Born
and raised in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, I spent my formative years reading
books and writing poetry. While in college, I saw a movie based on the
life of Jean Laffite, a gentleman pirate who helped Andrew Jackson win
the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. Intrigued by the mysterious, I researched
then started to write a novel about Laffite. Graduation, career, and marriage
put that manuscript on a shelf where it remained until I began working
as a school librarian for seriously emotionally challenged teenagers. I
returned to writing to relieve the stress inherent in working in special
education facilities. During a boring staff meeting, I wrote about a caped
figure who crossed the Scottish Highlands during a fiercesome storm. After
twelve years and numerous revisions, that kernel of an idea blossomed into
my first published novel, The
Scottish Thistle. I'm currently working to complete that pirate
novel started many years ago while researching another novel set in the
Dust Bowl of western Kansas or Texas during the Great Depression.
During
my senior year of college, one of Mom's friends introduced me to a young
man who attended my high school seven years before I did. Not only had
we lived on the same street as children, but he delivered our newspaper,
his mother taught my Sunday school class, and I went to school with his
youngest brother. Tom and I married a year later. We celebrated our twentieth
wedding anniversary by moving from Maryland to Kansas.
I
never know when new adventures will arrive on my doorstep. Soon after we
vacationed in Austin, San Antonio, and Fort Worth, Texas in 2002, Tom's
company offered him a transfer to the Fort Worth area. Little did we know
then the trek we would take to reach our new home. Instead of moving directly
from Kansas to Texas, we drove to Maryland a week after the 2003 snow storm
hit the East Coast. Shortly before our twenty-fourth wedding anniversary,
we headed to Texas. In May we moved into our new home, which includes a
library to house my collection of over 1,000 books.
Having
retired from library work, I pursue my dream. My passion for research and
a desire to make history more interesting inspires me to write historical
novels intertwined with love stories. Amber Quill Press re-released The
Scottish Thistle, my first novel, in November 2006. I write a monthly
maritime history column entitled Pirates
and Privateers. I review books for
Historical Novels Review
andPirates
and Privateers. I teach online courses and in-person workshops
on maritime piracy and Scottish history and culture. I'm also an editor
and copyeditor for Wings Press, as well as a freelance editor. I write
an editing column for The Historical Novel Society's Solander magazine,
of which I am an associate editor.
My
mother fondly refers to my three younger sisters and me as her “Little
Women.” I hold a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Towson University and a Master’s
Degree in Library Science from the University of Maryland. I'm a member
of Clan Cameron, EPIC, The Historical Novel Society, The Laffite Society,
Scottish Clans of North Texas, the Texas Coalition of Authors, Texas
Author Speak, the Louisiana Historical Society, and the National Maritime
Historical Society. I love to read. My favorite authors include Stuart
Woods, Clive Cussler, Leon Uris, Nigel Tranter, James L. Nelson, and LaVyrle
Spencer. When I'm not reading or writing, I like to watch professional
bull riding, collect Teddy bears/foreign dolls/Kachinas, do jigsaw and
crossword puzzles, or visit Scotland. I also enjoy listening to Celtic
and bagpipe music, instrumental jazz, and country music.
Interviews
Three Queens o' Pirattitude! -- Mark Summer's Profiles in Pirattidue,
Pirates Magazine, Autumn 2007
Featured
Book of the Week -- RomanceReaders.com,
16 April 2007
Interview with Author Cindy Vallar (Part
I and Part
II) -- Favorite Pastimes, 13-14 February 2007
Interview
with the Pirate Lady - Age of Sail and Piracy 101, August 2006
Interview
with Cindy Vallar - N Sphere Network, February 2005
Interview
with Cindy Vallar - Romance at Heart, December 2003
Interview
with a Pirate Lady: Cindy Vallar - Seascapes #1, March 2003
Author's
Chats: Cindy Vallar - Mocha Memoirs, February 2003
Interview
with Cindy Vallar - Book Review Cafe, 26 August 2002
Road
to Romance Spotlight - 21 June 2002
Cindy
Vallar - MyShelf.com, 1 June 2002
In
the Spotlight - Escape to Romance 21 May 2002
Sime-Gen's
Historical Author Spotlight - 20 May 2002
Cindy
Vallar...Author of Historical Romance - 3 May 2002
Interview
with Cindy Vallar - Fiction Factor, 17 April 2002
Meet
Cindy Vallar - Historical Romance Writers, 8 April 2002
The
Valour of Cyberspace Cindy - Women Following Their Dreams, 1 August
2001
Author
Network - 27 April 2001
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What's Your Inner Dragon?
Perhaps it's my Welsh heritage, but I've always liked
dragons.
I recently discovered a quiz that identifies my Inner
Dragon.
To learn more look beneath the sleeping dragon.
Shhh!
I am a White Dragon.
An apparition of balance, power and reclusive intelligence.
I like to think things out, plot against enemies, and
gaze upon the world from the highest mountain peaks.
Favorable attributes: the Day, the Sun, truth, a positive attitude,
helpful magic.
Humans only need fear me when they stray into my domain without proper
tribute - a strawberry pie the size of a Volkswagen.
I am a peaceful dragon.
Since I breathe Fire and Lightning, I make a most impressive opponent.
Even the nicest dragons can do some serious damage.
Brave
enough to discover your Inner Dragon?
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