Talkshow Thursday: Welcome Cindy Stewart

Talkshow Thursday: Welcome Cindy Stewart

LM: Thanks for joining me today. Congratulations on completing your novel Abounding Hope. Before we chat about that, tell us about what draws you to the World War II era?

Cindy: I love reading stories about characters who overcome great odds during turbulent times, and I especially enjoy stories based on real historical events. Although WWII was a terrible time in history, so many ordinary people accomplished extraordinary feats, defying all reason.

LM: You’re a teacher by vocation. How did your job prepare you to be a fiction writer?

Cindy: Actually, I had to forget almost everything I had learned about writing from my school days and learn how to write fiction from scratch. It’s so different from non-fiction. In order to advance in my profession, I earned a master's in Secondary Education/History. My grad class in Research taught me how to dig for details and to search for primary sources. I love teaching history and utilize my writing research to tell my students little-known tidbits of information, especially from the WWII time period.

LM: As a regular contributor to the Heroes, Heroines, and History blog, you have an opportunity to share intriguing stories about the past. How do you decide what topics to write about, and do you have a favorite area of interest?

Cindy: Because I’ve been researching WWII for the past 10+ years, I’ve uncovered many interesting stories to share from this time period. Most of my posts are about events that happened during the war.

LM: Readers who sign up for your newsletter receive a collection of true WWII stories. Please tell us about the book and where to sign up.

Cindy: I’ve compiled an e-book of true short stories of escape from WWII, and it’s available as a free

download to anyone who signs up for my newsletter. Readers can find the simple signup form on my brand-new website at: http://www.cindykaystewart.com

LM: What is the plot for your novel Abounding Hope?

Cindy: Abounding Hope is a romance set in Poland and Hungary at the beginning of WWII in 1939. The main characters and some of the secondary characters are American citizens who’ve grown up in Europe and attended a Christian boarding school in France between WWI and WWII. At graduation, they pledged to come to each other’s aid if any member was in trouble—so the Circle of Hope was born. WWII brings lots of trouble. Abounding Hope is the story of two of these characters who must make their escape and find love in the process, but they find a little help along the way.

LM: How did you come up with the characters for Abounding Hope?

Cindy: I wanted a strong, vivacious female protagonist who loved children and was dedicated to her ministry. One who was married to that ministry and wouldn’t want to flee at the first threats of war. I wanted a strong male protagonist who would bring out the worst and the best in her. Someone who had to learn he couldn’t always be in control.

LM: You’ve accomplished quite a lot. What is one thing you wish you could do?

Cindy: Cook. I can follow a recipe, but who has time?

Pixabay/
Edi Nugaha

LM: What is your next project?

Cindy: I have three projects in the works—a prequel novella set in Germany, the sequel to Abounding Hope set in Norway and France, and the first book in a spinoff series set in Belgium and France.

LM: Where can folks find you on the web?

Cindy: Folks can find me at—http://www.cindykaystewart.com

Book Blurb:

1939. Lvov, Poland. After the Germans invade, American teacher Irena Simmons must leave her family behind and flee with German children wanted by the Nazis.

American shipping magnate Jonathan Huntwell returns to Eastern Europe to meet Irena, but she and the little ones are missing.

For fans of WWII Christian romance comes a sweeping novel of two Americans caught in the sudden onslaught of Nazi aggression in Eastern Europe . . .