Author Interview with Cynthia Terelst

Thank you for joining us for this interview with Author Cynthia Terelst! She has some amazing books! Don’t miss her Amazon Author Page. So without further blabbering on my part, let’s jump right to learning from Ms. Terelst!

Let’s jump right in!

How did you know you had this book in you?

This particular book, A Bird in the Hand, came about because I wanted to share some great places in Western Australia with my audience. So I opted for a road trip romance. I was able to take my characters to places I have visited and places I’d like to visit. It was like I was there with them.

Your audience

Who is your expected audience?

Predominantly females because I write romance. But anyone who likes travelling would be interested. One of my novels, let Sleeping Dogs Lie, was based around a scavenger hunt in Sydney so there was a little bit of history involved in the clues. If you like learning there is always something in my novels that could be of interest.

Who has been your strongest supporter?

My friends are always encouraging me. I appreciate that.

Friends are awesome, encouraging friends are the best!

How do you do it?

Please describe your writing process. How do you do you?

I come up with a title first. All of my titles are based on animal sayings and the story relates to that saying. So, for The Cat’s out of the Bag, Jesse, who is a billionaire kept this fact from Evie, until the Cat was out of the Bag.

As I’m thinking about a title I think about stories that can relate to that title. Once I have an idea I plot it out, very roughly, and then start the writing process. I hand write all of my novels because I find my brain thinks better that way.

I love the animal theme! That’s awesome! So if you do your first draft by hand, when do you switch to typing it?

I type my manuscript after my first draft.

How do you know your piece is ready to be shared/complete?

There is a whole long process involved – beta readers, an editor and then a proofreader. I add any finishing touches and start the publishing process.

What is your greatest challenge in writing?

My first drafts are very scant. I can increase by word count by up to 20,000 over the next few drafts. I would like to write more complete first drafts.

Hmm, interesting. Do you tend to add little bits throughout the story or do you add more scenes?

I add little bits throughout the story by layering detail. I do add scenes as well, but it’s more about building on the scenes I have.

I see, that makes sense. What surprised you in the writing process?

When I started writing again I didn’t realise how much was involved from first word to publication.

Is there something in particular, (a tool, a song, a planner,) that you found particularly helpful?

No, but that makes me think I should go put some music on now. I do like music but when I’m writing most sounds are drowned out by my thoughts.

I understand that! I tend not to have intentional background noise on, but I do like some sound. I enjoy music for other tasks.

I know we tend to write what we know, but did you need to do research for this book?

I do a lot of research for all of my books. For example, for Down the Rabbit Hole I needed to research the damage rabbits do to the environment and how rabbits are illegal to keep in the Australian state of Queensland. I also researched sustainable farming and its history in Australia.

For Get Off Your High Horse I researched the game of polo in Australia. I was lucky that my daughter has a friend who worked in the polo industry. I was able to get a lot of information from her. The rest I studied up on. I watched YouTube video on polo so I could learn how the game was played. I had never been to a polo match before.

What was the coolest or most surprising thing you learned?

For A Bird in the Hand I looked into equality in the workforce. I was shocked to learn that in a study conducted years ago, only 28 out of 5,000 students drew a scientist as female. They automatically thought of scientists being male.

You know, even though I know better, the first image that pops into my head for many careers, especially the trades, are male. I’m guilty of first picturing a scientist as male, and I have always enjoyed science. I wonder when we first learned this?

What else can you share?

What author, or book, or series most influenced you?

The book that really got me interested in writing was The Outsiders. I watched the movie and then read the book and absolutely loved it.

What else is important to share about your book?

My books will leave you feeling warm and hopeful but that doesn’t mean that it’s all smooth sailing for the characters. Some have had very traumatic pasts. In Down the Rabbit Hole we face bullying from the outset.

When can we expect more from you?

I’m in the planning stages of my next novel, As Busy as a Bee. It’s an office based romance. I think it will be set at an apple orchard. And of course there will be some facts about bees and how important they are to the world.

Where do we find you?

Where can we find your book?

My books are available from Amazon and can be read on Kindle Unlimited. The easiest way to find my books is to search by my name. There is only one of me 🙂

That really helps! There is a much more famous person who shares a name with me.

This link will work for the United States. My name will need to be searched in other countries https://www.amazon.com/Cynthia-Terelst/e/B07ZCTX8SB

Where else can we find you?

Everywhere, or just about. I am on the main social media channels.

Website http://cynthiaterelst.com/

Newsletter https://www.subscribepage.com/p9p9y0

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/cynthiaterelstauthor/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/cynthiaterelstauthor/

TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@cynthiaterelst

BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cynthia-terelst

Amazon Author Page – https://www.amazon.com/Cynthia-Terelst/e/B07ZCTX8SB/

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/cynthiaterelst