Author Chat with Cindy Regnier

Welcome to Stitches Thru Time, Cindy. We’re excited about your new release, Mail-Order Refuge. Mail-order bride stories are always a favorite. How did you decide on this for your debut novel?

I needed a way to get Carly to Kansas and it fit perfectly with Rand’s situation. Mail-order bride stories are still popular, probably because in today’s world it’s so hard to imagine traveling away from all you know to marry a man you’ve never met. I think Mail-Order Refuge is a fresh enough take on the mail-order bride trope to make it an exciting story.

I agree. You've tossed a couple of curves into that time-tested trope. Your hero is a rancher raising two young orphaned nieces. Tell us why readers are going to fall in love with him.

Rand is definitely book-boyfriend material. He’s a little rough around the edges, but that is easily forgiven when you see his heart. He is protective of his family, sacrifices his own hopes and dreams to achieve theirs, and, well, he’s a cowboy. Enough said.

You got me with "cowboy." Your heroine is running from something. We won’t give any spoilers here, but tell us why readers will sympathize with her.

Carly has to run away to save herself and her brother from a tough situation she found herself in because of a bad decision on her part. We’ve all made those decisions we wish we could have a do-over on, and the guilt she suffers is a familiar feeling. Beyond that, we see into her heart of gold and cheer her selfless nature as she clears a path through the unknown territory of becoming a wife and mother.

Yes, we can all understand those feelings. Your story is set in Kansas, which I understand is near and dear to your heart. What is it about that area that appeals to you, and how do you convey that to your readers?

I spent a good deal of my childhood in the Kansas Flint Hills because both sets of my grandparents lived there. They instilled in me a love for the beautiful setting as well as a rich family heritage of settling, farming, and ranching in the area from the generations of their parents and grandparents. I want to give that same heritage and love of the land to my characters in order to convey my deep feelings for it to my readers.

I love it when authors bring bits of their pasts to life in their stories. This is your debut novel, how exciting! Tell us a little bit about your journey to publication.

I have been writing ever since I wrote plays for my friends to perform in class back in 3^rd grade. Being published is a dream I’ve chased for a long time because I see it as a way to share parts of myself and my background with people I might not otherwise connect with. My love of country living, animals, and maybe even handsome cowboy sometimes feels like it will explode inside me if I don’t share it through my writing.

We're very happy that you didn't explode.  ;)  Thank you for stopping by Stitches Thru Time, is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

I appreciate the invitation to visit Stitches in Time, and I love to hear from readers. Connect with me on social media and I might even ask you to help with planning my next novel. I’m thinking of writing a romance for Mary Jo, and need to know if she falls for a cowboy from her uncle’s ranch or a city boy from art school. Opinions welcome!

Where to find Cindy:

https://cindyregnier.com/

https://www.facebook.com/CindyRegnierauthor/

https://twitter.com/CindySRegnier

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19069509.Cindy_Regnier

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cindy-regnier