Interview with author Cynthia Woolf

              

Today I’m interviewing Cynthia Woolf.  Her book, Centauri Midnight is a sci-fi romance and was released on January 9, 2012

Please tell my readers a little bit about your book.  

Centauri Midnight takes place on the planet Gregara.  My heroine and hero have tracked a murderer to the planet and are determined to take him back to Centauri for trial.

Nice! I like suspense, far away planets, and romance! Describe the genre of this particular title, and is the only genre you write in?  
This is a sci-fi romance or space opera.  I also write western romances set in 1880’s Colorado.

Sci-fi AND westerns? You must have quite the imagination, which a great writer needs IMHO. When did you start writing toward publication?  
I’ve been writing for years.  I started my western, Tame A Wild Heart, in 1990.  After several rejections from publishers over the years, I decided to publish it on my own.  It has become my best seller.  I guess the big publishers in New York don’t know everything, huh?

I can attest to that. My own jump into self-publishing has given my readers Dragon In The Mist and Southern Fried Dragon. Why have you become a published author?   
I became a published author because I love to write.  Now I hate to edit, but the initial writing stage, “the puking phase” where you just write and get it all out, is the part that I love.  I know sounds disgusting but I believe that Nora Roberts was the first one I heard use that phrase and it is so descriptive of what actually happens when you write the first draft.

I love Nora. At a conference I heard her say something like ‘Get your butt in the chair and write.’ Our local RWA chapter has ‘Book In a Week’ where participants throw garbage at the screen to rack up pages and worry about edits later. Very freeing. After your edits are complete and your book is out, what sort of promo do you do? Do you have help?

For promo, I tweet, facebook and blog.  I think that blogging is the biggest helper and provides the steadiest flow of sales.  I don’t have any help, I haven’t paid to go on a blog tour although I might do that in the future.  Setting up your own blog tour takes a lot of time and effort as you well know.

I hear you. Writing guest posts and interviews can take time, but blogging on other blogs really helps (which is why you are here, today!) I mentioned I am a member of Romance Writers of America. Are you a member of any writing organizations and, if so, have they helped?

I am a member of RWA and Colorado Romance Writers.  CRW has been very helpful.  Their classes and mentoring attitude have taught me the process of writing and allowed my creative spirit to soar above all my expectations.  I don’t think I’d be published now if not for CRW.  I belong to RWA because I need to in order to belong to CRW.

Will you share some encouraging words for authors still struggling for that first contract? 
Don’t wait for the public to come to you.  Publishers are becoming less and less likely to publish new authors because of the self publishing phenomenon.  Take advantage of this and publish yourself.  Make sure that you have a good product.  Get a professional cover, have your book edited and put the best product out there that you can and then promote, promote, promote.  Find your readers.

Cynthia Woolf, author

BOOK BLURB
Kitari ‘Kiti’ Dolana wants justice for her murdered brother. She’s trailed the man responsible to a distant planet where swords outmaneuver blasters.

Garrick Marcus, Spaceship Captain, is on a mission to hunt down a ruthless killer. The same man Kiti is after.

But Kiti and Garrick discover an explosive attraction that makes it hard to keep their minds on their goals.  As they try to bring down the killer, they find that love and vengeance are a volatile mix.

A little bit about the author

Cynthia Woolf was born in Denver, Colorado and raised in the mountains west of Golden.  She spent her early years running wild around the mountainside with her friends.

Their closest neighbor was one quarter of a mile away, so her little brother was her playmate and her best friend.  That fierce friendship lasted until his death in 2006.

Cynthia was and is an avid reader.  Her mother was a librarian and brought new books home each week.  This is where young Cynthia first got the storytelling bug.  She wrote her first story at the age of ten.  A romance about a little boy she liked at the time.

She worked her way through college and went to work full time straight after graduation and there was little time to write.  Then in 1990 she and two friends started a round robin writing a story about pirates.  She found that she missed the writing and kept on with other stories.  In 1992 she joined Colorado Romance Writers and Romance Writers of America.  Unfortunately, the loss of her job demanded the she not renew her memberships and her writing stagnated for many years.

In 2000, she saw an ad in the paper for a writers conference being put on by CRW and decided she'd attend.  One of her favorite authors, Catherine Coulter, was the keynote speaker.  Cynthia was lucky enough to have a seat at Ms. Coulter's table at the luncheon and after talking with her, decided she needed to get back to her writing.  She rejoined both CRW and RWA that day and hasn't looked back.

Cynthia credits her wonderfully supportive husband Jim and the great friends she's made at CRW for saving her sanity and allowing her to explore her creativity.

Thanks for stopping by today. How can my readers buy your book?  
Readers can go to Amazon or go to Barnes &Noble

You can find more information about Cynthia Woolf and her book, Centauri Midnight by visiting her WEBSITE or her BLOG

Nancy Lee