By theprairiesbookreview on July 8, 2022 ( Leave a comment )

BookView Interview with Author Cinda K. Swalley

Welcome to BookView Interview, a conversation series where BookView talks to authors.

Recently, we interviewed author Cinda K. Swalley, about her writing and her debut, The Golden Hearts Club, a story that’s suffused with themes of sisterhood and compassion along with a generous dose of mystery and family drama. (Read the review here.).

Cinda grew up in Galion, Ohio with her parents, three brothers and sister, and many generations of family all living close by. She attended Columbus Business University and then Capital University Law School for her Paralegal Certification. Shortly after graduation she and her sister set out on a cross-country road trip that would change the direction of their lives. During that trip, Cinda interviewed with and later began her career with Continental Airlines as a flight attendant. Working for the airlines afforded her many opportunities to travel around the world; from New Zealand and Guatemala to Europe, Russia and Africa. She also embraced a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend Paris Fashion Institute and live for an exciting month in Paris during their most famous fashion week.

This story was inspired by the cross-country adventure she took with her sister. Cinda plans to promote world-wide kindness to businesses and community organizations by offering Golden Heart contests and scholarship awards to encourage people to embrace the opportunity to offer kindness toward others to help make the world a kinder place. http://www.cindaswalley.com.

Social Media links:

GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21167027.Cinda_K_Swalley

Twitter: @Cinda Swalley

Facebook: Cinda K. Swalley, Author | Facebook

Website: www.cindaswalley.com

Instagram: Cinda Swalley

Cinda K. Swalley

18 Harbor Cove Drive

The Woodlands, Texas 77381

832-797-7255

ckswalley@yahoo.com

The Golden Hearts Club follows two sisters as they take a road trip across the country where they find adventure, drama, and new friends. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?

My debut novel, The Golden Hearts Club, was inspired by a road trip my sister and I took when we were in our twenties. The first two chapters of the book have a lot of truth to them. We planned the trip for a year, saved our money, and bought a used red car. Our budget allowed only for camping—no motels, so we filled the car with all the necessities. During our year of preparation, many people we shared our plans with offered us names and phone numbers of their friends and family to visit if we were nearby. Across the country we visited people; many whom we had never met before. We entertained them with our travel stories, and they offered us the sweetest hospitality as if we were part of their family. That made the trip very special, and as I started writing the story, I remembered the kindness that was offered to us. Because people were so warm-hearted toward us, I wanted to use the premise of offering kindness to others in the book. While I was writing, I felt the characters and the story were leading me, and not the other way around. As the story dramatically unfolded, human compassion became the heart of the story.

During our actual trip, and shortly after we left Texas, I became very sick. Probably from jumping in the frigid swimming pool water in El Paso. Because I was so ill, we stopped at a run-down motel in Arizona that was listed in our Youth Hostel book. A Native American woman with a long grey braid greeted us and showed us to our room. As I started writing the story, I found my old photo album from that trip. One of the pictures was of our car parked at The Wagonwheel Inn. Our red car was packed full; the big red luggage box strapped to the top and our bicycles on an attached bike rack. The car was so weighted down I couldn’t believe it held up as we drove across the country. As I studied that picture, I began envisioning a story about the Indian woman that owned the motel and why she was living there by herself. Research about American Indians living in Arizona led me to create a detailed and emotional story about Rose and the tragic loss of her family. Chapter three has its own special story and left me heartbroken. From there, the story took wings and led me on a fictional and emotional journey that I thoroughly entrenched myself into.

There are a lot of memorable characters in this novel. Which character in the novel do you feel you relate to more and why?

I related mostly to Katie, and I put myself completely into her character because parts of her were me. Katie was the Midwest girl-next-door; innocent because of her small-town upbringing, and not wanting anything to change in her seemingly ideal life. I have always loved horses, so I wanted the main story to take place on a horse ranch … and the romance was imperative. Everyone will fall in love with Luke. During my years as a flight attendant, I experienced the lifestyles of wealthy people and thought that element could add intrigue to the story. In the book, when Katie trespasses on private property, she meets a family from a pharmaceutical fortune which includes dishonesty and discord in the family. Katie was introduced to an affluent lifestyle she had never imagined, and she didn’t understand why there were people who didn’t want her around.

I imagined each scene as if it was a scene in a movie; the way she stood, her actions, what she was thinking and feeling. Because I dream a lot, and sometimes I really do wake up laughing, I wanted Katie’s dreams to be a key element of the story. Katie had detailed dreams, but she didn’t know what they meant; were they just dreams, were they wishes and hopes, or were they visions of past and present. I also wanted Megan and Katie to be soul mates and best friends, but at the same time, I wanted them to have completely different personalities so I could play them off each other. Their relationship shines and people have said how much they love the commitment the sisters have for each other.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

I designed this story to be a journey of hearts, of learning and sharing, and I wanted to create a story that would offer simple life messages. My focus was about love of family and how consideration and love can heal wounds and hearts, and even alter lives. I believe we can change this world of disdain and discord if we offer respect and kindness to others. I also wanted the story to be about having hope and how the decisions we make in our lives can affect many other lives. A Golden Heart is an act of kindness. The simplicity of the message is profound. To be a member of The Golden Hearts Club, you only need to share random acts of kindness and show compassion toward others.

One of the foundations of my book is about dreams and hopes, and as I started writing this story I was forced to look back on the various aspects of my life and how or why things happened. I recalled yet another coincidence—or fate—if you will, which has further reassured me that if you believe strongly in your dreams the universe will help you achieve them.

When I graduated from high school, I wanted to be a flight attendant more than anything and I applied to many airlines. I envisioned myself flying around the world and meeting new friends. But the airlines were not hiring at that time, so I went to college. But something that is not in the book, is that we really did drive through a severe dust storm—and we ended up stranded in El Paso, Texas because our car broke down. We had to get jobs to pay for the new transmission. During our time there, I met a man that worked for Continental Airlines who said the company would soon be interviewing for flight attendants and if I came back to El Paso in six months, he would schedule me for an interview. After we finished our trip, both my sister and I returned to El Paso. I interviewed with Continental and was hired as a flight Attendant. My dream came true.

Looking back on this, I questioned how this had happened, whether it was a coincidence, or destiny—or were my dreams leading me. Was it not completely ironic that my dream of being a flight attendant came true because our car broke down and we were stranded in the west Texas desert? We had no intention of stopping in El Paso. How intriguing is it that in a place we had no plan to stop, I met a man that offered me an interview for the job I dreamed about? So, I became convinced that destiny does exist, and I wrote about it. “Nothing in life happens by accident. Paths cross for a reason and for every action there is a reaction.”

What would you like to share with your readers?

Writing this book was a tremendous learning experience for me. It took me six years to put all the pieces of the story together to make it not only a heartfelt story, but it includes sweet life messages as well as some interesting facts. It was exhilarating and fun, nerve-racking and exhausting; and because I was rooted so deeply in the story and inside the minds of the characters, it was emotional. I didn’t realize when I was writing it that all the random pieces of the puzzle, that sometimes felt insurmountable, were being custom fitted for me; not only for the content of the book I was writing, but at the same time, different puzzle pieces were coming together to form a new foundation for my life. I was finally able to appreciate and believe that the sensations I was experiencing during the research and writing process were being designed specifically for me—to create a blossoming new adventure for me.

I want to strongly express, not only to women, but to all people, to follow their dreams no matter their age or their circumstances. I was in the third act of my life when I finished writing this book and I am certain the universe was leading me. As I wrote in the book, “Destiny is your potential waiting to happen, and when you’re ready to accept it, you need to be open for a change. It’s the grandest of possibilities—where your dreams come true.”

I want people everywhere to know that no matter what your station in life is now, and no matter what your age is; your dreams can still come true if you reach out for them. Your dreams are insights into your future, and if you visualize them, you can make them your reality.

I wholeheartedly stand and say out loud with my Dream Weavers message, “Dream Beyond. Love Beyond. Live Beyond.”