titles — At Her Pleasure and Her Secret Treasure. Both books are deal with the search for, and recovery of, shipwrecked treasure from an infamous female pirate, Passionata. Both take place in the Caribbean, on deserted Passionata’s Island, once the stronghold of the Pirate Queen. They’re fun, sexy reads.

In December, I have another Superromance, A Man to Rely On, about a woman who returns to her hometown after a sensational trial in which she was acquitted of murdering her basketball superstar husband. She runs into an old friend who’s trying to put his life back together after a few missteps. The attraction is instantaneous, but each is wary of repeating past mistakes.

Where can our readers find you around the web?  Do you have a blog?

My website. I hope readers will check it out. There’s a lot of fun stuff there. I blog at a lot of places, but most regularly at Deadline Hellions and Romancing the Yarn

Do you plan on attending any conventions this year or do you have any book signings coming up?

I’ll be at the RWA National Convention in San Francisco at the end of July and at the Rocky Mountain Gold conference September 12-14

What is your ideal romantic weekend getaway?
A weekend at a B&B in the mountains, with lots of hiking, good food and soaking in the hot springs.

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

I have a couple of fun freebies related to A Soldier Come Home that I hope people will check out. They can view the video for the book and Harlequin has a free novella related to the book available in installments that runs from May 27- June 22

Cindi, I would like to thank you again for writing such a wonderful story.  Thank you for honoring our many military men, women and their families with this book.  Thank you for joining us here at Coffee Time Romance & More and allowing us to get to know you better.

Thank you!