A Writer's View: Cynthia Owens

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Cynthia will be awarding a signed print copy of "Deceptive Hearts," Book I of The Wild Geese Series (Keeper of the Light is Book II), and a handmade beaded bookmark (US/Canada only) to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour, and a GRAND PRIZE of a sterling silver Claddagh necklace will be awarded to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. (US/Canada only). Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

I like to call my workspace my “Creative Corner,” and that’s just what it is. I don’t have a window, as it’s just a space below the stairs, but I have other things that give me wonderful inspiration.

A bookshelf, filled with my favorite romance novels (my keepers) takes up one half of the back wall. But it’s not just any store-bought bookshelf. This bookshelf is unique, designed especially for me by my late father. Dad didn’t live to see my first book in print, but he was always one of my staunchest supporters, and this bookshelf is very special to me. Dad’s old Funk & Wagnall Dictionary has pride of place on my reference bookshelf.

On my office walls are various items that are special to me, or that bring back memories. Photos from my 2009 trip to Ireland, a set of old iron sleigh bells that belonged to my grandfather, and pictures of my parents.

I also have a “friend” who shares my office. He’s a small stuffed leprechaun named Seamus O’Reagan. I bought him just before St. Patrick’s Day, 2005, and he’s been my lucky charm ever since.

Shortly after Seamus came into my life, I submitted a manuscript to Highland Press. A few months later, I received “The Call” ~ or in this case, the e-mail ~ offering me a contract for my first novel, In Sunshine or in Shadow. I’m not sure how much Seamus had to do with my being published, but I’ve come to think of him as my lucky charm. He’s been with me at every interview and book signing I’ve done up to now, and he’ll continue to be at my side for all my future book-related events.

About the Author:

I believe I was destined to be interested in history. One of my distant ancestors, Thomas Aubert, reportedly sailed up the St. Lawrence River to discover Canada some 26 years before Jacques Cartier’s 1534 voyage. Another relative was a 17thCentury “King’s Girl,” one of a group of young unmarried girls sent to New France (now the province of Quebec) as brides for the habitants (settlers) there.

My passion for reading made me long to write books like the ones I enjoyed, and I tried penning sequels to my favorite Nancy Drew mysteries. Later, fancying myself a female version of Andrew Lloyd Weber, I drafted a musical set in Paris during WWII.

A former journalist and lifelong Celtophile, I enjoyed a previous career as a reporter/editor for a small chain of community newspapers before returning to my first love, romantic fiction. My stories usually include an Irish setting, hero or heroine, and sometimes all three. I’m the author of The Claddagh Series, historical romances set in Ireland and beyond. The first three books in The Claddagh Series, In Sunshine or in Shadow, Coming Home, and Playing For Keeps, are all available from Highland Press. Deceptive Hearts, the first book in The Wild Geese Series and Book II, Keeper of the Light, have been released.

I am a member of the Romance Writers of America, Hearts Through History Romance Writers, and Celtic Hearts Romance Writers. A lifelong resident of Montreal, Canada, I still live there with my own Celtic hero and our two teenaged children.

Website: http://authorcynthiaowens.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCynthiaOwens
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cynwrites1

…Like the Wild Geese of Old Ireland, five boys grew to manhood despite hunger, war, and the mean streets of New York…

She was everything he despised…but he didn’t know it

Cathal Donnelly washed up on the shores of an Atlantic island one stormy night, with no memory of who he was or why he was there. But is his lovely rescuer his salvation…or his doom?

She dreamed of a very different life

Laura Bainbridge has spent her entire life on tiny Turtle Island, but she dreams of a Season in London and a presentation to Queen Victoria. Can a handsome Irish stranger with a golden tongue and a disturbing past change her heart and convince her to stay?

As Cathal’s memory slowly returns, both he and Laura must come to grips with his painful past…and fight for a future free of hatred and loss.

Buy the book at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, Chapters, The Book Depository, Booksamillion, Foyle’s, or Powell’s Books