Interview with Cynthia Roemer

About the Author

​Cynthia Roemer is an award-winning inspirational writer with a heart for scattering seeds of hope into the lives of readers. Raised in the cornfields of rural Illinois, Cynthia enjoys spinning tales set in the backdrop of the 1800s prairie. She writes from her family farm in central Illinois where she resides with her husband and their two college-aged sons. Under This Same Sky is her debut novel.

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The Interview

1. Who or what inspired you to become an author? 
I’ve always been better at expressing myself through writing rather than speaking. Since my college days, I’ve had the dream of writing novels. I can only explain it as something God placed within me to do. I long to touch the hearts of readers by letting them experience growth and healing in the lives of my characters.

Writing is a means of sharing my faith in a way the Lord has gifted me.

2. Who are some of your favorite authors?  Does this influence your writing?  
I have several, all of which write historical.  =)  Laura Frantz’s debut novel, The Frontiersman’s Daughter had a profound influence on my writing. Her book opened my eyes to what it meant to get inside a character’s head and experience the story in a truer sense. I also very much enjoy Kate Breslin, Connilyn Cossette, and Kristi Ann Hunter. There are so many wonderful authors, each writing the stories God has given them to write.

3. What does your writing process look like?  
I usually start out knowing where my story starts and ends and fill in the middle as I go, sort of like savoring the sweet center of a sandwich cookie. I like to plot out my main events and work in some subplots along the way. At times, my characters take off and write themselves, following paths I hadn’t thought of. I like to think of this as the Lord’s way of guiding the story’s message. Once the first draft is complete, it’s edit, edit, edit!

4. Have you ever traveled for research?  
Not any length of distance, as in other countries or states. The farthest I’ve traveled would be about seventy-five miles, unless you count traveling back in time to the 1800s when my novels take place. I’ve done that often when I visit a museum or Lincoln’s New Salem. My biggest challenge isn’t learning about where the novel takes place, but when. I love studying the 1800s and try my best to create a setting that brings the time period to life in a vivid, authentic way.

5. What inspired the idea for Under This Same Sky?  
All my life I’ve witnessed people trying to blame God for tragedy and loss. In Becky Hollister, I created a character who lost everything, including a portion of her faith, but who clung to the one hope that God still cared. Much of the internal part of the story is the Lord gently wooing Becky back to Him through the experiences she undergoes and people she encounters.

6. What do you want readers to take away from reading Under This Same Sky?  
Under This Same Sky seeks to assure readers that God can take our deepest heartaches and bring about blessing if we allow them to draw us closer to Him. I want them to know that no matter what they are going through in life, the Lord is there with them, cheering them on and offering strength and comfort.

7. When you are not writing, what other "hats" do you wear?  What hobbies do you enjoy?  
Let’s see, I’m a Christian, a farmer’s wife of twenty-three years, a mother to two college-aged sons, a part-time librarian, and a nature buff. As for hobbies, I enjoy gardening, reading, hiking, biking, an occasional motorcycle or combine ride with my hubby, spending time with my family, watching old movies, baking, and enjoying God’s creation.