Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cyndi Brec. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Cyndi, thank you so much for making time for us. We’ve always admired your ability to take risks and so maybe we can kick things off with a discussion around how you developed your ability to take and bear risk?
How did you develop the ability to take risks? I was never great at taking risks; the ‘chance’ of failure was too dangerous—I tried to play life safe. Safety offered security and a sense of stability—as a child growing up, security could change in twenty-four hours, so I valued safety strongly. My perspective changed when I met my husband, who explored outside his comfort zone. He knew how to balance risks, not about taking reckless risks but rather making informed decisions; most of all, he lived with a level of celebration.
The longer we were together, the more I caught his fire of excitement, richness of life, and willingness to explore. Taking risks is finding a balance between judgment and commitment to explore and a balance that supports your values and goals. I have learned a lot throughout life, especially when we bought a 200-hundred-year-old historic water mill—that was a huge risk. We committed to buying the mill, and we were just married and didn’t have a house to live in yet.
But isn’t regret a more significant risk, a danger to the soul?
My desire and passion for writing burned with force. Since high school, I’d been an avid reader, and a particular story stalked my thoughts, developing in my mind like a choreographed dance. So, I developed the ability to take risks by putting pen to paper or fingers on the keyboard—after all, who would read my stories?
I could embark on a fictitious adventure, crafting tales from the thoughts of my imagination, and even hit the delete button and erase a character’s life. I felt like I was in total control. But in an author’s world, risk wasn’t just what you wrote on the pages of the character’s life.
There’s a lot of risk involved in writing. I had to be courageous in crafting a storyline and building a character I loved, and in many ways, I danced on the edge of uncertainty. The risk of rejection was around every corner, from writing an acceptable story to submitting work to a publication, financial stress, the solitary pursuit, dyslexia, imposters syndrome, and criticism. However, I learned that taking risks allowed me to grow into accepting myself, discovering my limits, and learning from my failures as a person and author.
To relish life is to take risks—no one is guaranteed a tomorrow.
Taking a risk involves a combination of mindset, determination, and stepping out of your comfort zone. I embraced my failures as a learning curve, an opportunity, rather than a setback. With my wonderful husband, I cultivated a support group of family and friends that encouraged me in my day-to-day life through my struggles—which were endless—into developing my writing career.
One thing was for sure: The more I learned to live, explore, and push myself, the more I knew I had to change my mindset. Ultimately, I wasn’t taking a ‘risk’ by stepping out of my comfort zone, but taking a ‘chance.’ Risks have a probability of a negative outcome; ‘chance,’ on the other hand, has given me an optimistic perspective … a willingness to adventure because there is more fear in not feeding my soul.
Because I dared to take a chance, my story world was created, and I absolutely love The Theran Series.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am excited to share that I have finished the last book in The Therans series. My agent, Jonas Saul, is pitching my first book, Secrets Beneath Scars, to publishers. As of now, I am focused on working on two different books. One is a fantasy stand-alone, and the other is a non-fiction book I plan to co-author with a fellow author. I am an avid reader, fantasy enthusiast, and connoisseur of heart-fluttering tales. I love to write stories that allow readers to escape into a fantasy world, and I believe romance catapults the emotional risks.
What I think is most exciting about my career is I get to write about things I love: history, legends, and myths—I jokingly say that I am a legend sleuth. As an author, I twist legends and tweak myths; so much richness is added when you can change a component and increase the tension tenfold, and the reader is surprised. In all my legend sleuthing through the research of my book series, I have also learned the value history can play in a storyline. It plays an integral part as much as the story setting.
The story setting is a powerful hook for readers; for instance, when you read in the book blurb, ‘Catacombs of Egypt.’ Catacomb is like a trigger word for danger, suspense, and mystery, and it sets a mood. A writer’s job is to cultivate an emotional connection, not just between the reader and the character.
But when a reader learns you’ve used a genuine landmark in your fiction story, like the Catacombs in Egypt, it gives a sense of authenticity to your story, and it is easier for a reader to have a vicarious experience of learning the place having never visited.
Another component of story writing that fascinates me is legends. In writing my story world, I have assumed that legends aren’t lies. They’re the cipher of secrets built to hide the truth.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Reading was one of the biggest things that impacted my journey as an author. I had comprehension challenges throughout school, and dyslexia didn’t make it easier. So, the more I exposed myself to literature, vocabulary words, grammar, and understanding of the narrative structure, the more it helped foster a desire to write. Creativity is an essential aspect of storytelling that has always come to me naturally, and my love of history, legends, and myths has helped nurture a deeper creative aspect of my storyline. Also, research really can make a difference. It enhances the credibility and intensity of your writing. Ultimately, determination played a significant factor. I desired to see my character’s story told organically, in a fantasy world no reader has ever explored and in an original concept. My best advice for authors to succeed in their personal journey is to read in your genre, know your writing strengths, and don’t give up on your story! Complete the novel you are writing, and later, go back and layer the book with more character development, foreshadowing, and history—anything that will elevate the quality of your storytelling. Authors need to be receptive to feedback, adapting ideas, or changes in direction, and one thing is for sure: personal growth is a continual process for an author as it is for character.
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
That largely depends on what I am overwhelmed by. If it is a time crunch issue, I eliminate something from my schedule or request an extension. If I have lost my way in the plot because my character has a mind of her own, I’ll try to reconnect with the scene in my head visually. My mind will often choreograph scenes for me, and I’ll type as they visually unfold. But if this doesn’t work, I get up from the writing desk, grab a French vanilla iced coffee, and contact one of my brainstorming buddies. One of my most significant strategies to decrease my stress is to grab a book, jump into a bubble bath, and escape into a fantasy world—it’s like a vacation for my brain without the lost luggage.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cyndibrec.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cyndibrec7/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CBrecFantasy
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/CyndiBrec
- Other: Newsletter blog: www.cyndbrecauthor.wordpress.com
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