Cynthia Hickey Interview

What inspired you to become an author? Did you feel called?

I’ve been making up stories since I was a child. As a teenager they mostly involved my little brother who would beg for stories where he was the hero; wrestling a bear, riding a tornado, etc. It was good practice. I wrote a few “books” in high school. One of which I had pod published when I turned forty. It really wasn’t until then that I felt called to write inspirational stories. I just wanted to write.

Who are your favorite authors? Why?

Wow. Gone With the Wind is an all-time favorite. Scarlett O’Hara is so real. Another favorite author is Diana Gabaldon and her Outlander series. The characters leap off the page. Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plumb series, again because of the character. Dean Koontz, because I can’t put down the story, Brandilyn Collins for the same reason. Can you tell it’s mostly the characters that draw me into a story?

Tell us about your “road to publication”. Was it bumpy? Smooth? Why?

I can’t really say it was very bumpy. I only seriously started writing six years ago when I published three pod books. I learned a lot through that experience as in how a book comes together and the important fact that I could write more than one book. Three years ago, I joined ACFW and wrote a Romantic Suspense. Too gritty for the time and it got rejected by a few publishers. I kept writing. Then, Barbour started their cozy mystery line. A friend dared me to write a cozy. I didn’t even know what one was! I had to look it up. I wrote the book, entered it into a contest, won first place, acquired my agent, and Barbour bought the book less than a month later. What a ride! So, yes, there have been a few bumps but not very big ones.

What is your favorite thing about writing? What is your least favorite thing?

My favorite thing is writing the story. Least has got to be trying to catch my mistakes during the editing process. Oh, and the long wait before I see the finished product in my hand.

What are the qualities aspiring authors need if they want to be successful?

I think success is relevant to the person. What does God want you to do? If you do your best at obtaining that, you have achieved success. In writing, you need to be teachable, take the knocks, and keep writing.

As an author, where do you want to see yourself in ten years?

On a beach in Hawaii. No, really, that would be nice, but I would like to be making enough money to supplement my husband’s retirement and be able to write full-time. God willing, that’s where I’ll be in ten years.

Tell us something about you that readers would be surprised to know.

This is hard. I’m an open book. I have a short fuse. My temper flares, but then it goes away as fast as it ignites. I’m a true Southern woman. I can be furious and hide it behind a smile.

Tell us about your series with the Heartsong Mysteries book club.

When I researched what a cozy was, I discovered the main character needed a career other than crime solver. My husband and I used to own a candy shop, so I chose that career for my character, Summer Meadows. All my cozies take place in small towns in Arkansas. Summer is beautiful, flighty, clutzy, with a heart as big as the sun. What she doesn’t know, is that she also possesses a keen sense of right and wrong and has a stronger backbone than she’d thought. She discovers this through one scrape after another. She often chooses to solve the crime out of her own selfish reasons, but God shows her something tremendous through the journey.

What do you like about the cozy mystery genre?

They are so much fun to write! What is the most important thing you want your readers to take from your books?

God loves you as you are and where you are. We need to let him have the reins over our life. He won’t steer us wrong. Anything else you’d like to share?

I’m having the time of my life. If you feel God has called you to write, then write. Whether you are ever published or not. Get the words on paper. Learn to improve your craft. And pray.