Tell us a little bit about yourself.
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| Author Cindy Dorminy |
I was born in
Texas, grew up in Georgia and now call Nashville, TN home. For the past 20+
years, I’ve worked at a major university medical center as a research
coordinator. Writing is a major part of my day job, but it is far from
creative.
Early in our
marriage, my husband decided he wanted to join a band. He suggested that since
he might be gone a lot on the weekends, I should find a hobby. I was in the
process of learning more about the American Civil War and an idea for a novel
grabbed me. I worked on that novel for the next several years. It got some
attention, but it’s been shelved. Maybe someday, I’ll dust it off and see if
there is any interest. I put writing on
hold when I had my daughter because there are only so many hours in the day. I
even enrolled in nursing school a few years ago. I had a ‘come to Jesus’ moment
and decided I missed creative writing, so I withdrew from school and delved
back into writing novels. I have no regrets.
What is the name of your latest book
and what inspired it?
My debut YA novel
is called Tuned Into You. I guess the inspiration came from a slew of ‘what if’
questions back and forth with some writer friends of mine. It grew from that. I
know that sounds so dull, but it’s the truth.
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| Available Now |
How would you categorize your book?
My novel is Young Adult Contemporary Romance.
Introduce us to your book's lead
protagonists.
Lydia is a feisty
preacher’s kid (the youngest of four). She’s a kick-butt fast-pitch softball
pitcher. Many preacher’s kids have the
reputation that they are wild and crazy, so classmates have this opinion of
her. But she is nothing like that. She’s completely focused on getting a
softball scholarship to her dream college when she meets Abe. He’s Nashville
Teen Idol winner and has been on tour living the dream for the past year. He
can’t seem to stay out of trouble and fame has worn him out. He’s decided to
take the summer off to chill and let all the rumors about him die down.
Throwing a party on his family farm and getting arrested alongside Lydia isn’t
part of the plan.
Tuned Into You
is an enemies to friends to lovers story with family drama thrown in there. It’s
sweet and hopefully the reader will think there are some funny moments.
How did the book come to be titled?
The entire time I
was writing the book, the title was Second
Base since Lydia was a softball player. I pitched it to agents and
publishers and even some twitter contests under this title with some interest.
It wasn’t until I met Kelly Ann Hopkins online and received a query critique
from her that the title changed. She thought my title didn’t capture the true
essence of the story and suggested the title change. Thanks Kelly!
Tell us more about the cover
design. How involved were you with
creating the cover?
The cover is
awesome. Anita
Carroll has the Midas touch! (BookFish Books and http://race-point.com/) I love every cover she has designed and each time another
cover reveal was announced, I would think, ‘I can’t wait to see what she has in
store for me.’ I threw out some ideas to her and some sample pictures and she
ran with it. I am so happy with it. Anita rocks!
Tell us something about your book
that isn't mentioned in the synopsis.
My main male
character is a singer songwriter, so one way he tries to get Lydia to forgive
him is to write a song for her. (I know… sigh!) The lyrics I wrote were
terrible. I mean awful doesn’t come close to how bad they were. Thank goodness
I live with a songwriter and he helped me out. It sounds so much better.
Thanks, Mick!
Give us a summary of your book in a
tweet.
Abe may
be a hotshot on stage, but it’s gonna take more than a perfect pitch to win
over Lydia.
How much of your experience is in
your book/series?
My of my best
friends growing up was a preacher’s kid / softball player. Some of her
personality came into play when I was creating Lydia.
Describe your writing process.
I’m old school. I
love writing in a notebook first and then transcribing it into Scrivener. If
you haven’t used that program, check it out. It’s very powerful. After I write
a few chapters, I’ll ‘compile’ them into a Word document to print. I know, I
kill a lot of trees, but I love to take red and blue pens and go to town with
editing. I guess I type so fast, if I go straight from mind to laptop, it
sounds like a third grader wrote it.
Describe your writing environment.
It’s hard to find
lots of uninterrupted time to write. Working full time, laundry, exercise,
having a kid, a dog, a husband, a house, a yard….. you get the picture. There’s
always something that has to be done. I do a lot of writing on my lunch breaks
at work (especially when the students are gone for summer break – yay). In the
spring / summer months, I will sit out
on my screened-in porch and write until I have no daylight left. My writing
buddy (Daisy Mae) keeps me company.
How much research did you put into
your book?
Since I live in
Nashville, I know the area quite well, so I didn’t have to do much research
into the ‘world.’ And the same goes for the music business. My husband is a
musician – need I say more? One of my best friends growing up was a feisty,
tomboy preacher’s kid. A lot of her personality went into creating Lydia. I’m
extremely allergic to horses so I had to rely on my friend Jen Buynitzky who
grew up surrounded by horses. She gave me the details on colic!
What are your hobbies, interests
outside of writing?
Outside of reading
and writing, I love to workout. I was a competitive bodybuilder back in the 80s
and even though I haven’t competed in decades, I still train pretty hard. My
husband and I work out most mornings (5 AM) in our gym at home. I also love to
garden, but I don’t think I’m very good at it. I love taking my dog, Daisy Mae
for walks. Camping is a family interest. I love photography, but again, I don’t
think I’m very good at it.
What is the best advice received as
an author?
Writing a book is a
lot like being pregnant. Everyone is eager to give you advice. Most of the
writing advice I received was so helpful, it’s really hard to tease out one as
being the best. I guess if I had to, I would say that so many authors stressed
the importance of having great cover art. I think Anita Carroll knocked it out
of the park with Tuned Into You!
What is the harshest criticism?
The
harshest criticism I think I’ve received was for my adult contemporary novel.
An editor said, he thought the story was boring. Ouch! I’m not sure if I’d
rather receive a form letter or no letter at all. That rejection hurt. I got
another after having full manuscript. The agent just didn’t like the story.
Stick a knife in my heart and twist it.
What advice might you give aspiring
authors?
No story
will appeal to everyone. If you have a story to tell, tell it. There are others
out there that will want to read it. Also, there is not only one way to the
prize. There is the agent route, there is going straight to publishers (which
is what I did). There are small presses and larger ones. There is traditional
publishing and there is indie publishing. All are legitimate avenues for an
author. Don’t be too focused on one way because a path may be opening up right
in front of your eyes and you certainly don’t want to miss it.
What types of genres do you read now
for pleasure?
I read a wide
variety of genres. Chic-lit, dystopian, some sci-fi, MG, YA, NA, adult. I’m not
a fan of paranormal, but I’ve found some to be quite good. I love characters
that won’t let me get a good night’s sleep until I finish the book and stay
with me for a long time after ‘the end.’ Authors like Tracie Bannister,
Jennifer Peel, Melanie Marks, Anna Katmore, Monique McDonell, and Cassie Mae are
masters of that. If I could write half as good as they do, I’d consider myself
a great writer.
What is next for you?
I just finished a
YA novel that I think is different from others out there right now. It’s a
cross between If I stay / It’s a Wonderful Life and The Breakfast Club. It’s in
the editing phase right now and can’t wait to get that out there for the world
to see.
I’m also working on
another book with the characters from Tuned. (West and Camille’s story), but it
is in such a pathetic draft form, I wouldn’t dare even share the plot yet. I
have an adult contemporary romance I’ve been submitting also.
And, I have five
screenplays I wrote several years ago I would love to convert to novels. I
don’t have enough hours in the day to get all my ideas down on paper. It’s such
a wonderful problem to have.
Back Cover Blurb
A summer party is the last place Lydia Flowers wants
to be. Beer pong? Stupid, foot-wrecking shoes? Random hookups? No thanks. Lydia
would rather be in her cleats practicing her bat handling skills.
Enter Abe Fischer, the Nashville Teen Idol superstar.
He’s a lip-syncing party animal with a short fuse; or at least that’s what the
tabloids say. Except, Abe turns out to be nothing like the guy Lydia’s read
about online. He’s sweet, and the way he talks to his horse…sigh.
Then life throws Lydia and Abe a curveball. They are
wrongfully arrested for destruction of property. Their choices? Either work on
the Fischer Farm for the summer earning nothing more than blisters and a
sunburn, or have the arrest go on their records, which would ruin Lydia’s shot
at a softball scholarship. It’s a no-brainer. Lydia picks up a pitchfork, pulls
out the SPF 40, and prepares for the worst two months of her life.
When the press gets wind
of a big secret Abe’s family has been keeping, things become even more
complicated. Now Lydia has another choice to make: stick around for Abe’s
messed-up life in the spotlight, or go for the scholarship of her dreams.
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