← Living The Next Chapter: Candid Conversations with Authors and Writers for Readers Searching for a New Read
Living The Next Chapter: Candid Conversations with Authors and Writers for Readers Searching for a New Read
E684 - Cyndi Brec - THE THERANS SERIES, hidden truths, the weight of untold legends, and the power of preserving the past while daring to shape the future
00:44:10
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- [00:01]
Cindy
Yeah. And even you bring that up.
- [00:03]
Dave
I.
- [00:05]
Cindy
So those short stories that I shared, I actually have two short stories related to her parents and how her parents. Their origin stories. So many. And so I have asked those questions and stuff like that. So it's funny that you bring that up. But moving forward, I. I don't know. I think I'm always in, like, a. I'm definitely character driven when I write, and I think I always write with a James Scott Bell approach where I know where I'm headed. I don't know the ending, so it's all kind of new, fresh, but definitely encounter things that I didn't think I would know about. Kalli.
- [00:46]
Dave
Welcome back to Living the Next Chapter, the author podcast. We get to meet amazing authors from around the world. I love the show. I get to meet great people all the time, all day. Full of great interviews coming up today. But I'm starting off with the best way possible with Cindy on the show. We're gonna be talking about her journey. I got her website up here. It's beautiful, by the way. We'll have links for you to go check it out. You're gonna love this great author and all this great stories for you. Cindy's on the podcast. Welcome, Cindy, to Living Next Chapter. Glad to have you here.
- [01:15]
Cindy
Hi, Dave. How are you doing?
- [01:16]
Dave
I'm great. I'm. Well, I'm better now because you're here with me. This is a good start to my day. Thank you for making time for us. I appreciate it.
- [01:23]
Cindy
Well, I love to cheer everybody's day up, especially being a goofball.
- [01:27]
Dave
Okay. All goofballs allowed. We. We appreciate that and encourage goofballs at all times. That's good, because that fits with my kind of way of approaching life. So we're in good hands today, Cindy. I love it. Tell everybody. Cindy, where are you? Where do you live?
- [01:41]
Cindy
I actually live in Ohio. The great city. The great area of Ohio. It's. I love Ohio. You got the flat areas, you got the hilly areas, and I'm, like, in the heartland of it all. Like Amish country, everything.
- [01:56]
Dave
Oh, wow.
- [01:57]
Cindy
Oh, yeah, yeah, it's. It's great. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. And I've lived. And I've been to Europe and everything, and I've lived in California, Arizona. I mean, no, Ohio's it.
- [02:11]
Dave
Yeah, My. My wife's family lives in a part of Ontario, Canada, where there's a lot of Amish families. And we've. We've talked to them many times up there where they her family lives nicest people ever. Like, they're just like, so kind. And you wonder, like, how do you survive without all of the technology and stuff? And I'm like, wait a minute. Maybe they're doing something right. You know, in this world of technology and how connected we are, they're just doing their thing. And I'm like, part of me is a little bit jealous of that part of what they do.
- [02:44]
Cindy
I think there's something about the simplicity.
- [02:47]
Dave
Yeah.
- [02:49]
Cindy
In. I don't want to say this. The uninterrupted time, the level of peace that you get.
- [02:57]
Dave
Yes.
- [02:59]
Cindy
In situations like that, you know, it's a different perspective.
- [03:03]
Dave
It really makes you pause. Right. Yeah. We see the buggies going down the side of the road. The horse. My wife loves horses. So we see the horses and everything. You're just like, in Ontario, Canada, the winter's horrible, but they're out there doing their thing. Doesn't matter, you know? And I'm like, that's amazing. Amazing people. So I know they're not listening to this because of technology and everything, but if you do know an Amish person or someone in your community like that, Mennonites and stuff, reach out to their nice people. Just have a conversation with them at the store or something. You'd be like, thrilled to talk to these people. They're really nice and I'm thrilled to have you. Cindy, here. Come on, let's move over to you now. Let's talk a little bit about your journey as an author. How did all this start for you? What was kind of your origin story as an author?
- [03:52]
Cindy
Oh, origin story. It's always hardest to talk about myself. Truthfully, I just had a bug for writing, but I think most of it stemmed from when I was in school and I had this desire to write, but then I had struggles and I had to like, conquer those challenges before I could actually, you know, go after my dream. But life sometimes gets in the way. You know, your blessed to have a marriage that's beautiful and then you get children and then you take care of in laws. And so all this kind of stuff. How do you say, takes a life of its own. And somehow, some way, I was able to carve out space and take classes. I have a great support group of people in a writing guild. And I would take. Take the creative writing classes, take Marjorie Lawson's classes, all these classes that could help me better with my craft, my world building. Because I knew I was a writer that wanted to write something where there's a level of escapism I didn't want to. I wanted to write serious stuff that had a moral compass, but yet at the same time, I wanted to write something that people could escape with. So my journey, I guess, in my origin came from my love of legends, myths, lies, history, and my desire and all of that encompassed together. So. And part of something related to that is we purchased a 200 year old watermill. Yeah. And it was built in 1816. And it's a rare mill because most mills are comprised of one component, whether it's a sawmill, like a Frick sawmill, they cut wood, or the grinding mill. This had five components to it. I mean. I mean, it's impressive. I mean, it's a cider press, sawmill, metal shop, wood shop. I mean, it was a forge, all of this, and it was just there. And my husband. I bought it for a hobby and now somebody else owns it. But I anchored my love, my passion into that historical site. And from there my character, Callie, grew and morphed into something else, you know, and since then, I write my stories now to have a historical element that's real history anchored in real history and everything that's. That's stuff that inspires me. I mean, that's part of my origin story.
- [06:51]
Dave
Okay. When you walk into a mill like that and you just kind of stand in that building, do you, like, look at, like, how is this thing made? How did they do this back then without the technology we have today? Kind of. Let's go back to the Amish again. Like, how did they create this building without, like all the modern, you know, backhoes and cranes and everything we have today? Like you ever stand there and go, wow, like, look at this place.
- [07:17]
Cindy
I have an advantage. I have a husband who's a millwright.
- [07:21]
Dave
And so.
- [07:22]
Cindy
So when he bought the mill, it was actually Keister Watermill. It's owned by now Western Reserve Land Conservancy. When he purchased that water Mill in 2002, I got to see my husband with his father and two other guys, Jeff Kinsey. They worked and made an 18 foot overshot wooden water wheel with 56 buckets, 8 rims, and everything on each side. Massive. It looks like a huge hamster wheel that could fit, well, four or five people inside. I mean, it's impressive, very impressive. But I got to see them use technology that was old. And I mean, I can't name the instruments, but we didn't have electricity and we didn't have money to go buy the modern stuff. Even though we purchased the mill in 1998, I think it was. But in 2002 when they were building the wheel, we didn't have that technology. So I got first hand experience watching my husband sit on, okay, this device, whatever it was, and hand crank and then a drill bit would go down and drill these massive amounts of drill bits because they were pounding in, it was kind of like timber frame kind of approach and stuff. And so no, I got to see that now. Fast forward to today, like as in, like tonight, as in this moment, they're building another water wheel. And the span of time that in the equipment change and how they were able to use what they used back then compared to now, it's like done, you know, and yeah, it's just, you know, we only use what we had available back then, you know, to where now we have more. Yeah. And now we're not owners, but we're. My husband's still building the water. Well, but I love history. I love being on the front end of being a steward of history. And no, it's, it's, it's fascinating.
- [09:28]
Dave
I love history. Yeah, you can go on and on, right? I can see you got more. You got more.
- [09:32]
Cindy
Well, okay, so. So every building, whether it's even just a newly built house, has something that's unique to it. Okay. But this mill, I mean, you've got write ups in historical places about giant bones found in this area of Ohio that's like close to this land that this mill was on. You've got stories of rumors of gold and treasure and generals and military coming through this area. Then you've got, you know, and we're talking 1816. Right. I mean, then you've got history of Indians, of course. Right? Yeah. I mean, this is Ohio. This is rich in history. And it's right here in the, the our backyard. I mean, and yet people don't like look at it, don't like go to it, don't, don't just like realize the, the uniqueness of it. And I mean, I was talking to somebody in Medina last week, which is in another area of Ohio, and there's a house over there that a man and a woman from Seville were, that were giants, you know, I mean, you could even google it and look it up. But they have a whole house that, that was centered around them and stuff that they turned into a museum. Things like that are just fascinating, you know. Absolutely. Like, for me, interesting. I love, I'm boring. I just write these people lived history.
- [11:03]
Dave
Right.
- [11:04]
Cindy
You know, I might have been with my husband, a steward of this mill for 22 years. That's it. But, you know, the unique thing that I did with that mill was craft and create a story that's fictitious around that mill, and it's morphed into a lot more. Because, I mean, I took Legends because, like, okay, so like, if we were. When we were in 2002, my husband was building the water wheel, he would put down a hammer, turn around, go back and do something else. Right. And then he come back and that tool would disappear. No, no joke. There's my son. Many people can even attest to even having done this and experienced it through the years. And so it was always just a running joke. And my family were not into, oh, a ghost or bad or whatever. We're just like, hey, you know, So I took that moment and created a klepto creature. And so this creature likes to steal things, but he's in my book, and he makes for a very rich source, especially when you ultimately find out in the Therin's series that this creature serves a significant purpose in history. You know, I. I crafted everything within the Theron series to move the story forward in a natural progression, but also be so rich, so entertaining and everything. So I don't know. I. I love history.
- [12:40]
Dave
Yeah, you got me with that. I love history, too. And sounds like a very. A very interesting coincidence that those tools go missing so often.
- [12:49]
Cindy
Yeah. They would reappear, though, later.
- [12:51]
Dave
Yeah. Okay. Yeah, yeah. So it happens to my car keys all the time. So I think it's happening here for me, too. I can't find my keys. Sometimes my little.
- [13:00]
Cindy
My little mythical creature is up there.
- [13:02]
Dave
Right, right. Maybe. Maybe. You said something at the beginning, though. You said something about when you first started, you had some struggles to overcome as an author and as a writer. What kind of struggles? Because I have authors listening, and they're struggling, and maybe they're going to hear something from you. They're like, oh, that's what. That's what I'm struggling with right now. Maybe some hope for them. As an author, what were you struggling with early on?
- [13:23]
Cindy
Okay, so I. When I say what I'm going to say, it's not to put anybody down. It's to lift somebody up.
- [13:32]
Dave
Okay.
- [13:33]
Cindy
I struggled because I had. I was. I had an IEP plan. I was in learning disability classes once third grade started, and they figured out I wasn't reading. You know, I had a teacher that took interest in me and said, okay, we're going to. We're going to get you through this. Not, oh, we're just going to pass you on, we're going to sit and we're going to get you through this. So I went through learning disability classes, but it really helped me to get further on in my life because I was able to sit back and realize, okay, so this is the issue I have. And then as a kid, as I grew older, I was like, okay, so if I have that problem, how do I help it? You know? So I learned I had dyslexia. Okay. So everybody has a varying degree, and I think there's different kinds, but with my kind, I learned that I couldn't read if I was very stressed out or like I was the center of attention or anything like that. And I know in order to write as an author, I'm better to succeed at doing my writing in the morning than at night. Now I do write at night, but it depends on how refreshed I am throughout the day and if I have had a relaxing day because I, I'm not one of those that's like, oh, like this. But I, but I spent a lot of time in my office. But dyslexia was the biggest thing. But our life, I think if we could change our perspective about the disability that we have or whatever and flip it and make it a positive thing. I took the time to research, like dyslexia, learn about it, learn how to work with it and not against it. And now I love it. I wouldn't want God to create me any other way than I am because I have learned that, that dyslexia is the reason why I can look at something in my head, close my eyes and write and see things like in a three dimensional film screen, motion.
- [15:42]
Dave
Wow.
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Cindy
And it's, it's unbelievable, you know, and they're snapshots, but, but I could see things working, you know, And I don't know. I, I love it. I don't have an issue. Some people would say it's, it'd be their kryptonite, but for me, it's not.
- [16:03]
Dave
I've had another author on in the past and they have dyslexia as well. They said I, they didn't see it as a disability. They saw it as a different ability.
- [16:11]
Cindy
Yeah, yeah.
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Dave
And I'm like, I like that. I like that. It's, you know, it's worse. Other people might be good at one thing, that author and their. In their context that I'm really good at something different.
- [16:23]
Cindy
Yeah, exactly.
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Dave
I just, I use that as my ability. Right. I'm like, I like that perspective. That's good.
- [16:28]
Cindy
Yeah. It's almost like superpower.
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Dave
Yeah. Yeah. Which something that would be easier for you is going to be difficult for me.
- [16:37]
Cindy
Yeah.
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Dave
Right. So that's something to celebrate. I like that.
- [16:40]
Cindy
Oh, yeah.
- [16:42]
Dave
Good. And I'm nice to hear a teacher that poured into you and worked with you. And I think if there's teachers listening to this, to hear that kind of perspective as you go into your class this week and work with those students who are that need that extra attention and help see the results, you know.
- [16:59]
Cindy
Yeah.
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Dave
Cindy's here. It works, right? So pour into those kids.
- [17:03]
Cindy
Oh, yeah. And you know what an interesting fact was that before I. So I met my teacher, Delane McGee in third grade when she took on helping me. And, and she's always been an inspiration. But later when I met my husband and I wasn't married to him yet, my mother in law was friends with her.
- [17:25]
Dave
Oh, wow.
- [17:27]
Cindy
So you, you talk about life circling back around. Yeah. So it's. That's always keen to be smart, wise and nice because you never know if you're going to meet those people later on. But it was a blessing to have met her, you know, later on in life and stuff like that. Before I married my husband.
- [17:46]
Dave
Okay, let's talk about your, your writing on your website. I'm seeing young adult fantasy, romance, legends, myths and lies. I'm seeing a lot of great stuff here on your website. Talk to me about who you think your ideal reader is for what you're writing so that we can kind of focus our attention on them. We want them to listen for themselves in our conversation and for someone else that's going to love your writings and your books. So who would you say is your ideal reader?
- [18:14]
Cindy
Most people would say that their ideal reader would probably be. Since I write young adult. Young adults. I want to reach more than just the young adults. And this is the reason why I go into libraries all the time and they have closed off rooms that are just young for young adults. But nine times out of 10 I go and I see somebody my age, 30 or whatever in there. You know, it's just, it's open range. There's a book, the Dark Days Pact, by Alison Goodman.
- [18:46]
Dave
Okay.
- [18:47]
Cindy
A lot of people my age love her book. It's not just the kids. Yes, I know. I should know my target audience. I do write for young adults, but I like a little bit of. I like to say that I'm open to targeting more than just one age range. I hope that I could reach out to a lot more readers and stuff like that. Because I think it's more interesting. And that's why I think I have, by the time you grow with my character in, through all three books in this trilogy, that you get to see a level of growth in her and more adult things. Of course, I don't write sex, but there are definite adult issues that have to be handled.
- [19:34]
Dave
Did you set out to write the trilogy from the beginning?
- [19:37]
Cindy
I don't know what I set out to do. I. Seriously, I. One day I was just at the mill, I was goofing around and I had, I thought, come to like actual like vision or whatever you call like a film thing, hit my head and I had character and I just started doodling. And then the next day my husband says, go to this writing group. Go join some group. Then I show up at this group and they're like, hey, that's kind of cool, but you got to do this. Then you got to learn the craft. So fast Forward, you know, 14 years later, I've got these three books written and five short stories written related to the books. And then I'm writing now the college years of this character, same character, Callie. But once I started getting an idea, the more I got to know the fictitious character Callie, and the more I saw my daughter growing up, because my daughter was an inspiration, a solid inspiration for the antics or the issues that would go play in between Gramps and Cali and stuff like that. I, I just, I don't know. I just, I. I just wrote. Started out as a one book dream. And it's worked into a lot more
- [21:05]
Dave
to tell us more about Callie, that main character. What do we need to know about this character?
- [21:09]
Cindy
Callie's got her flaws. That's how a great story develops. But Callie's biggest flaw is she doesn't want anybody to get hurt because she knows for a fact she has suffered significantly with the loss of her parents being brutally murdered. But the downside to that is you can't save everybody, not even from themselves. And then when you're in a world that is soaked in archaeological mystery, we where legends and lies actually are true and they breathe their own essence. This character Callie just can't save everybody. And so you walk through and you get to learn Callie's struggles and stuff like that and who she is. And she's actually very. She's very real. I never painted Callie out to be. One day she's going through a difficult time, and the next day she's at a ball and she's having fun. I didn't do that at the Same time, I didn't want to anchor the reader into being anchored into Cali's head so much that it's just like you couldn't get out of it. I wanted you to experience and feel the reader to experience and feel the lows at the same time. Cheer for those victory moments, too.
- [22:26]
Dave
So, okay, what would you say Callie's greatest strength and greatest flaw is within her character?
- [22:34]
Cindy
I think I gave probably the greatest flaw.
- [22:37]
Dave
Yeah.
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Cindy
That she's more. She cares too much. And that could be. Your antagonist could take advantage of that.
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Dave
Right.
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Cindy
Because everybody around her is a threat or is at risk. What is Callie's greatest strength? She's got a moral compass.
- [22:58]
Dave
Okay.
- [23:00]
Cindy
She tries hard to do what is right and it backfires.
- [23:05]
Dave
Okay.
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Cindy
And I think that's what makes the story even more interesting. You know how much she's a good two shoes. I'll be honest. Not that she's a good. I don't want her to come off that way. No.
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Dave
Yeah.
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Cindy
I mean, she lies. She does things that she shouldn't do.
- [23:22]
Dave
Yeah.
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Cindy
Like cover her butt and stuff like that.
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Dave
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So when we first meet Cali, how old is she? In the beginning part of the story,
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Cindy
in the Theron's Secrets beneath scars, she's 16.
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Dave
16, okay. So we're going to follow her all the way into college years.
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Cindy
She said that? Yes. High school years are predominantly in the trilogy.
- [23:44]
Dave
Okay.
- [23:45]
Cindy
And the trilogy is also a dual world trilogy. So you have two civilizations within the trilogy, and they do. They are very cohesive together. So that's. I think that's probably one of the biggest strong suits outside how well it's written and the history behind it. Because even in the other books, there is a historical site that I've worked and studied and stuff and written to incorporate in the series to make it that much more richer. I mean, you could go. You could come to Worcester, Ohio, and sit at the restaurant Callie's. Of course, she's delicious. And you could go to the restaurant and have pizza where she likes to hang out. Or you could go to the mill the same way with, like, when I used other countries, Italy, Egypt, that kind of stuff. You could go to some of those historical sites and go there, too.
- [24:50]
Dave
So it's kind of somewhere. Yeah.
- [24:53]
Cindy
Unique.
- [24:54]
Dave
So if somebody's been to or has lived in Ohio picking up your books, they're going to be like, oh, I know where that is. I. I know where that place may be. Right.
- [25:02]
Cindy
They should. Most definitely.
- [25:04]
Dave
Okay. All right.
- [25:05]
Cindy
Yeah. I love the fact I met her Name's Joey. I'll just give her a first name. She. She was an inspiration. Last week I met her, and she was like, boy, if I could influence you to write something about our little town and add it to it. And I'm just like, I think I could fit that in there.
- [25:27]
Dave
Requests now.
- [25:28]
Cindy
Yes. Yes. So I started Callie's freshman year right now, and I truly. I'm not a marketer. I'm not great at marketing. I'm very enthusiastic. I'm very passionate about my book series, and I. And I hope it picks up a lot more readership. But going the indie route has been a struggle because on the traditional route, which I was on, you had somebody that would have been there behind you to do some of the marketing aspects and things that I don't know. So it's definitely a learning curve on all aspects for me, and I'd love to be behind the desk more writing than administrative marketing aspect.
- [26:13]
Dave
Well, you're doing great marketing right now. We get to hear from you. We get to learn about the story.
- [26:18]
Cindy
I'm great for your podcast, right? Yes.
- [26:21]
Dave
This is a good. It's a good step. Do you do a lot of podcasts as a guest?
- [26:26]
Cindy
I do some. Yeah. I. I don't know exactly how many I've done. I probably. I'd like to say maybe 20, 25. Yeah, maybe. But that's been over, like, three or four years. I'd say that's good.
- [26:39]
Dave
That's. That's really. That's good. That's robust. I think the idea that we can hear from the authors takes away some of the mystery. When you see a book on a shelf or on a website, you're like, I don't know. Is this for me? Who is this for? Will I like it? Will my friend like it if I recommend it?
- [26:55]
Cindy
Yeah.
- [26:55]
Dave
But then hearing the author come on and talk like you have about the behind the scenes of the story and our character, you know, we're like, oh, I know who Callie is now. I have an appreciation before I even get the book in my hand. At least I have a starting point, right?
- [27:08]
Cindy
Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think it's important, and you guys do a great job at helping give a voice to authors and stuff like that, and it's definitely appreciated.
- [27:18]
Dave
Yeah, it's fun. It's. We. We have so many great stories on here, and it's. It's nice to see an author's journey as well. So when I have an author come on, maybe they write their first book, then a couple years later, they're like, hey, can I come back? I have a new book. Yeah, come back, because then we get to hear from you and follow your journey and see what you're doing next.
- [27:36]
Cindy
I'll sign up for that.
- [27:37]
Dave
Right? Yeah. So that's why we have Living. The Next Chapter is the name. We want to hear what your next chapter is. Right. At all times. So that's really great. What do you not know about Cali? That what you would find interesting or curious. You. You created this character, but there must be something. Even your closest friend. You don't know everything about them. Is there something about Cali that you'd be, like, really interested if you had a chance to sit at that pizza shop together and share a slice? There was a question you'd have for her.
- [28:04]
Cindy
So the question is, what do I not know about Kat?
- [28:07]
Dave
Yeah, you're curious about her character, who she is, her backstory, any of that.
- [28:12]
Cindy
I think I uncover pieces of her bit by bit.
- [28:16]
Dave
Yeah.
- [28:17]
Cindy
I know I will never uncover, like, what would go beyond the bedroom door as a fictitious character. But what don't I know about Callie? I don't know. I think when I write her, I think I will encounter at that time. I'm sure there's going to be something that's going to, like, I'm working on a scene where a flashback's going to happen, not opening up the scene, but to a dangerous moment of when she was there when her parents were murdered. And it's going to relate to the moment, the crisis she's in now. And so I don't know how she's going to handle that one.
- [29:04]
Dave
Okay, so. But interesting.
- [29:07]
Cindy
That's a definite, interesting question. Not one that I either.
- [29:11]
Dave
There you go. Because the reason I asked that is because it might open the door and has actually happened on the show where we asked something similar to that to a guest. And they're like, I gotta go. Right. Like, I got. I need to go right now because. Yeah, I have never thought of that. The reason I asked that, because maybe there's something from her story, like maybe her favorite toy growing up. And what's the significance of the toy? Oh, that came from my grandmother. Oh, we haven't talked about your grandmother yet. Well, who's the grandmother? Oh, that's my mom's mom. Okay, let's talk more about that. And now you're like, you're on a different path now that maybe we haven't talked about for her yet.
- [29:49]
Cindy
Yeah. And even you bring that up. I. So those short stories that I Shared. I actually have two short stories related to her parents and how her parents. Their origin stories. Yeah, so many. And so I have asked those questions and stuff like that. So it's funny that you bring that up. But moving forward, I don't know. I think I'm always in, like, a. I'm definitely character driven when I write, and I think I always write with a James Scott Bell approach where I know where I'm headed. I don't know the ending.
- [30:25]
Dave
Yeah.
- [30:26]
Cindy
So it's all kind of new, fresh, but definitely encounter things that I didn't think I would know about. Callie.
- [30:33]
Dave
Yeah. I have one author on, and they said they did so much background work on their main character. They had pages and pages and pages. Most of it never went into the book. But they had to kind of get this. This view of this character before they started writing the story. And they chased, like, they did, like, the whole family tree, and they did all this background, and this led to this, which led to that. And they had all that information, and then they set it aside, and then they started writing. It's like they knew their character inside and out. Right. So they didn't have any surprises as they were writing. And I'm like, that's very interesting.
- [31:07]
Cindy
It. It is very interesting. I had things down to. Even the diagrams of the school she went to.
- [31:12]
Dave
Oh, there you go. Well, exactly.
- [31:14]
Cindy
I didn't. Yeah, I had the tree written, but I knew when I was writing Cali that I. That I was going to uncover pieces of her as I moved forward. And then it was making sure that I put them and wrote them in what I call my Bible, you know, free Bible, that I filled those pieces in there like, okay, so this one's going to have this power and then learn that they're gonna do with this, you know, and this legend's going to have to affect this area. And especially when you're making sure that all three books are cohesive and you've got two lost civilizations, Right. You. You. You've got to make sure a lot's done. So. Yes, I agree. There's a lot of back research on your character. And I think the more that you do the back research, it makes so much easier to moving forward. I used to be a pantser, which means that you write by the CD of your pants. I will. I will never be a outliner, a plotter. A friend of mine. I sat one time with this author friend of mine, and he had everything so plotted out that it was, like, magnificent. 100 pages easily to where all he had to do is go in and kind of like fill in the narrative part and it. It just expanded to the 300 pages, whereas I don't have that. But I'm a pantser by design, as I call it, so.
- [32:44]
Dave
Yeah. So that depth of character for Callie, actually, you, Cindy, are a great example of this. You started off the conversation talking about your teacher in grade three and that later on in life you came across her again.
- [32:56]
Cindy
Yeah.
- [32:57]
Dave
So if you. If the story was about you and you're the main character to know that story of a grade three teacher who worked with you and then you met later on in life, that's information, background information that formed you and brought you to today. Right. So you kind of have to do that kind of research on your character to have that storyline, because that character might show up later in life and without reference, point back to her in grade three. Oh, yeah, it doesn't. The story doesn't have as much of a kick.
- [33:27]
Cindy
Yeah.
- [33:27]
Dave
When you meet that woman later on in life. Right.
- [33:29]
Cindy
Oh, yeah.
- [33:30]
Dave
Yeah, I like that.
- [33:31]
Cindy
Definitely. Oh, and I. And I like how you associated the similarities to both. I mean, I didn't even look at it like that, but yeah, you're right. You're right. I. One thing that is happening now that I really like, that brings a sense of realness into the characters is that even fourth wing, the author, Rebecca Yaros, she brought in her disability, or. I don't think it was a disability, it was something that she had an illness or something, but that she brought that personal bit into her character's life. And I think that kind of makes a richer character when the character doesn't have. Isn't perfect, isn't like, starts off as the main person that's like out there to jump in and has. Is pro this, pro that can conquer this and do this. When you have a character like my character Callie, she's dyslexic. That is something that is a piece of me that I threw in with a mixture of my daughter and all this kind of stuff to, you know, create this character Callie that's taken on a life of her own. I think that just brings so much more realness to the fantasy book that has been written and that readers will read. And I think readers thrive on reading stuff that's more engaging, that's more relevant to their real life that they could touch and stuff and then yet it still has the. The. The element of the fantasy. And that's what I like about the Theron series. It's like anchored in reality, in the aspect of historical realism, you know, or some people would say magical realism. But I say historic realism because you've got, it's current modern times. Right. But it's like a world hidden in a world, you know, and it just adds that mystery element to it. And I, I thrive off of writing mystery and stuff.
- [35:42]
Dave
You seem very proud of your books. When I hear you talk, you seem very proud, which you deserve to be proud.
- [35:47]
Cindy
Yeah, I'm pleased. I'm very, I like to reread the book because I always find something new that wow, okay. Yeah. But then book one might spur me off on another tangent on apologies. But yes, I, I, I am very, very grateful and pleased book.
- [36:09]
Dave
So it's good so for, for the readers as they're listening to us today. Sydney, let's talk about your website and we're gonna have a link to it so people can come and see you as well. But what are we gonna see on your website? And then I do have one more question here at the end as we wrap up here. But take us through the website and what can we see? I see a subscribe button on your website. Can you tell us more?
- [36:31]
Cindy
Okay, so. Well, the first thing is if it's gonna have the title it's gonna have you know, me at the top. But the biggest thing is when you scroll all the way down, you mentioned at the bottom there's a link there Legends Miss and lies newsletter. So I kind of give up to date stuff things that I do in that newsletter and usually that's the first spot outside my private Facebook group that I will spill the secrets. I mean and I've got a really nice following and I'm very grateful for the following also you'll see that I co podcast with a gentleman from P. English Literature and I am just a fun sidekick. He does all the work. I just, I just am add there to draw the best banter and lift up that author. But as far as the website, I think the thing that I'm very grateful for is the fact that when I was underneath Jonas Salt as my agent and you could see that I would, he never discouraged me. He always encouraged me. And so when he was pitching to publishers in Hollywood, I took the time to get endorsements and I've got a few endorsements, notable authors and even teen magazine and I'm very thankful for them. I mean I jokingly put up their endorsed by authors backed by legends. So it's just, it's just a fun, I don't know, I'm Corny. I might as well just say it. I am corny.
- [38:29]
Dave
I love it. I love it. And you got to tell me a little bit about the covers, because when I look at, like, the. The trilogy, the beautiful covers for these books, what's the story behind that? Come on.
- [38:40]
Cindy
Okay. So the story behind this book, Callie, is She actually has. She can see tomorrow. She can see the future, but it always brings danger. She doesn't know how to deal with it. So. So when you think about sight.
- [38:57]
Dave
Yeah.
- [38:58]
Cindy
Her eyes, that's.
- [39:00]
Dave
They're piercing.
- [39:01]
Cindy
Yes. And I wanted them to be real. And I've had some people say that kind of looks like a horror book. No, she has visions, so sight. You know, a seer. So that's why her eyes are there. And the significance of it, when you read the book and you see the blue eyes, that's very significant there. And then I went with Myst because Mist just has a very compelling, you know.
- [39:30]
Dave
Oh.
- [39:31]
Cindy
Mystery to it. So that's the big thing. But I would say the big thing about this book is out of the 450 pages, it's like a mythical quest, but with romance, you know, discovering your origins. And that's the emphasis of the book cover. It's her discovering who she is. And that's her. That's Cali. You know, those blue eyes. And trying to see and discover who she is. What she is.
- [40:03]
Dave
Yeah.
- [40:04]
Cindy
And how she fits into this world of the. The. So I like it. Yep.
- [40:11]
Dave
Great.
- [40:11]
Cindy
So excellent.
- [40:12]
Dave
I love it. Cindy, like I said, the podcast, Living the Next Chapter. Gotta ask, what's coming up down the road for you as an author? What can we look forward to in the future? What's coming up?
- [40:25]
Cindy
Okay. The Therons legends never die. It comes out May. I'm. I have some pressure on me to release it sooner, but I. I'm building a house, and my daughter's getting married, so I'm like. I've got a lot on my plate, so it's already written, but it's, as of scheduled now to be released in May of next year. And I might be releasing two books next year or. Because, like, I have them written or. But definitely one book next year and the one after probably shortly thereafter.
- [41:02]
Dave
Okay.
- [41:03]
Cindy
So book three, because I'd like the trilogy to be out real soon because I'm. Like I said, I'm rating her freshman year of college, so I'd like to keep these coming out.
- [41:12]
Dave
Nice. So will you keep us in mind and come back?
- [41:16]
Cindy
Are you gonna have me back?
- [41:17]
Dave
I would have you back in A heartbeat. Of course, yes. I'd love to have you back.
- [41:24]
Cindy
I'll be back.
- [41:25]
Dave
Okay.
- [41:25]
Cindy
All right.
- [41:25]
Dave
Okay. I got nervous there.
- [41:28]
Cindy
Don't get too nervous. Don't get too nervous. Seriously now. I would love to, and I'd be honored to come back if you don't mind a goofball being on your set.
- [41:35]
Dave
I'm definitely love having you here, Cindy. It's really, really good. Excellent. Thank you so much, Cindy, for being on the show. Congratulations on so many great books. We'll have links to everything we've chatted about today so people could come and follow you and your journey. And I'm encouraging everyone when you buy Cindy's books, not if, but when, that you leave a great review for each of the books so Cindy can see exactly what resonated with you, what you loved about the story, the character. And your detailed review helps other people fall in love with Cindy's books as well. So you can really help Cindy sell more books. Be good with your reviews.
- [42:12]
Cindy
Oh, and I appreciate that, but even if they want to reach out to me on my website, I leave an email there that people can reach out to me so I'm easily approachable.
- [42:22]
Dave
And all your socials are on your website too, so we can come follow you there as well. There's lots of great information on your
- [42:27]
Cindy
site, so thank you. Thank you. I appreciate it.
- [42:30]
Dave
If you want to see those gorgeous blue eyes for Cali on the COVID of the book, go check out the book cover as well on on Cindy's website. Cindy, thank you so much for being
- [42:38]
Cindy
on the show, and thank you. And they could check out the new book trailer that I created. I hope I did that right.
- [42:44]
Dave
All right. Lots of stuff to see. That's great. Thank you, Cindy, so much.
- [42:47]
Cindy
Thank you, Dave. I appreciate your time and all your effort.
- [42:54]
Dave
Hey, thank you so much again for pressing play. As you've heard, great guests on the. And one thing you didn't hear in this conversation is what? What did you not hear? Think about it for a second. That's right. Not a single solitary commercial for a mattress or a supplement or whatever you call it. No. Why? Because we don't want to break up the conversation with commercials. So the fact that you're still here means that you are a fan of the show, I'm assuming. So if you want to help to keep the podcast going and to make me feel really happy, all I really care about is coffee. Okay. I've just got to be honest. I love coffee. I'm drinking one right now. Starting to get cold. I need to warm it up. Helping us with our Buy me a coffee link over at living the next chapter.com and also in the show notes helps kind of keep the lights on around here. Remember, I'm doing this for free. I. I'm paying for everything, so I would love to have a little coffee donation. You know, even five bucks kind of fills up my cup. And I would love to enjoy a coffee from you. So if you're interested. Again, thank you for listening, but you can use our Buy me a coffee link and fill up the cup. Thanks for being here.