Has a dream every inspired any of
your stories?
This is a GREAT question because
I often explain writing using a
dream analogy. In dreams,
characters and scenes come from
our brains yet we have very little
control over them. Often we don’t
recognize the ‘strangers’ appearing
in our dreams. This is how writing
is for me. I picture the next scene
as though I’m watching a movie.
The characters come from my
imagination and usually don’t
resemble people in real life.
Do you have an agent and/or
publisher or are you selfpublished? If self-published, do
you use a professional editor? If
traditionally published, who is
your publisher?
I am represented by Emily Sylvan
Kim at Prospect Agency. She
ROCKS the house. I publish with
Avon, Ellora’s Cave, Loose-Id and
Changeling. Right now, I’m
working on a 12 novella serial for
Avon with the first story releasing
in July.
Do you use test readers? If so, how
many?
I’ve recently embraced test readers
because often reading buddies
remember more about my series
than I do. (grins) I also have a
wonderful pre-editor, ELF. She
points out story issues BEFORE I
submit stories to my publishers.
My publishers, of course, have
editors and copyeditors. Yeah, it
takes a team to release a Cynthia
Sax story.
often reluctantly, to earn their
happy ever after.
What advice do you have for
writer’s just starting out?
The usual advice about reading
until your eyeballs explode and
writing every day is GOLD. I’d
also encourage writers to write
balls to the wall, all out, putting
everything—your heart, your
soul—into your writing. If you
don’t cry when you read your
writing, your readers likely won’t
cry either. If you aren’t adding
something different to
Romanceland, why would readers
buy your stories?
What does your writing space look
like?
I have a very old desktop computer
(I joke that it is a Comedy 64) set
on the tiniest and ugliest desk ever.
This desk, a curbside rescue, faces
a blank wall. This eliminates all
distractions. I use the ironing board
as my side table and rest my feet
on my printer. Yes, the writing life
is very glamorous!
Do you set writing goals and if so,
what are they?
Other than total world domination?
(grins) I have daily, weekly,
monthly, annual and long term
goals. It is easy for me to get
distracted so my goals keep me on
track. This year, I’m concentrating
on my 12 novella serial for Avon,
I’m completing the Tattooed Tryst
series for Ellora’s Cave (adding the
2 novellas), plus one additional 3
novella SciFi Erotic Romance
series.
Do you outline your stories or just
go with the flow?
I’m a pantser. I write by the seat of
my pants with no set plot. I DO
however know my characters and
they usually drive the story. I know
they will face their worst fears. I
know they’ll fail before they
succeed. I know they’ll change…
Do you have any writing rituals or
interesting writing quirks?
Cynthia Sax runs on Nutella!
(grins) I treat writing as the job it
is. I put in long hours, working 14
hour days, 7 days a week, but
when you work at something you
love, that’s not difficult to do.
Writing keeps me sane so I tend to
write every day.
I have found the writer’s
community to be very supportive
and welcoming. Please share
writers that you recommend for us
to check out.
Christine d’Abo
Amy Ruttan
J.K. Coi
Wylie Snow
You can find Cynthia on her
website, blog, Facebook, Twitter,
and Amazon.
“Family, Lust and Cameras” by Olga Núñez Miret
Christoph Fischer Books
“Family, Lust and Cameras” by
Olga Núñez Miret is a fantastic
psychological thriller about the
boundary breaking interest that her
step brother Herman displays for
our protagonist, Pat. For some
readers the issue of sexual desire
between step siblings might be
edgy but for me it is handled just
right and it adds more than just a
minor element of sensationalism to
an already strong and fascinating
plot. It has been a while since a
book has had such an immediate
impact and almost hypnotic spell
on me. Pat is brilliantly drawn as a