Cynthia, what do you find is the most challenging part of being an author?
For me, the most challenging part of being an author is maintaining a disciplined writing schedule. I recently retired which has made it easier, but even now it’s hard to carve out time for writing and revision every day. I tend to go in spurts, weeks where I buckle down and accomplish a lot, and days where life intervenes. My best writing time is late morning.
How do you come up with your plots?
I’m constantly on the lookout for plot ideas. There are so many true crime reports in the news every day that can be twisted and expanded into a plot. Some of these won’t support a novel but work for a short story. Sometimes a location/setting sets off a series of “what if” questions. Listening to conversations in restaurants or on the train if you commute can trigger an idea. I carry a small notebook everywhere and make notes about interesting people or situations.
Tell us about your road to publication.
I worked on The Last Broken Girl for approximately three years before I started querying. I used a developmental editor which was extremely helpful. I started querying agents initially and received requests for full or partial manuscripts but no offers. I then started querying small traditional publishers, many which do not require an agent. I had full requests and fortunately a contract to publish within a few months.
What is your book that you will feature today and how did you come up with the idea to write it?
The book I’m featuring today is my debut novel, The Last Broken Girl, a psychological suspense published by The Wild Rose Press with a release date of June 3rd, 2024. The novel explores the potential dark side of small-town living, which can offer its victims no escape. The protagonist, Eric Moore, is a psychologist whose own rigidly structured life goes into a tailspin when the man who kidnapped her when she was fourteen is paroled early back into the community where she lives with her young daughters. In the plotting of the novel, I wanted Erin’s backstory to include a major traumatic experience which she survived, but which has had a lasting impact on her personality and life choices. The kidnapping fit the bill.
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Let's get a blurb and some book reviews:
In a small town in Wisconsin, safety had always been an illusion. Especially for Erin Moore, who had been kidnapped as a teenager and held for months, when she learns her abductor is up for parole. The police always believed her captor acted alone, and that the female accomplice Erin described years ago was the fabrication of a traumatized mind.
Twenty years later, Erin leads a rigidly structured life with her husband and two young daughters and has a successful psychology practice in the same small town. When her abductor is paroled early and goes missing, leaving behind a large pool of blood, Erin and her husband become prime suspects. Erin receives threatening notes she is certain came from the accomplice, but she is unable to convince the police the menace is real.
As Erin watches her life unravel, including her marriage, career and possibly her sanity, she knows the only way out is to bring the accomplice to justice, even if it’s twenty years late.
Reviews:
“Rice has written a masterful debut thriller with a fantastic hero in Erin, who leaps off the page with her bravery and relatability… For those who enjoy thrillers about strong women who face impossible odds, this is a terrific read. An exhilarating page-turner showcases this debut author’s talent for suspense.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“A survivor. Her imprisoned captor. An early release. Game on. When you get to the denouement, your pulse will quicken, guaranteed. And you thought zero bars on a cellphone made you uneasy before? Just wait. Two thumbs up for The Last Broken Girl.”
—Tracy Clark, author of the Cass Raines and Det. Harriet Foster series
“A riveting psychological mystery with a complex, multifaceted protagonist.”
—Independent Book Review
What’s your next project or what are you working on now?
I’m in the final edit stage of a mystery novel, still untitled, and is the start of a potential series. It takes place in a popular resort area in Wisconsin, Door County, and involves the disappearance of young woman. I’ve also been writing some short stories intermittently.
What advice do you have for beginning writers?
I would advise new writers to prioritize finding a community of other writers. Writing is a solitary endeavor by its very nature, and finding the camaraderie and support of other writers through local or on-line writers’ groups is very helpful. I belong to Mystery Writers of America, International Thrillers Writers, and Sisters in Crime, who offer many learning opportunities through workshops and conferences.
To quote Neil Gaiman, “Everything good that happened in my writing career happened because someone, normally another writer, helped me. Suggested me for something, put in a good word, and so on. The idea was always that you help others and they help others in turn. It’s not a win or lose game.”
Here are Cynthia's Buy Links and social media information:
Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-last-broken-girl-cynthia-rice/21350408?ean=9781509255399
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1509255397
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-last-broken-girl-cynthia-rice/1145051975
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-last-broken-girl/id6479898404?ign-itscg=30200&ign-itsct=books_box_link
Social Contacts:
Twitter: https://x.com/CynthiaRice22
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cynthiarice.author/
Website: https://cynthiaarice.com
Email: cynthiarice.author@gmail.com
Buy Link: https://mybook.to/CynthiaRice
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