We were lucky to catch up with C.L. (Cynthia) Tolbert recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have C.L. (Cynthia) with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
I began teaching when I was twenty and earned a Master’s Degree a few years later. School had always been easy for me, so I made good grades without much effort, cruising by comfortably – until I enrolled in law school. Although confident, I was completely unprepared for what was about to happen.
I was a single mother when I enrolled. I drove upstate to the largest of the state’s two law schools, with my children in the backseat. The move alone was a drastic change for all of us, especially for my kids, who left behind friends, a comfortable house, and family.
First semester began easily enough. I was a full-time student, and also worked part time as a law clerk with a local firm. Although I was busy, I wasn’t worried. That changed when I saw my first three-quarter-inch thick law school exam. Sixteen hours of grueling test-taking that semester showed me that I hadn’t been prepared. I had to change my attitude and develop a discipline, or all of my plans for my family’s future would be shattered.
To survive, I studied at night, after the kids were in bed, sometimes even staying awake until sunrise. I learned endurance, and how to persevere even when things seemed impossible. Both served me as an attorney and as a writer. At the heart of every business and creative endeavor is discipline and a good deal of sweat equity.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Licensed to practice law in Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi, my roots are in the deep south. But even though the stories I write are also set in the south, they explore issues of family and social justice which are common to us all. The Thornton Mystery series incorporates my love of traditional mysteries and includes elements of the places and people I’ve encountered throughout my thirty-five-year law practice. My experiences as an attorney, especially during the years I taught at a law school in New Orleans and directed its homeless clinic, continue to inspire my stories today.
With the exception of winning a fourth grade writing contest and a few assignments in undergraduate writing classes, I didn’t write a word of fiction until 2010 when I entered the Georgia Bar Fiction Writing Contest. Surprised when I won, I turned that short story into my first novel, OUT FROM SILENCE, published by Level Best Books in 2019.
In 2021 THE REDEMPTION, a follow up novel, was published. THE REDEMPTION is a mystery set in New Orleans, which Kirkus Reviews called an “engaging and unpredictable whodunit.” In 2022, the third book in the series, SANCTUARY, was published. Kirkus Reviews featured SANCTUARY in the April, 2023 edition of Kirkus Reviews Magazine, calling it, “A well-plotted nail biter with believable and sympathetic characters.” My love of New Orleans and murder mysteries continues in THE LEGACY, the fourth book in the Thornton Mystery series.
My husband and I recently moved from Atlanta, Georgia to Austin, Texas, where we live with our schnauzer, Yoda. I have two children, two step-children, and three grandchildren.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Since I’m a writer, I have applied the question to what qualities are the most important for writers. But my remarks could also be applied generically, to all professions and disciplines.
- Trust Your Instincts:
I am confident in my ability to recognize and tell a good story, and have learned to trust my instincts. This is similar to having a “good ear” in the music business. You know a good story when you hear it. Tapping into the special alchemy of your story, and its rhythm and cadence is essential. But all of that ability is lost if you don’t believe in yourself. The biggest mistakes I’ve made in my life were made when I chose to ignore what I instinctively knew was right.
- Observing, listening, and learning from others
Through the years I’ve noticed that I don’t have the desire to talk as much as I did when I was younger, and have no desire to be the center of attention. A full-fledged introvert, I enjoy silence and time to myself, but I also observe, listen, and learn from others, and the richness of their lives. My observations have contributed to the stories I tell.
- Perseverance and diligence
Success is unlikely without some combination of hard work, perseverance, and diligence. Legal writing, which I did for thirty five years, is formulaic. To be successful at it, you must develop a solid understanding of the facts and the law, and then formulate an argument from those two elements. None of that prepared me for writing fiction. In fact, I had to unlearn nearly all of my writing habits to become a fiction writer. I didn’t know what to do but plunge in and start writing.
Fiction requires imagination, conflict, and a story arc – a beginning, a middle, and an end. I knew that instinctively, but when I first started writing, I had no more than a general idea of the story line. Since I was so fact driven from my legal writing days, my first attempts were driven by the plot. I found writing about emotion, or vulnerability awkward, even embarrassing. But I participated in critique groups and learned how to correct some of the things I was uncomfortable with.
I learned that writing is more about re-writing and editing than anything else. The first draft is only a beginning. The final product sometimes bears only a faint resemblance to the original draft. I learned to seek out areas where emotional responses were necessary, and how to show a character’s vulnerability. Perseverance and diligence pay off.
So, for all new writers who are early in their journey: trust your instincts, listen and observe those around you, and above all, write.
Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
Harriette Sackler, former editor and former owner of Level Best Books, gave me all the courage I lacked when she told me that she liked my first book, OUT FROM SILENCE. That she also thought I was a “good writer” sent me into orbit.
She not only opened my world to new possibilities, she gave me confidence in my writing. I owe my both of my contracts with Level Best Books to her and her belief in me. She could be tough, but that only made me better. She made me pay attention to the small details that are the glue of the story, the things that make the story flow.
Her retirement of this year was a loss. She will be sorely missed. Thanks for everything, Harriette.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cltolbert.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/cltolbertwriter
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/cltolbertwriter
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/cynthiatolbert
Image Credits
Richie Arpino (author photo)
