Interview of Cynthianna Appel

By Jayme Evans

1.How long have you been writing and what got you into writing?

I’ve been "writing" since I was about kindergarten age. As a child I liked to make up stories in my head. Sometimes I would tell them out loud to others or put them on paper, but most of the time I kept them to myself. After all, if you go around talking about fictional characters as if they were real, people start looking really funny at you... I thought I was the only person who thought and acted this way until I met other writers in the flesh later in life. Now I know that it’s perfectly normal--at least, for writers, that is!

I actually think I inherited a "gene" for writing from my father and my uncle. My late father was a college professor, lecturer, minister and freelance writer. He wrote many theological and philosophical textbooks (which can be found on the shelves of many seminaries today) as well as poetry and one young adult novel. I think he always wanted to be a novelist. My uncle pens short stories and writes reference materials about such interesting subjects as the occult! He always could spin a yarn that kept us kids entertained for hours. I do believe we all share some kind of "story-telling" gene. It’s weird, but I think I may have been born to write! That’s my take on it.

2. I've had the pleasure of reading Country Boy, City Girl and I found it delightful. What prompted you to write it?

Country Boy, City Girl was the first full-length manuscript I wrote after I moved to the St. Louis area from West Texas and soon after I joined the Missouri Chapter of the RWA. I’m not much of a contest enterer, but I had read about a funniest opening scene contest sponsored by a big publisher and thought it sounded like something I should attempt. The prize was a book contract or at least some exposure to the editors there at that publishing house. (With no entry fee, I definitely felt it was worth it!) The funny situation that came to me was one where the hero and heroine "accidentally" kiss--and then there’s no going back! The attraction is too strong, even though they both try hard to fight it off.

The setting and characters developed after my family and I did a tour around our new state. We had visited the famous Meramec Caverns, noted for being the hang-out of the Jesse James Gang. The scenery along the river there is breathtaking, and I said to myself, "This would make an excellent setting for a romance novel." So, I sat down to write about a potter (I studied pottery a long while back in night classes) since I wanted a heroine who was both creative and independent. But I had to come up with a hero worthy of her. I was reading about "alpha male heroes" at the time and so I went that directionI made my hero rich and handsome.  But  I soon discovered that I’m not personally fond of alpha males as characters. As I wrote, Dave ended up having a good sense of humor and a love of life’s simple pleasures and down-home folks. He definitely doesn’t share the "life in the fast lane" type of existence displayed by many alpha male heroes in romantic fiction. In fact, he’s patterned after another "Ozark Millionaire", Sam Walton, founder of the Wal-Mart discount store chain. Walton lived in a modest home and drove a pick-up and liked to go hunting--and so does my character Dave Darden.

How would Ronnie, my independent businesswoman heroine,  react to this "millionaire next door" who likes to "butt in" and tell her how to run things? There was the conflict in their relationship. And of course in a small town, everyone knows everything about everyone.  All the zany town folks fell right into place, including brash country singer, Tammi Hart, a sort of pseudo-Dolly Parden-Winona Judd clone!

3.Do you always write contemporary and what draws you to it?

In romantic fiction, I’ve gravitated towards contemporary I believe since I write what has been termed character-driven fiction. I like to explore the psyches of  every day people. I enjoy romances where I could put myself in the characters’ shoes, and while this is possible in a historical or futuristic novel, it’s not quite as "complete" as it would be writing in a contemporary setting with every day people I can relate to easily. I might write a historical romance some day in the future, but I’ve got too many contemporary story ideas at this point to give it more than a passing thought. And I actually wrote a futuristic, sci-fi romantic short story called "Unalone" that was published two years ago in a literary anthology called "Three Naked Ladies Playing Cellos" by Damn Yankee Press. (www.damnyankee.com)  But a love story is a love story no matter what era you place it in.

4. Do you work from an outline of your book or are you a by-the-seat-of-your-pants writer?  Explain.

Both. Country Boy, City Girl practically wrote itself after I had answered some of the basic questions of who, what, where, when and how. Recently though, I’ve done more extensive outlines, planning out the story arc and character backgrounds and doing more detailed thinking on plot points before sitting down to type the first chapter. It was frustrating to "not write" while doing the outline, but I kept to it and it’s been very helpful now that I’ve sat down to actually write the first chapter. Whether it works out later on in the "dreaded middle" of this particular manuscript I currently working on, only time will tell!

5. What advice would you give a young girl (or boy) that wants to write?

Write, write, write--and then write some more! Don’t operate under the assumption that published authors only write one draft, either. I know I always thought this was the case until I started writing my “first novel”… Make yourself sit down at the computer, typewriter or notebook and put words on paper every day if you can. Then do it again and again and again. Don’t just say, “I want to write a book some day.” Do it!  Be open to let other people who are wise in the ways of writing critique your work. And don’t be afraid if you have to edit out practically everything in your first draft. The art is in the rewrite, not the writing.

6. You have two books with Wings at date.  Deciding between both books, The Fixer-Uppers and Country Boy, City Girl,  if you have a favorite character,  who would it be?

Yikes! That’s like asking a parent if they have a “favorite child”!  I will play “fair” and list one from each book. I have to admit, I have a fondness for “eccentric characters,” hence in The Fixer-Uppers I just love Mike’s best friend, Paco De Los Santos. Paco just thinks too much of himself at times and is a bit of a chauvinist and a tightwad, but at heart he’s a real lovable guy. I called him once a “cross between Clark Gable and Cheech Marin.”  And Paco would probably agree with me!

In Country Boy, City Girl, I love the “feud” going on between Edna and Alice over who’s the better cook in the county, but I really think Tammi Hart, Grammy-winning country star, is a hoot and a half. She can sing like an angel, but she can’t match colors if her life depended on it. And how does she play guitar with those nails? It’s a mystery to me still.

These were fun questions! Thanks for the interview.