Cindy Johnson was nominated as an Indie Author who deserves appreciation and acknowledgement of her work. I am pleased to present this author a showcase blog post.
Author Bio:
Cindy Johnson has lived in Arkansas most of her life and is a retired Art teacher. She and her husband, David, enjoy their lives together, pursing their dreams. She always had an interest in writing, and telling stories, specifically ghost stories. Her husband is also a writer. In addition to writing, Cindy has a home-based art business called L’Artista Bella, where she paints, draws, and makes dreamcatchers. Two of her paintings now reside in Paris France. Her first novel, Keys Of Childish Scrawl, a paranormal mystery, was released March 2, 2019, with Burning Willow Press. It is now available on Amazon and a local bookstore where she had her first book signing. She is currently working on two spin-offs of her novel that continues the story of two clairvoyant characters. In addition to that, she has published works in various anthologies, all with Burning Willow Press. Her short stories have been a mixture of ghost stories, science fiction, and fantasy. When not working on projects, Cindy and David enjoy spending time with their adopted cats.
Things about myself:
1. In addition to being a writer, I am also an artist. When not writing I am doing some kind of artwork. I paint and draw many subjects, but I'm better known for portraits. Two of my portraits have made it all the way to Paris, France. I am also somewhat of a gardener, and something I like to do every year is grow my own pumpkins. I cook them and freeze them, and bake with them all year.
2. I always enjoyed a good story and remember growing up telling and hearing ghost stories. Even though they scared me sometimes, I was still intrigued by them. My first novel, Keys Of Childish Scrawl, is a ghost story, and the idea came from a strange dream I once had that included the title. It was on my mind for a few years, and one day I decided to write it.
3. I think my most memorable accomplishment as a writer was my very first book signing earlier this year at a local bookstore. Several books sold that day, and many brought books in that they had already purchased on Amazon. Everyone told me how much they enjoyed my book and all said they hoped I would write another one, which I just happen to be working on. I am very proud of that day and consider it a huge success, especially since the fans want more, and the book is still selling. Prior to that, two newspapers featured me in articles announcing the book signing, and talking about my stories.
4. My husband, David, inspires me. He is an extremely talented person who is a really good writer, and also a great musician. Edd and Kindra Sowder, who own and operate Burning Willow Press, both inspire me. I don't know how they manage to do all of the things that they do, but they do them all exceptionally well. They treat their writers like family. Kindra is also a gifted author. Stephen King is one of my favorite authors, and I have most of his books. I still say my favorite is The Shining, and the book was better than the movie. Another inspiring author is Kate Morton. I discovered her books about ten years ago and I've read them all. She is fabulous with imagery, and my favorite book of hers is The Forgotten Garden.
5. A person I'd love to have a conversation with is Rod Serling, of The Twilight Zone. That continues to be my favorite show and he wrote many of the episodes. I have seen clips of some of his interviews and he also had quite a sense of humor. I think it would be enjoyable to talk to him and discuss my writing with him.
Books:
Keys Of Childish Scrawl
The Light In The Window, in the anthology Southern Fried Autopsies
Highway 93, in Cross Roads In The Dark IV: Ghosts
Grandpa's Glasses, in Cross Roads In The Dark V: Beyond The Borders.
Keys Of Childish Scrawl synopsis:
"When young Addy Eubanks moves into her recently
deceased grandmother's mansion, she is eager to start a new life with her daughter Bree. However, after being menaced by a dark figure who haunts the grounds, Addy seeks the help of clairvoyant duo Sagi McCormick and Brandon Jones. Together, they unearth horrific family secrets that should have remained buried.
Excerpt from Keys Of Childish Scrawl:
As she started down the stairs, Addy lunged forward and stumbled down a few steps before catching herself, by grabbing the banister. She never claimed to be the most graceful or coordinated person in the world, but she was not excessively clumsy either. She stood there trembling and taking deep breaths, her heart pounding. Addy didn’t want to admit it, but it, actually felt like someone or something pushed her. She looked around but saw nothing. As she regained her senses, she thought she could smell smoke. She decided it must be the brush Thomas was burning outside, somewhere nearby. The carpet on the stairs didn’t appear to be loose but she must have tripped on something and imagined the rest of it.
Website links:
Amazon Author page:
Facebook Author page:
Final Thought …
As mentioned earlier, I am working on a spin-off of Keys Of Childish Scrawl, which continues the lives of Sagi McCormick and Brandon Jones, the two clairvoyant characters. In this book they go on another paranormal investigation, but Sagi is also making self discoveries that make her an even more powerful clairvoyant. The title of this book is Third Eye. I am very excited and proud of both books and I hope they are both huge successes. A third book is planned as well.