Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Cynthia Roberts, Author of Wind Warrior - Book One of the Iroquois Series - Talks About Her Writing Influences

Meet Cynthia Roberts

I have been writing since a Crayola was placed in my hand. My love of reading romance fiction goes back to those early years when I was raising a young family.

I wish I could have gotten to this point in my career much sooner rather than later but, life simply got in the way far too many times. I know because of those detours I have become a more passionate and expressive writer and draw upon those moments in my past many times.

Connect and Socialize with Cynthia!
 


Synopsis from Goodreads: 

Leslie Michaels is a visionary, and only those close to her know of her special gift and the visions that come when her mind and body surrender to sleep. Fate has a way of righting many wrongs, and for Leslie it is a destiny that changes her life dramatically. But not before she is forced to flee into the wilderness to escape a murderous trapper bent on claiming her for his very own. 
 
Faith and a strong will to survive are her only companions, until she encounters Winnokin, the handsome Seneca war chief who first came to her in her dreams. Not only does he prove to be her rescuer and protector, he teaches her that tragedy can breed happiness and the passion to live and love deeply once again. Wind Warrior plunges readers into the intimate depths of a relationship that unfolds like a live drama before their eyes while painting an insightful and intriguing portrait of Native Indian life in the 1800s. 
 
It is a story of longing, of a wanton need to survive all odds, and a love so strong it conquers human evil. Wind Warrior expresses with cunning words the simple, raw human emotions that hold readers spellbound and captivate their hearts.

Coming to Amazon June 15, 2010!

I would like to welcome Cynthia Roberts, author of Wind Warrior - Book 1 of the Iroquois Series - to Emeraldfire's Bookmark. Ms. Roberts was kind enough to write a guest post for me and here it is below in her own words:
 
'The Birth of Wind Warrior'
by Cynthia Roberts

Hello everyone. Like all of you, I lived and breathed reading romances … it filled many long, lonely evenings when my husband worked nights in law enforcement and I was raising our children Jason and Alyssa (now 31 and 29). It proved my constant companion later when my “Cinderella” marriage of twenty-five years came to an unexpected end. There is a quote I heard once I can’t remember verbatim but goes somewhat like … “There is no greater loss than a love once known.”

I’m a true believer that when tragedy strikes and you’re standing at the edge of a fathomless abyss and all you see is darkness looking back at you, faith lies in knowing one of two things will happen. You can either let fear consume you, roll up into a ball and waste away or, you can take a leap of faith and learn how to soar like an eagle.

I’ve always had a passion for writing from that very moment a Crayola was placed in my hand and throughout my career in marketing, public relations and sales writing creatively came easy. When my marriage ended at the age of 45, life as I knew it was never the same. It was a time of unrest, uncertainty, losing friends and family and financial ruin because I also found myself jobless which continued nearly two years.

Wind Warrior became my salvation. One evening I sat in front of the computer and decided to write instead of read and figured all I could do was fail. It proved my therapy back then but not quite up to par to win the favor of publishers. I received so many rejections I could have wallpapered a small room in my house and almost gave up on my dream. That is, until I realized it just wasn’t my time. I needed to live through and get beyond the pain in my own life before I could transform that experience into the kind of passion and emotion I wanted my readers to feel personally through my writing.

I chose to write an historical Indian romance because the first fiction I ever read was a novel from Cassie Edward’s Savage series and instantly became hungry to read more. I tracked down every one of those babies; let me tell you, until I read them all. However, every one I read from that point on was based on a Plains tribe. I wanted to focus on a tribe indigenous to my area and decided to write a series based on the tribes that make up the Iroquois League of Nations here on the east coast. Their warriors were the fiercest ever known to strike terror in the hearts of early settlers from Pennsylvania to Canada. They were referred to as “People of the Longhouse” because their families lived together in wooden structures upward of 40 feet long. They were an extremely powerful nation that was sadly torn apart by the American Revolution. I fell in love with the simplistic beauty of their culture and folklore. We could learn so much from our Native American brothers and the reverent love and respect they have for everything that is natural and of this earth. They knew how to live in balance with plants, animals and the natural elements …never taking more than what was needed to sustain their people and way of life.

Wind Warrior will officially be released on June 15th and available now for purchase through Tate Publishing’s website. It is my heartfelt hope readers will find it as enthralling to read as it was for me to research and bring to life. Book #2 Captive Heart is finished and expected to be released the end of this year.

Now that the writer in me has been unleashed …look out world! If I can leave my beautiful five grandchildren any legacy, it will be the strength, conviction and passion put into every story I bring to life. Please stay tuned for future projects which will include a series introducing contemporary shape shifters and two mainstream romance thrillers entitled Pawn For Malice and The Keeper’s Watch.
 
May you read well and often

Cynthia Roberts, Author of The Iroquois Series, Opens up About the Importance of Writing in Her Life

I would very much like to welcome Cynthia Roberts, author of three published books. Ms. Roberts was nice enough to answer some questions for me about her various literary inspirations, her books, and her writing plans for the future. Thank you so much for stopping by Emeraldfire's Bookmark, Ms. Roberts, and I wish you all the best now and in the future!

Meet Cynthia Roberts: 

I have been writing since a Crayola was placed in my hand. My love of reading romance fiction goes back to those early years when I was raising a young family.

I wish I could have gotten to this point in my career much sooner rather than later but, life simply got in the way far too many times. I know because of those detours I have become a more passionate and expressive writer and draw upon those moments in my past many times.

Synopsis of Wind Warrior:

Leslie Michaels is a visionary, and only those close to her know of her special gift and the visions that come when her mind and body surrender to sleep. Fate has a way of righting many wrongs, and for Leslie it is a destiny that changes her life dramatically. But not before she is forced to flee into the wilderness to escape a murderous trapper bent on claiming her for his very own. 

Faith and a strong will to survive are her only companions, until she encounters Winnokin, the handsome Seneca war chief who first came to her in her dreams. Not only does he prove to be her rescuer and protector, he teaches her that tragedy can breed happiness and the passion to live and love deeply once again. Wind Warrior plunges readers into the intimate depths of a relationship that unfolds like a live drama before their eyes while painting an insightful and intriguing portrait of Native Indian life in the 1800s. 

It is a story of longing, of a wanton need to survive all odds, and a love so strong it conquers human evil. Wind Warrior expresses with cunning words the simple, raw human emotions that hold readers spellbound and captivate their hearts.

Coming to Amazon June 15, 2010!

Emeraldfire's Bookmark: You are an author who is new to me, where do you live?

Cynthia Roberts: I’m a newbie straight out of the running gate…a little later than most starting out in this business but with a fire in my gut that burns a lot hotter. Are you ready for this…we not only live in the same state Mareena but we’re practically neighbors. I live in Cohoes about a 15 minute drive from you.

Emeraldfire's Bookmark: If you hadn’t needed to start writing, do you think you would have done so at any point in your life?

Cynthia Roberts: Most definitely. It was sooo inherent, it was inevitable. Ever since a Crayola was placed in my hand, I was scribbling and making sense of something on paper. Sadly, life just got in the way and it has taken me until my more mature years (chuckle chuckle ) to make the dream happen.

Emeraldfire's Bookmark: Do your children enjoy writing as well?

Cynthia Roberts: Not a lick of it…weird hah? My son Jason is in law enforcement and hates to even fill out reports. My daughter Alyssa loves to read, writes beautifully when she has something to express but adores her job as an esthetician.

Emeraldfire's Bookmark: Everyone’s life’s shadows influence them in some way, how have yours influenced your writing?

Cynthia Roberts: Life this past decade has been one heck of a challenge and growth spurt for me. If I came away with anything, I know that I’m a better writer because I know how to describe raw emotion…I lived it. It’s amazing how fate has a plan for you…even if you don’t agree with it, somehow it all works out in the end if you’re willing to see it for what it is…another chapter. 

The end of my marriage nearly devastated me. When you get plowed under and never see it coming, it pulls your soul from you. It took me a while to find mine and prove to myself there was something better and that was my dream to write.

May you read well and often

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Tracey West - The Wicked Wizard

9. The Wicked Wizard by Tracey West (2001)
The Pixie Tricks Series Book 8
Length: 96 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Started/Finished: 19 May 2010
Where did it come from? From Swaptree
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 17 May 2010
Why do I have it? I like fantasy and Tracey West is a new author to me.

Violet Briggs has an out-of-this-world new friend named Sprite - the Royal Pixie Tricker. Fourteen pixies have escaped from the Otherworld and it's up to Sprite and Violet to capture them and send them home. In this story the Wizard Finn wants to take over the town and it's up to Violet, Sprite and Violet's cousin Leon to stop him. I give this story a C+!

C+! - (76-79%)

May you read well and often

Jackie Fullerton - Revenge Served Cold

8. Revenge Served Cold by Jackie Fullerton (2010)
Anne Marshall Mysteries Book 2
Length: 287 pages
Genre: Contemporary Mystery
Started: 9 May 2010
Finished: 19 May 2010
Where did it come from? Many thanks to Rebecca at The Cadence Group for sending me a copy of this book to read
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 9 April 2010
Why do I have it? I like contemporary mysteries and Jackie Fullerton is a new author for me

Kathy Spence has awoken to a nightmare: her husband, a professor at the local law school has been struck and killed in a hit-and-run accident and she has been accused. She turns to amateur sleuth Anne Marshall, a student of Professor Spence's, to clear her name. Anne and her father - who has been dead for three months - team up with Anne's study group to exonerate Kathy Spence, but someone is willing to kill to see Kathy in jail. I enjoyed this book and give it a B+!

B+! - (89-94%)

May you read well and often

Saturday, May 15, 2010

J. P. O'Donnell - Deadly Codes

7. Deadly Codes by J. P. O'Donnell (2009)
The Gallagher Series Book 2
Length: 216 pages
Genre: Contemporary Mystery
Started: 5 May 2010
Finished: 15 May 2010
Where did it come from? Many thanks to Tracee at Pump up Your Book for sending me a copy of this book to read.
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 5 April 2010
Why do I have it? I like contemporary mysteries and J. P. O'Donnell is a new author for me.

Daniel Cormac Gallagher, Jr. is a private eye intent on retiring for good and settling down with his new wife. Until a missing person's case drags him back into his former life. Jennifer Clark is a lovely young married woman with two beautiful children and a loving husband, and then she is killed by a bomb planted in her car in her own driveway. Her twin sister, Jeanne Campbell, hires Gallagher to find her sister's secret lesbian lover who disappears immediately after Jennifer is killed. What starts out as a simple missing person's case, rapidly turns into one involving treason and murder, spies and hitmen. Now Gallagher must keep himself and his wife safe amidst multiple threats to his life from persons known and unknown. I enjoyed this book very much and give it an A! It left me with many questions about a possible next book by Dr. O'Donnell.

A! - (90-95%)

May you read well and often

Monday, April 5, 2010

Annie Frame - Imprint

6. Imprint by Annie Frame (2008)
Length: 74 pages
Genre: Horror
Started/Finished: 5 April 2010
Where did it come from? Many thanks to Annie for sending me a copy of this book to read
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 5 March 2010
Why do I have it? I like horror and Annie Frame is a new author for me

Hercular Rose is a recently returned soul on a journey; she wants to understand how she died. What follows is a journey of self-discovery and acceptance through her previous lives. I liked this story and give it a B+! I'd like to thank Ms. Frame for sending me a copy of her book.


B+! - (89-94%)


May you read well and often

Jill Marie Landis - Heart of Stone

5. Heart of Stone by Jill Marie Landis (2010)
The Irish Angel Series Book 1
Length: 320 pages
Genre: Historical Romance
Started: 26 March 2010
Finished: 5 April 2010
Where did it come from? Many thanks to Jill Marie Landis' publisher for sending me a copy of this book to read
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 26 February 2010
Why do I have it? I like historical romance and Jill Marie Landis is a new author for me

Laura Foster had escaped from an unspeakable childhood and come to Glory, Texas four years ago to start her life over. She had cultivated the persona of a wealthy widow to a tea, and had gained respectability and standing in the town. However, she realized that her past was just a step behind. When Reverend Brand McCormick comes calling on her, Laura does everything she can to dissuade his attentions, worried for his reputation. What she doesn't know is that Brand has his own dark secrets.When a stranger arrives in Glory threatening to reveal certain secrets, Laura faces a heartbreaking choice: leave Glory forever or trust in God's forgiveness and in Brand's love to hold onto her life. I really enjoyed this book and give it an A+! It had me crying because it was so touching. I want to thank Ms. Landis' publisher for sending me a copy.

A+! - (96-100%)

May you read well and often