Today, I bring you an interview with romance author Cindy Dorminy. Cindy is a member of Romance Writers of America and Music City Romance Writers. Who doesn't want a bit of love in their life. So, lets find out more.
Tell me about yourself
I was born in a very small town in Texas, but raised in a suburb of Atlanta. I moved to Nashville in the late 90s with my husband (music business – shocker) and have called that home ever since. I have one daughter who is at UT in Knoxville and one fur-baby who rules the roost. My day job is a research coordinator for a major university medical center. Besides writing, I love to work out (the old fashion iron slinging), walk my dog, and garden.
How long have you been writing?
I got the idea for my first story after doing family tree research. That was in the early 90s. After I had my daughter, I paused my writing because life just got too busy. When she was in middle school, I picked it back up. My first YA novel, Tuned Into You, was published by a small press in 2016. This is my second YA to be published, but in between 2016 and 2022, I published five adult romances, with another one ready for publication, hopefully in the fall.
What inspired you to write your chosen genre?
I love everything about romance novels, but YA is just so much fun to write. Even though most YA right now is deep into the fantasy world, I still think there is a place for realistic, quieter novels. I know those are the ones I gravitate toward as a reader. For my adult romances, I do ‘fade to black’ (no sex on the page) and I think that works well with also writing YA. No need for a pen name to keep audiences clear on the ‘heat’ level.
What do you enjoy about writing your chosen genre?
Romances in general are just so satisfying to write and read. We know the couple will get together in the end (otherwise, it isn’t a romance novel), but the ‘how’ is the fun part. Playing ‘what if’ is just so much fun. I once had a writing mentor who gave me some good advice: chase your character up a tree, then throw apples at them. Don’t make it easy on the character. My first draft is usually making it way to easy for my characters to get what they want, but there is always draft 2 and 3 and…
For YA, the teenage angst is what draws me in. It’s the normal stuff that all teens go through and it never goes out of style.
I love the titles of your books ‘In a Jam’ and ‘In a Pickle’ Can you tell me about them.
Thanks! I love the titles too. The ‘Jam’ books are adult romances / rom-coms set in a rural fictional town in Georgia. In a Jam is a fish out of water story about a girl from the north who has to move to this small town in order to win her grandmother’s lottery winnings. Of course, she falls in love with the town, the people (even the biddies who have a blog), and mostly with the hunky policeman.
'In a Pickle' is a second chance romance about old flames, Regina and Clint. She is engaged to be married to another man and he needs to sweeten his reputation, or his major league baseball contract might not be renewed. It doesn’t help that he ‘forgot’ to file the divorce papers. Oops.
There is actually a third book called, 'In a Nutshell'. It’s an enemies to lovers trope. Mitch finds out that Jackie, the stranger visiting the town, is not here to write a story about the small hospital, but to shut it down. Can he convince her that the town needs the hospital? Or maybe he needs her. You’ll have to read it to find out.
Are you working on anything at the moment?
Sam Squared (YA romance) was just released in February and I have another adult romance submitted to the publisher. The title is still up in the air, but I hope I can share that with everyone soon. Publication date is hopefully by the end of the year.
If you could tell your younger writing self-anything, what would it be?
Don’t compare your writing journey to anyone else’s. Social media is a necessary evil, but it can get very depressing seeing other writers get contracts when your writing is just as good. Just stay in your lane, hone your craft, and keep moving forward.
What does literary success look like to you?
I’m still trying to figure this one out. Since there isn’t a lot of money in writing (unless you are super famous), it has to be something more than what is in the bank account. Seeing my name attached to 7 novels on sites like Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and having my local bookstore carry my books is so satisfying and surreal. So, in that respect, I have reached literary success. But most important, literary success is sticking with the story and getting to write ‘the end.’ That is such an amazing feeling.
What advice would you give a new author?
If you are writing, you are a writer. Stop calling yourself an ‘aspiring’ writer. Own it. Research all the different paths to publication. You may want to get an agent – which is almost always required to get published through one of the big presses. But you don’t have to go that route. There are tons of smaller / indie presses out there that will accept unagented authors. Do your homework and ask other authors, but don’t let that deter you from thinking there is only one path to publication.
Then, there is doing it all on your own. It is a valid option and many, many authors decide from the get-go this self-publishing / being an indie author is their route. They are no less an author by choosing this. Going this direction does include the responsibility of paying for edits and cover design, but ALL authors, no matter which route will be expected to do A LOT of promo on their own.
What do you like to do when not writing?
I love to play in the dirt, so in the spring and summer, I am out in the yard a lot. My mother-in-law used to say she solved all the world’s problems while she pulled weeds. I may not be that productive, but I do hash out story ideas and play ‘what if’ while making things grow. I also love to work out. I’m an old school weight-lifter (actually, one of my many hidden talents is that I was a competitive body builder a very, very, long time ago). I do my fair share of binge-watching shows with my husband and then my daughter and I love to go on walks and do jigsaw puzzles while we watch Downton Abbey for the 10th time!
Thanks for interviewing me! This was so much fun.
A big thank you to Cindy for joining me on the blog. If you would like to check out her work, click on the links below.
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