Guest Author, Cindy Greene

Today's guest is Cindy K. Green, author of nine books, and seven titles with The Wild Rose Press. Today she is celebrating the release of her Inspirational historical short story, Dilemma of the Heart. With degrees in education and history, you know she knows what she's talking about! So without further ado, here's Cindy!

Who are you?

That is a question I’m still trying to answer. ;) Here are some stats: I’m married with two boys ages 11 and 4. I taught middle school before deciding to stay home and teach my own kids after the second was born. I have degrees in both education and history. To fill the void, I started to write and had my first publishing contract in July of 2006. I have 9 books released at the moment. Four of which just went out of print this December 31st as that publisher went out of business. I have three new books coming this year. I write in several genres: Inspirational, Historical, Contemporary, Fantasy, and Suspense. I have some YA ms I hope to finish one day as well. My publishers are The Wild Rose Press and Champagne Books. (By Grace Publishing and Moonlit Romance just closed their doors) In my free time (ha!), I love reading, photography, scrapbooking, Period Dramas, and spending time with family.

What type of stories do you like to write and why?

I love to write stories with humor that reach to the heart. I dearly love to laugh and I hope my stories bring smiles to readers and yet convey the emotions of my characters. Genre-wise, I love historicals and romantic suspense. My background is in history and research—so I just love that. And there really is nothing as fun as choreographing a fight scene or getting into the head of a villain in a romantic suspense.

What type of stories do you like to read and why?

My reading choices are very similar to my writing favorites. Historicals, Romantic Suspense, Fantasy, Inspirational, Classics and even Non-fiction history. These are the genres I’ve been reading since I was a kid and I probably always will.

When do you read? Where?

I read whenever I can grab a chance. Most often, it is before bed. I read my ebooks on my e-reader after my husband is asleep. Thank goodness for the backlight on the device. On the weekends, I sometimes catch some reading time as I lie on my bed. It doesn’t usually last long. ;)
Where did you get the inspiration for Dilemma of the Heart?

My current release, Dilemma of the Heart, is a historical. I have a degree in history and yet I did not have a historical book or story published at the time. I decided then and there I had to write one and this story of a young woman who had lost her sweetheart during the Civil War came to mind. My inspiration probably also came from my love of watching Period Drama films.

How did you come up with your title and main characters’ names?

The title really describes this story. The heroine has a dilemma of the heart. Can she forget the man who holds her heart and marry the one offering her a future? I purposely named my hero Frederick after Captain Frederick Wentworth in Jane Austen’s Persuasion which just happens to be my favorite book.

How long did you write seriously before your first book was published?

I didn’t start to write seriously until about 6-8 months before I received my first contract. That first book though was not the one published. It is still without a contract, a young adult historical. My first published book was a Christmas novella back in December of 2006. I wrote it in six days.

Why do you write?

Writing is something I have always done. As a teenager, I wrote lots and lots of stories. In college, my fiction writing was put to the side for non-fiction. When I became a stay at home mom a couple years ago, I found I really needed something else to occupy my mind. I returned to writing fiction and I love it! I can’t imagine working on one of my stories in some capacity each and every day.