Today we welcome Cynthia Ruchti to my blog. Thanks for stopping by Cynthia.
Clinical
psychologist Camille Brooks isn’t put off by the lifestyle of her hoarder
clients and the distress of their families. She lost her mother to the
crippling anxiety disorder--so she’ll go a long way to help others avoid the
same pain.
Despite Camille’s expertise, her growing audience for her Let In the Light podcast, and the recognition she’s gaining for her creative coaching methods, she’s not prepared for the pushback. A client who looks uncannily like her mom catches her off guard and raises long-dormant issues. And the revelation that Camille has her own hoarding problem sends her spinning.
With the help of a cadre of unexpected friends, an enigma of a man who refuses to be discouraged, and the God who created and loves her, can she face her fears, pull back the curtains, and let the light into her own life?
Despite Camille’s expertise, her growing audience for her Let In the Light podcast, and the recognition she’s gaining for her creative coaching methods, she’s not prepared for the pushback. A client who looks uncannily like her mom catches her off guard and raises long-dormant issues. And the revelation that Camille has her own hoarding problem sends her spinning.
With the help of a cadre of unexpected friends, an enigma of a man who refuses to be discouraged, and the God who created and loves her, can she face her fears, pull back the curtains, and let the light into her own life?
Have you always liked to write?
I was one of those weirdos in middle school and high school
(and college) who squealed with glee when the teacher announced it was an essay
test. WORDS! YES! I wrote lame poetry and an occasional short story as a child,
but I never really took seriously the idea that I would write as a career. My
love of reading and the way it changed me—my thinking or my attitude or my
approach to a topic--proved that story is powerful. I learn best through story.
And I find hope in story. So when given the opportunity to share storytelling
through a radio ministry when I was in my late twenties, a “hobby” that turned
into 33 years for that broadcast, I felt as if my dreams were coming true, but they
were dreams I had dared entertain for myself.
Just as your books inspire authors, what authors have
inspired you to write?
Francine Rivers, Janette Oke, Gladys Tabor, Robin Jones
Gunn, Hemingway (even him!), Faulkner, Steinbeck, Mark Twain, Max Lucado… It’s
quite a mix, isn’t it? Too many to mention, including many of my author friends’
current books.
How did you decide upon the title of Afraid of the Light?
I stumbled on a quote one day that talks about how natural it
is to be afraid of the dark, but how much sadder it is to be afraid of the
light. That’s all it took to stir my imagination to life. What would make
someone afraid of the light? For those with a hoarding compulsion, or many
other kinds of addictions, too, light exposes what they want to keep hidden. It’s
too painful to let anyone else know what’s happening behind the heavy drapes on
the windows in their homes. When I paired it with the main character’s Let In
the Light podcast (she counsels hoarders and their families), it seemed to fit
even more closely.
How important are names to you in your books? Do you choose
the names of character in Afraid of the Light based on liking the way it
sounds or the meaning? Do you have any name choosing resources you recommend?
Name-choosing is one of the hardest tasks when I start a new
novel. I want them to sound like their personalities, and to be easy to
pronounce so a reader doesn’t pause every time they see the name. I do take a
look at the meaning behind the name, but often that’s after I’ve already
settled on one and then discover that it fits perfectly! Most authors work hard
to make sure two or more names don’t sound too much alike. As a reader, I know
how frustrating that can be. Mindy, Melinda, and Molly. Now which one was the
tall redhead with the bubble gum habit? Or rhyming names—Nick and Rick.
I try hard not to have too large a cast of characters, which
can turn into a circus when a reader tries to keep everyone straight. So I don’t
name people who are in only one scene and disappear from view after that—a grocery
clerk, a nurse, a delivery person—unless that name is significant somehow. And
I even try to make sure I don’t have two many characters with the same number
of syllables in their name—Erin, Darren, Karen, Lisa, Lana…vs. Erin, Destiny,
Rob, Elizabeth…
I hope readers will fall in love with Camille, Eli, Allison,
Shyla, and Chester in Afraid of the Light, among others.
Usually, a Google search is my preferred way to find names.
I may search for Irish surnames or names that start with S or popular boy names
in 1955.
What were the challenges (research, literary, psychological,
and logistical) in bringing Afraid of the Light to life?
In writing a book that is couched in the world of hoarding
addictions, it was important that I not lean on the sensationalized “reality
show” versions of what’s that like. I did extensive research through medical,
psychological, neurological, and relationship resources to help draw what can
really only be a snapshot view in a novel. But I interviewed families of hoarders
and those with a hoarding disorder to make sure the emotions and fallout were
believable and sensitively written.
The book is set in an unnamed city in the upper Midwest, but
could have been set in your neighborhood or mine. Because I live in the upper
Midwest, those details came naturally.
A friend of mine is a clinical psychologist and helped with
specific points of reference and with creating our disclaimer that’s on the information
page at the beginning of the novel. I took some liberties for the sake of the
story, but I wanted all the clinical psychologists of the world, and every
reader, to know that was purposeful and a departure from standard protocol
within the counseling community. I’m grateful for my friend’s thoughtfulness in
reviewing the book and helping me let readers know that some of the scenes they’ll
observe would happen differently in a client-counselor relationship.
Share your bio:
Cynthia Ruchti tells stories hemmed-in-hope through award
winning novels, nonfiction, devotionals, and through speaking events for women
and writers. She is the professional relations liaison for ACFW (American
Christian Fiction Writers) connecting authors with booksellers, libraries,
bookclubs, and readers. She serves as a literary agent with Books & Such
Literary Management, and lives in the heart of Wisconsin with her grade school sweetheart
husband, not far from their three children and six grandchildren.
Social media and buying links:
No comments:
Post a Comment