Come and Hear the Wit, Wisdom and Humor of Mystery Author, Cindy Sample

Cindy Sample is the next guest speaker at the San Joaquin chapter of Sisters in Crime, November 7th at 10 a.m.

Biography

When I was eight, my dream was to be a super cool detective like Nancy Drew, racing around town in a sky blue roadster. At sixteen, I realized my inherent klutziness could be an impediment to becoming a private eye or super spy so my new goal was to become a world-renown mystery writer like Agatha Christie. A few decades and diversions later, I was a newly divorced Mom and CEO, driving my kids to cheerleading and soccer practice. In a sky blue SUV.

Welcome to the world I share with Laurel McKay, a single soccer mom with attitude, who lives in the beautiful gold country of northern California. Enjoy her laugh-filled adventures in Dying for a Date as she dips her toe into the dating pool and ends up in a tsunami-sized murder investigation. When people ask how much of the book is based on my personal experiences, I always say it’s half memoir and half fiction. I just won’t share which is which!

Having discovered ballroom dancing in my boomer years, I decided Laurel should also share my pain. In Dying for a Dance, her best friend decides the wedding party must learn a DWTS-style choreographed foxtrot routine.  Laurel is relieved when her lesson is over and she no longer has to stumble around the dance floor. Unfortunately, after she leaves the studio, she stumbles over a dead dancer.

Sometimes writers need a vacation. There is nothing more special than spending time on the Big Island of Hawaii. Every time I step off the plane, I feel like I’ve come home. With black-sand beaches, waterfalls galore, ATV adventures, sailing trips and a hot volcano, who wouldn’t want to set a book called Dying for a Daiquiri in this location? Never has research been so much fun.

Dying for a Dude (11/14) is set during the annual Hangtown Wagon Train and features my funniest chase scene yet.  Dying for a Donut (11/15) moves the actual to the area known as Apple Hill. It’s definitely a lip-smacking mystery.

Having waited a few extra decades to achieve my childhood dream, I can’t imagine doing anything else. I appreciate the camaraderie, support and professionalism of local and national author organizations like Sisters in Crime, Romance Writers of America and Northern California Publishers and Authors.

Between plotting, writing, and promoting, the days fly by. No other vocation could provide me with the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people who attend author events and talk about the stories they want to write. I love sharing writing tips and resources with budding writers. And there’s nothing better than the joy of bringing laughter into the lives of my readers.