Cynthia Ulmer Author Interview Published on: 06, Dec 2024

Life inspired me. I was born in Newport News, Va. My father was from Nakina, NC. It was always his goal to move back to NC. As a family, we would visit the farm where he grew up. I loved it. My first book, Todd, The Cedar Cove Chronicles, Book One, is set on a farm very similar to that special family farm, and the house where the Jansan family lives, is a direct model of the old farmhouse where my father grew up.

Whenever we visited the farm, I loved to listen to the adults talk. One story in particular stood out in my mind. My Granddaddy’s neighbor was a man who got intoxicated and would hold his young children over an old-fashioned water well, threatening to drop them to their deaths. I was both intrigued and terrified by such horror. Back then, there was no child protective services. When it happened, the man’s wife would hurry to Granddaddy and get him to come talk her husband out of killing their child. In real life, he would, and they were friends. In my series, the two families are far from friends. That book grew into six books. Each book is a progression of life. The characters grow, fall in love, and deal with real-life problems. The Jansan family is real in my mind.

It’s encouraged me to write better and have better editing and better formatting. As for the connection with readers, I have a loyal few. I’m looking to expand that.

Keep faith in Christ. Love your family and stick together. Be quick to forgive. Redemption is one of the best things of all.

I want my work to be real. People age in real life. My characters do too. As I enter new decades, I try to stay true to the times they reflect. It has taken much research. Beyond Cedar Cove, the family is going into the 1960’s. That was when I was a small child; so much of these books has and will come from personal experiences and again from the stories I heard being talked about around me.

Readers can expect to delve into the updated lives of more characters. Honeysuckle and The Broken Circle concentrated on Meg Evans Kerwood. The book I’m currently working on, Shattered, features Minnie, Lilly Jean, and Reuben. Book three begins in 1965 and ends in 1968. I like to bring up different characters and see what’s happening in their lives.

I grew up in church and worked in the church for a long time. I know how the people are, I know how they operate. I try to keep it realistic. Many Christian books are too sweet. Life can be anything but sweet. However, I try to convey through circumstances the fact that Christ never leaves you.

The desire to write has always been with me. My husband is the reason why I began writing seriously. His support got me going in the very beginning and is still continuing.

My advice to aspiring writers is don’t give up. Write. Read. Write. Read. Lots. Don’t be afraid to get your work edited. Don’t let constructive criticism stand in your way.

I think of them as real people. I imagine not only conversations but their emotions, whether shown or not.

Most of all, I don’t force it. I let the scenes come to my mind as they will. I’ve woken up many times in the middle of the night with new scenes coming to me and new ideas for my characters.

I’ve tried the practice of making myself write on a schedule, but it doesn’t work for me. I write when inspired. Sometimes the wait is long, but it’s worth it.

This goes along with the above question. I do these activities while waiting for inspiration. I can let my mind be free when cooking, crocheting, or listening to music. That’s usually when ideas come.

For a long time, I’ve been inspired by Clyde Edgerton and Wiley Cash, two North Carolina authors. I like the way they set their scenes and how they develop their characters. I’m inspired by many more authors too. Lately, I’ve been reading lots of indie authors. Some of my favorites include Barbara Daniels Dena, Deena Thomson, B.S. Daniels, and Eleanor Wells. They are all great in their own way. They inspire me to be me.

I am heavily influenced by personal experiences. I couldn’t write without them. Yes, I use my imagination, but so much of my work is rooted in my past, in my family’s past. It’s the foundation of what I do.

I don’t really think about it. I hope to appeal to those who enjoy nostalgia and those who are interested in learning about the past.

I hope to release the third book sometime in 2025 and begin on the fourth.

I’ve been with AllAuthor for a couple of years. It’s been a good experience, with several options for book promotion that I wouldn’t have otherwise.