#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Cynthia Tolbert
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I’d like to welcome author, Cynthia Tolbert, back to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday.
Things I need when I am in my writing cave:
My husband and I recently moved across country to Austin, Texas, which required that I acclimate myself to entirely different surroundings, including my writing ‘cave.’ The house we chose is on a triangulated cul-de-sac lot, filled with mature trees which block out nearly all evidence of neighbors. A solid bank of windows runs along the length of the back of the house, creating the illusion that you’re sitting in an air-conditioned section of a forest instead of your home. I loved it immediately, and knew I’d enjoy writing there. It’s quiet and tranquil, both of which I need when trying to think or write. I also need my laptop, pen and paper, in the event I need to map out a change in the plot, a desk or table, and some water or chai tea. But mostly, I need silence, and a little tree-filled inspiration.
Things that distract me from writing:
Noise is a distraction. I used to write in coffee shops, until I became overwhelmed by noisy coffee klatches discussing everything from their love life to health concerns. Loud music is another distraction, especially music with lyrics or percussive instruments. Soothing instrumentals are fine. But anything with a strong beat, or screaming lyrics stops the flow of thought and word. I’m not sure what that says about my brain. I’ve read that males and females react differently to music while working or writing. Men seem to enjoy it. Women often do not.
Hardest thing about being a writer:
Writing is a passion, something you can lose yourself in, and pour your heart, mind, and soul into. But marketing the book you’ve written, which is just as important as the writing of it, is the hardest thing about being a writer, and is a chore I dread. It requires energy, fortitude, a thick skin, and far more money than anyone would guess. I do not enjoy planning book tours, finagling reviews, or traveling to book conferences. It’s not that I can’t sell things. I know I can - for someone else. Not for me. I feel obnoxious pushing my book on others, which is exactly what we need to do if we are to be successful authors. The fourth book in my Thornton Mystery Series will be released shortly, and it’s clear that my marketing skills are no better today than they were four years ago.
Easiest thing about being a writer
The easiest and best part of writing is story-telling, using bits and pieces of stories or characters you know to create something entirely new. I am inspired by the stories of my life, and the characters that have filled them. Story telling allows the writer to give a daunted young man – overwhelmed by his family’s abuse - the redemption he deserves. It can also turn an old man, bent from years of farmwork, into the hero he always wanted to be, teaching others by example and love. Inspiration is everywhere.
Something you wanted to be as a kid:
I always wanted to be an author and write books.
Something you do that you never dreamed you’d do:
I never dreamed I’d write a mystery series.
Last best thing you ate:
dulce de leche ice cream
Last thing you regret eating:
dulce de leche ice cream
Things to say to an author:
Telling an author that their work is inspirational, thoughtful, brilliant, dangerous, edgy, or well-written is always welcome. Authors live for such praise. I like it when I’m told my books are “page turners.” But sometimes my critique partners point out weaknesses, which is the point of having a critique partner. Constructive criticism is essential.
Things to say to an author if you want to be killed off in their next book:
If you’d like to be killed off in my next book, just tell me that people with southern accents are stupid. I’m one of four authors who conduct the Guns, Knives, and Lipstick podcast, where, on a monthly basis we interview writers about their most recently published books. Several months ago, we interviewed an author who stated that anyone who speaks with a southern accent is considered ‘stupid’ by the majority of people who live in the United States. I am from the south, and, as was painfully obvious to anyone listening to the podcast, I have a southern accent.
Now all I need is to decide on my weapon of choice. Don’t they say impalement is the most painful method of murder?
Favorite places I’ve been:
I’ve visited Paris five times. It’s my favorite city in the world, and by now, I’m quite familiar with the outlay and how to find my favorite places. I’m happy there even if I’m doing no more than walking through the streets. I’ve been to Italy three times, and London twice, and loved each of those visits. I would happily live in Paris, London, or Florence, or in any of the towns in Tuscany.
Eight years ago, I spent several weeks in Scotland. I’d love to go back, especially for the Edinburgh Arts Festival in August. I’ve been to Istanbul twice, and could explore that beautiful city for years and still find things to delight and surprise me. Surrounded by the Marmara Sea, the Black Sea and the Bosphorus Strait, it glistens like so many diamonds in the sun. I also spent about a week in Barcelona. Loved strolling along the La Rambla!
Places I never want to go again: Several years ago, I had the opportunity to travel to the island of Bermuda for work. I had also planned to squeeze in a couple days of ‘fun and sun,’ but unfortunately, there was none of either. The weather was cold and rainy the entirety of my stay.
With several re-insurance companies using Bermuda as their headquarters, it is a business-oriented island, swarming with (mostly) men and women, all dressed in suits, carrying brief cases. This wouldn’t be so disorienting if sandy beaches and turquoise waters weren’t omnipresent, swaying seductively in the background.
The dress ‘uniform’ for the men of the island is a light-colored shirt, starched, a navy-blue jacket, and tie, and Bermuda shorts. Long socks complete the look.
Even though the shorts were cute, I have no desire to return.
The most daring thing I’ve ever done:
Once on a trip to Cancun with friends, I donned scuba diving equipment with the others, all of whom had their scuba diving licenses, and jumped off the boat into forty feet of water. I told the people manning the boat that I’d forgotten my license at home. Truth was, I’d never had one. I’d never even had diving lessons. Someone told me to make certain that I breathed out during the ascent, or I could die. I had no problem remembering the technique.
Something I chickened out from doing:
I can no longer be shamed into boarding a roller coaster, not by a child, a grandchild, or anyone else. I have climbed one-hundred-foot towers at water parks and have been catapulted from plastic tubes into a few inches of water. I’ve twirled on little rafts down raucously angled watery projectiles, but I draw the line at roller coasters. Call me ‘chicken’ if you must. That’s okay.
The funniest thing that happened to me on vacation:
Two friends and I traveled to Paris for the millennial, planning to travel down the Loire Valley after New Years to stay a couple of days at an old chateau. As usual, we left Paris later than we should have, and by the time we were in the vicinity of the chateau, it was dark. We made a wrong turn into a little village, and once we realized that, we made another wrong left turn, right onto the rail road tracks. The tiny Renault we were driving sank into the steel bars of the tracks by at least a foot.
Always quick to abandon a car in trouble, I jumped out of the backseat to get an appraisal of the situation. It seemed impossible. The Renault would have to clear a nine-inch tall rail road tie to get out of the tracks. The tires of the vehicle were only a couple of inches taller than the ties. To make it worse, we heard the horn of an approaching train. The railroad crossing lights began flashing, it’s bells clanged, and it seemed that we were toast.
By this time, the entire village, it seemed, had gathered along the other side of the tracks to watch the spectacle. My friend Carolyn, who was driving the car, looked at me frantically, and asked what to do. I said the only thing I could think of at the time. “Put in it reverse and FLOOR IT!”
The odds weren’t with us, especially since the car hadn’t been willing to slide into reverse for the entire trip. Carolyn had even had to figure out strategies for leaving parking lots without putting the car into reverse. But, somehow, the Renault knew it was in trouble. Its back wheels spun furiously, and the little car zoomed over the railroad ties just in time. I turned to wave to the gathering crowd as my friends screamed, “GET IN THE CAR! This is not a Miss America moment, Cindy!!”
The remainder of the trip was uneventful.
The most embarrassing thing that happened to you on vacation:
See above.
The nicest thing a reader said to you:
When we were closing on our new house, my mortgage broker told me that I was one of her favorite authors. I was stunned. I asked her which of my books she’d read, and sure enough, she’d read both Out From Silence, as well as The Redemption. I was touched and very pleasantly surprised. I’d never heard of the small Alabama town where she lived and worked, and asked her how she’d heard of me. She replied “Amazon!” I was thrilled to send her a copy of Sanctuary, the third book in the series.
The craziest thing a reader ever said to you:
After reading The Redemption, the second book in the Thornton Mystery series, one reader wrote a glowing review, stating that the book was “…one of the best thrillers I’ve ever read…” Then she proceeded to give me a three-star rating on Amazon.
Recommendations for curing writer’s block:
The only cure I know for writer’s block is to keep on writing. If you come to a spot where you know the tension and conflict should increase, but you can’t figure out how, you will find the path to your story if you keep writing. It works for me every time.
Things I do to avoid writing:
I clean my house to avoid writing. I wash dishes, do laundry, clean counters and bathrooms. You can tell if I’m working against a deadline by the number of dishes in my sink.
About Cynthia:
C.L. (Cynthia) Tolbert fell in love with the cryptic clues and twisted plots of Agatha Christie’s stories and novels when she was a child. Her Thornton Mystery Series reflects this passion, as well as the vast richness of the places and people she’s encountered throughout her life. Retiring after practicing law for more than thirty years, C.L. began writing full time. Her experiences as an attorney, especially during the years she taught at Loyola Law School where she also directed a homeless clinic, have inspired her stories.
Licensed in Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi, her roots are in the deep south, but her stories are universal, with characters that range from a young deaf man accused of murdering his girlfriend in rural Georgia, to a young homeless woman charged with killing the leader of a suspicious cult in New Orleans.
In 2010 C.L. won the Georgia State Bar Association’s fiction writing contest, and, in 2020, following her retirement, developed the winning short story into the first novel of the Thornton Mystery Series, Out From Silence, featuring the Emma Thornton. In 2021 C.L. published a follow up novel, The Redemption, a mystery set in New Orleans, which Kirkus Reviews called an “engaging and unpredictable whodunit.” In 2022, the third book in the series, Sanctuary, was published. Kirkus Reviews featured Sanctuary in the April, 2023 edition of Kirkus Reviews Magazine, calling it, “A well-plotted nail biter with believable and sympathetic characters.” C.L.’s love of New Orleans and murder mysteries continues in The Legacy, the fourth book in the Thornton Mystery series.
C.L. is a recent transplant to Austin, Texas, where she lives with her husband and schnauzer, Yoda. She has two children and three grandchildren.
Let’s Be Social:
Website: C.L. Tolbert Mystery Author | Thornton Mystery (cltolbert.com)
