RHONDA GIBSON INTERVIEW BY CYNTHIA HICKEY

My favorite foods are: Mexican, you name it... I'll eat it, Strawberry Shortcake Sundae's, and Chocolate cake. I love Sonic ice and can eat it by the bags full, strange maybe... but true.

I have one dog, Sheba and a cat named Sunny.
I am happily married with 2 beautiful children and three very precious grandchildren. I give God the glory for my family and my writing career. He is my all in all. I write romance some with a hint of a mystery in them. What can I say love and murder just seem to go together? I enjoy crafts, gardening, and most of all reading!

When did you decide to pursue writing and eventually publication? I have been writing since I was 12. I started writing toward publication in 2001. My first novella came out in 2003. God is good J

What is your writing process like?  Do you write daily?  Are you a plotter or a pantster?  I write Monday-Saturday. I’m a night time writer. You see, I’m a procrastionater so writing at night when everyone and the internet is quiet is my best writing time. Although, because I’m a procrastionator I often find myself writing like crazy during the day right before a deadline. I start out as a pantster but by chapter three I stop write a synopsis and then proceed. I’ll often add to the synopsis as I go , so I have to say I’m a little of both.

What is your favorite part of the writing process?  The beginning. I’m always so excited to start a new book. Least favorite? The middle of the book where I start to question ‘whatever made me think I could write a whole book.’ By the end I’m excited again and happy with what I’ve produced.

What is one of the most interesting things you’ve discovered in your research?  This changes all the time but while researching the series that I’m working on now, I discovered that there were two or three married men in their 40’s who were pony express riders. I’d always thought they were all sixteen or seventeen. Never older… boy was I happily surprised.

Please tell us about your latest release.  Claire Parker Takes the Case is my latest release. She is 52 years old but thinks of herself as older. In a lot of ways she acts older but in others she is your typical 52 year old. Claire’s best friend is poisioned and she is the prime suspect. Thinking herself too old to go to jail, Claire decides to find her friends murderer. She does all types of fun things and riles up the murderer. There is a small romance that travels throught the story, too. What’s a mystery without a little romance in it?

Who or what inspired this special story?  I have always loved Cozy mysteries and had thought about writing one but was too chicken.  One day I was talking with my bestfriend and she suggested I try my hand at writing a cozy, more like dared me to. So Claire Parker was born. Claire and I have a lot in common only I read and write about mysteries, she lives them.

Is there anything else you would like to share? I also have a Flower Shop Mystery series, the first book will be out soon.

What will you be working on next?  I write for several publishers. I am currently working on a Love Inspired Historical. My next project is a contemporary novella set in New Mexico. My next cozy mystery that I will be working on is another Claire Parker Mystery J

Can you tell us something about yourself that few people may know? This is a hard one for me. OH I know, I collect the old view master reels. I like the Disney and cartoon ones the best.

What is your most treasured possession? My Bible.  The older I get the more I cling to the words within.

If you had to leave your house suddenly, what is one thing you would grab, other than family and pets? My bag that holds my purse, keys, Bible, ipad and other things that I take everywhere.

Thank you so much!  Where can readers find out more about you and your books? I have a website: www.rhondagibson.net and will soon have a newsletter.  I’m also on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorRhondaGibson/  and Twitter: https://twitter.com/RhondaGibson

Please leave a comment for a chance to win a print copy of Claire Parker Takes the Case.

Multi-published and Amazon Best-Selling author Cynthia Hickey had three cozy mysteries and two novellas published through Barbour Publishing. Her first mystery, Fudge-Laced Felonies, won first place in the inspirational category of the Great Expectations contest in 2007. Her third cozy, Chocolate-Covered Crime, received a four-star review from Romantic Times. All three cozies have been re-released as ebooks through the MacGregor Literary Agency, along with a new cozy series, all of which stay in the top 50 of Amazon’s ebooks for their genre. She had several historical romances release through Harlequin’s Heartsong Presents, and has sold over half a million copies of her works since 2013. She has taught a Continuing Education class at the 2015 American Christian Fiction Writers conference. You can find her on FB, twitter, and Goodreads, and is a contributor to Cozy Mystery Magazine blog and Suspense Sisters blog. She and her husband run the small press, Forget Me Not Romances, which includes some of the CBA’s best well-known authors. She lives in Arizona with her husband, one of their seven children, two dogs, two cats, three box turtles, and two Sulcata tortoises. She has seven grandchildren who keep her busy and tell everyone they know that “Nana is a writer”.

Website at www.cynthiahickey.com

Also www.forgetmenotromances.com