Author Cyndi L. Stuart from Harstine Island in South Puget Sound, Washington, just recently sold an artisan farm in Puyallup where she and her husband ran a small nursery and pottery studio. After years spent as a garden speaker and horticultural writer, she now teaches an online continuing education class, The Journey from Idea to Manuscript to Published Book, through Pierce College during fall and spring terms). Cyndi’s passion for writing is rooted in creating stories from current events, myths, folklore, and things she might have overheard at the local coffee shop. Her first indie-published book was the farm-to-table cookbook and garden guide Real Food from a Real Farm: Eating through the Seasons. Her first traditionally published book is Deadly Yours, a mystery novel that was released in April 2024. Cyndi is a member of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association, Sisters in Crime, and the Greater Gig Harbor Literary Society. When she isn’t writing, she loves traveling, birdwatching, reading, hiking, biking, napping, and swimming (in Puget Sound, if you can believe that!).
Which genres do you cover?
Cyndi L. Stuart: Aside from that first cookbook and garden guide, my genres are mystery and fantasy. Surprisingly, dark paranormal and supernatural themes have been emerging.
Which is the latest book you had published, and what is about?
Cyndi L. Stuart: Deadly Yours, released in April 2024, is my first traditionally published novel. The story opens with a letter, sealed with blood red wax, arriving in a small coastal town. Samantha’s hopes of a new, quiet life are shattered. The killer is back. Like years before, the crime scenes mimic classic mysteries Samantha once taught in her English Lit class—The Art of Detection. Is one murder staged from an Ellery Queen novel? P.D. James? Sherlock Holmes? Maybe more! Five years ago, strangers died. This time – friends. As the body count climbs, this menace must be found, or the killings may never stop. What’s hidden in the tiny details? Why is the killer taunting her? As the killer closes in, does she once again cut and run, or stand and fight? What will Sam risk to bring this nightmare to an end?
At which book events can readers find you?
Cyndi L. Stuart: Reading & Book Signing in Tacoma, March 25th, 2 pm at Franke Toby Jones Community Center. The Journey from Idea to Manuscript to Published Book, online through Pierce College, April 12th, 10 am-12:30 pm pre-registration required: www.campusce.net/pierce/category/category.aspx. I’m always adding talks and events, so the best way to keep in touch is to follow me on Facebook and Instagram and keep an eye on my linktree account, https://linktr.ee/cyndilstuart.
Which book event connecting you with readers is your favorite and why?
Cyndi L. Stuart: It would be the fall Local Authors Fair put on by the Ocean Shores Public Library. The librarians, volunteers, and visitors were so excited to have us there, and it was a joy to talk with them and the other local authors and writers. It’s also my favorite because my first-grade teacher suddenly appeared, holding a copy of my book and a pen asking me to sign it. Mrs. Markham had driven more than three hours to surprise me.
Do(es) your book(s) have any specific messages to your readers and, if so, which are they?
Cyndi L. Stuart: All my main characters are women over fifty. They live with passion and purpose. They all have their own unique personalities, but each of them refuses to be invisible or ignored.
Which writer(s) keep(s) inspiring you and why?
Cyndi L. Stuart: No other writer has or will inspire me like Agatha Christie. Not only is she the Queen of Crime, she’s also the Master of the Red Herring. My granny gave me my first Christie when I was twelve, and I’ve been hooked ever since. After that, I would have to say Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Val McDermid, Louise Penny, Walter Mosely, Elizabeth George, Julia Child, and J.K. Rowling.
Do you have any specific writing habits?
Cyndi L. Stuart: I try to write every morning after breakfast. It’s a great way to dump out all my thoughts (whether they be good, bad, or ridiculous) onto the page. It only takes about fifteen minutes, and it clears out the cobwebs before I sit down to write. When working on a specific story, I set aside and protect a three-hour block of time every day. I hope for more hours but no matter what, I know those three hours are mine, and I will write.
What are you currently working on?
Cyndi L. Stuart: I’m currently working on two short stories and a fantasy novel. My fantasy novel has stalled, so I’ve come back to short stories in the hopes they will work some magic and bump me out of my funk.
Which book are you currently reading simply for entertainment?
Cyndi L. Stuart: You’ll laugh. I just re-read Christie’s Thirteen at Dinner and just started The Taxidermist’s Daughter by Kate Mosse.
What advice would you give any aspiring author?
Cyndi L. Stuart: Don’t believe any negative thing anyone tells you (that includes your middle school English teacher). Only listen to constructive advice and use that advice to your advantage. If you keep writing, learning, and experimenting, you will get better. Also, join a writing organization. There’s one for every genre; romance, mystery, horror, etc., as well as all-encompassing writing associations. I’ve never met an author who wasn’t more than happy to answer my questions and offer free tips and advice. Also, don’t be afraid to volunteer with your new writer’s association and ask questions.
You can find Cyndi L. Stuart’s Deadly Yours anywhere books are sold and on Amazon. As for Real Food from a Real Farm, you need to contact her directly via email, cyndiswriting@gmail.com.
Thanks so much, Susanne. It was great fun sharing my writing life and new release, Deadly Yours.