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In the ABOUT ME, department, I’m a born and raised Midwesterner and love living on our acreage in rural Iowa. My husband, Tom, raises quarter horses and we have two very spoiled dogs, Ellie, an English Pointer and Boomer, a Brittany Spaniel. Both take exception to eating off the floor. We spend as much time as possible at our cabin in Northern Minnesota in the summer where we love to entertain family and friends. Our cabin is on a beautiful, glacial lake with breathtaking scenery and good fishing. And I LOVE to fish – yeah, I even bait my own hook. Yuck.
We are also doting, adoring grandparents of little Kayla and her brand new brother Blake. I’m an amateur potter (when I can find the time), I love music and love to keep fit by walking and exercising. I had the ‘walk’ of a lifetime when I hiked the Grand Canyon with friends in March of 2004 but I’ve got to tell you, when I stood at the top and looked down, I definitely had a "What am I thinking?" moment. Family comes first for me, always. But, there are bills to pay and my writing income contributes to the budget. For that reason, I treat my writing as a job. A typical weekday for me is getting up between 6:30 and 7:00, settling in to write shortly after and working until 4:30 or 5:30 and sometimes later, depending on whether or not a deadline is looming. If I take a day off during the week to play, then I will make it up by writing on Saturday or Sunday that week. That said, I generally plan my contract deadlines around family plans and vacations.
Interview with CINDY GERARD |
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 BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND MORNING Silhouette Desire January 2005 Buy Now
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Writerspace: Cindy, thank you so much agreeing to this interview. I had a really wonderful time reading your new Silhouette Desire this month, BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND MORNING. Could you please tell our readers more about this book? Cindy Gerard: I’m so glad you liked BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND MORNING. I had a lot of fun writing this story about a woman who’s trying to start her life over and a man who’s trying to keep his from beginning. Alison leaves her urban veterinary clinic to follow a dream of setting up practice in the mountain west. John (J.T.) Tyler is a good time cowboy who, on the surface, is just playing his way through life when in fact, he’s running away from it. When the two of them meet up – the sparks start to fly – then sparks lead to so much more when they realize they are both missing something vital in their lives. Writerspace: Alison and J.T. are both carrying scars that are deeply rooted. I loved the emotional pull each character had not only on my heart, but also on my senses. And best of all, they are so perfect for each other; they fit together really well. What convinced you they were meant to be a couple? In terms of developing their characters, who came to you first, J.T. or Alison? Cindy Gerard: J.T. was a character I developed for the other two books I set in Sundown, Montana. He was a friend of both Ellie Savage in THE BRIDAL ARRANGEMENT and Peg Lathrop in my Rita winning book, TAMING THE OUTLAW. I always loved J.T and knew I wanted to write a story about him, but he had to grow up first. When Alison Samuels’ character came to me I just knew she’d be the perfect match for J.T. Ali is sexy and strong and smart – and J.T. didn’t have a chance of avoiding all the things he felt for her. She had him pegged before even he knew he was in trouble. And I love the older woman younger man scenario so the two characters fell beautifully into that plot device. Writerspace: Talking about appealing to the senses, I don't think I'll ever be able to look at a man wearing a Resistol and not think of J.T. Wow! Talk about sensual overload! He's a heck of a guy, not only in looks but also in terms of character and depth. J.T. has a lot more substance to him than just dreamy eyes, wide shoulders and a killer smile. - which is why he's so unforgettable. What are some of the aspects you had to keep in mind when creating his character/fleshing him out? Was it easy to know him once you learned of his scars and the reasons behind them? Was his character easy to pin down? Cindy Gerard: J. T’s character really was easy for me to figure – partly because I’d known him for so long because of the other books. I think that in general, cowboys exude that loner, self-reliant, hold their cards close to the vest type of characters. They rarely let anyone see that there is a living beating heart inside their broad chests and God forbid, anyone ever know they might be hurting. J.T. made sure no one did. He covered it all with that ornery grin of his and his outrageous flirting. The trick with J.T. was giving him that flirty air of arrogance without making him come off as a womanizer. He was just too good hearted – as shown by his devotion to his old foreman and his gentleness with Peg and Cutter Reno’s children – to be pinned with the selfish womanizer rap. Writerspace: Please tell us more about J.T.'s heroine, Alison. What has shaped her into the woman she is when she meets J.T.? Cindy Gerard: Alison grew up and lived the great American dream. Good family, good education, fell in love with and married the boy next door. What could be more perfect? Nothing. And then perfect dream crashed into the perfect nightmare. Her husband became ill and died of cancer. And suddenly Ali was faced with a not so perfect future and no line of defense for dealing with it. She just existed for four years and one day realized she needed more. Wanted more and accepted that she was the only one who could make it happen. She wasn’t looking for anything but purpose when she moved to Sundown. And when she met and fell for J.T., she fought the idea of loving again every step of the way. Writerspace: You've penned some really awesome stories for category romance over the years and I've enjoyed all of them. But now I understand you have branched out into the field of single-titles too. Could you share what made you decide to make the leap to writing longer books? Cindy Gerard: Again, thank you for that. I’ve been fortunate enough to have a really nice category career and have enjoyed it immensely. But – there’s always a but :o) – I reached the point, after 20 plus categories, that I had bigger stories I wanted to tell and they didn’t fit the category format. I also wanted to try my hand at suspense. So I put together three stories about a family – brothers and sisters, all former special ops – who took over their father’s bodyguard business. I then tweaked and massaged the concept with the help of my fabulous agent, and finally decided it was ready to send out. Again, fortune was with me when Monique Patterson at St. Martin Press fell in love with the stories and bought them all. Writerspace: Would you consider sharing something about TO THE EDGE (The Bodyguards) with us? Cindy Gerard: I would love to. TO THE EDGE was a trip to write from beginning to end. The book is based in West Palm and Palm Beach, Florida, where Nolan Garrett, a burned-out boozed-up ex-army Ranger finds himself coerced into playing bodyguard for Jillian Kincaid, the daughter of a Florida billionaire. Jillian, who’s made her own name as a local TV anchorwoman and journalist, is receiving death threats. Threats she doesn’t take seriously but her father does. Enter Garrett who has a talent for ticking Jillian off. She wants a bodyguard about as bad as she wants the flu. That works out great because Nolan doesn’t want anything to do with the pampered Palm Beach princess either – until they both realize the threat is real and that Nolan may be the only thing standing between Jillian and certain death. Being so close can only turn up the heat that starts simmering between them as a deadly danger closes in. So - as you can see, there’s suspense, hot romance and a few chuckles a long the way as these to very strong, very independent people clash wills, butt heads and fight falling in love every inch of the way. I’d love for readers to visit my website where they can read excerpts from all three books and see the cover for TO THE EDGE. The cover art is fabulous! And I’m humbled to say that I received very generous quotes from some NYT best sellers that really made my year! In addition, my publisher has expressed a lot of excitement over TO THE EDGE and are giving me tremendous support. They’ve recently sent out several thousand book quality advanced readers copies of TO THE EDGE to generate attention for the book. Writerspace: Will you continue to write category romance? Cindy Gerard: Absolutely. At least I hope to. In addition to BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND MORNING which is available this month (January 2005), I have a Texas Cattleman’s Club book coming out in July 2005. BLACK-TIE SEDUCTION launches the newest TCC series, The Secret Diary. And - if you liked Brett McDonald, J.T.’s friend in BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND MORNING, I’ll be writing his book starting this spring. Writerspace: What are you working on right now? Cindy Gerard: The Bodyguard series is comprised of 3 books: TO THE EDGE, 5-05, TO THE LIMIT, 9-05 and TO THE BRINK, 1-06. I’m currently chasing a deadline on TO THE BRINK. So, as you can see, I’ve been busy. I have 5 releases in the next 12 months. If you’d like to check titles and release dates, please do check out my website. Writerspace: Who are some of the authors who have helped inspire or motivate you in your writing career? Cindy Gerard: Oh, my. I have so many favorites. In the beginning, it was LaVryle Spencer’s work that compelled me to write that very first book. Since then, I’ve added so many names to my list of must reads there wouldn’t be room for them here, so for the purpose of this interview I’ll limit it to suspense writers since that’s the direction I’ve taken of late. Nora Roberts, of course, Susan Brockman, Linda Howard, Kay Hooper, Cherry Adair, Vicki Lewis Thompson. That barely scratches the surface. Writerspace: How do you research your novels? Does it involve a lot of traveling? Cindy Gerard: Most of my research starts on the web. If I can’t find it there, I can find a place where I can find it. I’ve received wonderful assistance from the Kiss of Death, Clues and News loop in pinning down specifics as there are a wealth of well traveled, well versed writers there willing to lend a hand. I also have several contacts in the military who have been invaluable in assisting me with pertinent details. And yes, I do some travel – although not as much as I’d like. All 3 of my St Martins books are based out of West Palm Beach, Florida. I’ve visited the area several times and I rely on friends who live there to keep me honest with my locales. The books also take us to the Florida Keys, New York City, Vegas, and in TO THE BRINK, we spend time in Lima, Peru, and the Philippine Islands. Again, I have relied on the web and several contacts to assist me with details. I owe a lot of wonderful people for taking the time to help me out. Writerspace: What is your writing routine? Cindy Gerard: Before I decided to make writing my full time career three years ago, I worked outside the home and wrote when I could free up some time. Now that I’m writing full time, I treat it like any other job. I’m up early, at the computer no later than 9:00 a.m. and write all day. When I’m bucking a deadline – as I am now – I will work weekends as well. I generally start my writing day by rereading and editing the prior day’s work. It warms me up, draws me back into the story and enables me to pick up the threads from there. Ideally, I’ll have my research completed before I sit down to the actual writing process but sometimes, I’m also researching as I write – which I don’t recommend but sometimes, due to time constraints, just can’t be avoided. Writerspace: Was it easy to make the leap from writing category to longer books? Cindy Gerard: Easier than I had imagined. In short contemporary romance, which is what I write for Silhouette Desire, the focus is on the romance and the relationship. In single title romantic suspense, the driving force is the suspense plot as well as the romance and relationship. While I was a little apprehensive about having enough story to sustain the bigger books, I have found I could have used even more pages because there was so much to tell. I think that stems from a certain freedom allowed in single title that a writer is not afforded in category. I love category and always will but the word count and perimeters can sometimes feel limiting. In the St. Martins books, I can explore grittier story lines as well as fully developed secondary characters and their stories. I’m truly enjoying the bigger format. Writerspace: Do you have any advice for aspiring writers? Cindy Gerard: The best advice I can give is: Finish the book. Work hard, write hard and finish the book. It’s so easy to start a book. The ideas are fresh and new and exciting and pouring out like rain through a downspout. You can’t keep up because the words flow so fast. Then things get real. You have to have a middle and an end to go with that fabulous beginning and many writers run out of enthusiasm for the project because it becomes hard work then. Well, it is hard work. And the only way to achieve your dreams is to pay your dues. And if you’ve finished the book and you are having difficulty selling, then finish another book and possibly another. Hone your craft, learn from your mistakes and read, read, read what you want to write. And don’t give up. I had three complete manuscripts rejected before I sold that first book and now, 30 books later, I’m still going strong. Writerspace: How may readers contact you? Cindy Gerard: I LOVE for my readers to contact me. All they have to do is visit my website. They can e-mail me from there, sign my guestbook while they are at it and sign up for my monthly contest. I’ve got a rockin’ new website and just love to have people drop by and tell me what they think of the site and my books. Writerspace: I've really enjoyed talking with you, Cindy, and your new website looks wonderful. Thanks so much for your time! I'm so looking forward to reading TO THE EDGE! Cindy Gerard: Thank you for the opportunity to tell you a little about myself and my upcoming releases. I’m so anxious for TO THE EDGE to come out in May and hope everyone will fall as deeply in love with Nolan and Jillian and their story the way I did.
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