Cynthia Reese

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"To love is to receive a glimpse of heaven."
-Karen Sunde

"The way you define yourself as a writer is that you write every time you have a free minute. If you didn't behave that way you would never do anything."
-John Irving, US novelist (1942 - )

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do you write romances?

Er … because you can never have too much romance in your life? Because I like it when a guy and a gal are destined to be soulmates? Because I’m addicted to happy endings? Take your pick … all of them are true!

So when will you sell a REAL book?

I did, actually. It has an ISBN and is even eligible to be nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. No kiddin’. Oh, you mean a non-romance, very depressing literary English 101-type book? The ones that make you go, “Aaargh!” halfway through because there’s no way the characters can ever make it out alive? Well, I’ll never sell one of them, mainly because I don’t plan to WRITE one of them, and I don’t plan to do THAT mainly because I tend to like Happily Ever Afters.

OK, so you’re rich, right?

Snort. Oh, you were SERIOUS? Double-snort.

Did all this stuff really happen to you?

Er … nope. It’s FICTION, remember? I make it up. It’s all in my head.

Then the inside of your head is a scary place, huh?

I refuse to answer that on the grounds that I might incriminate myself.

Seriously, where DO your ideas come from?

Everywhere – I recently got a story idea from putting together a Kenny Chesney song with two separate National Public Radio segments. What do they have in common? Uh, well, hopefully I’ll sell the book and you can buy it and check it out for yourself.

So how do you get your Muse working?

Oh, I fired that gal a long time ago. She wanted to take too many coffee breaks and eat bon-bons and wear a feather boa all day long – she was confusing herself with Barbara Cartland. I find, like most things, it’s easier just to do it the hard way. You know: write every day, be open to revisions, kill your Critique Partners when they tell you – oh, oops. I didn’t mean that last one.

How many pages do you write every day?

When I’m working on a project, my goal is 10 pages per day. That’s the first draft, mind you, which I like to write quick and dirty. Then I go back, scream at what dunces my Critque Partners are for not getting my – oh. No, I don’t really. What I MEANT to say is that I listen to everything my Critique Partners say and I implement what resonates with me.

So, listen, I’ve got this idea … can you write the story and both of us split the money?

Uhm, how about YOU write the story and keep ALL the money? Wouldn’t that be more profitable for you? :) Seriously, I have a firm belief that every person has at least ONE book inside him or her. Discover your inner writer -- you may be the next blockbuster author!

But I don’t know the first thing about getting published!

Well, neither did I! Get thee to sites like Romance Writers of America and eHarlequin.com and Miss Snark, and then open that blank Word document and start typing. Find you some critique partners who are willing to tell you the honest truth and take it like a writer. If you’re truly committed, you’ll get there.