Author Spotlight: Cindy Palin
By Cindy Palin

Cindy is currently studying as a distance education student with Briercrest College and Seminary. She and her husband of thirty-one years are members of the First Baptist Church in Olds, Alberta and proud parents of three adult children, and grandparents to two grandchildren.

Cindy is a graduate of Shannon Ethridge’s B.L.A.S.T. class (Building Leaders, Authors, Speakers, and Teachers) and credits her authorship adventure to Shannon’s tutelage. Cindy’s first book, The Faith Keeper, was published with Word Alive Press in 2016 and placed as a finalist in the Word Awards through the Word Guild of Canada.

Cindy began sharing with others through music at the age of twelve, and she has five albums to her credit. She has twice been a guest on One Hundred Huntley Street following the release of her second album, In View of His Mercy. Her most recent album, My Heart’s Lament, was produced by Mark Troyer at Evergreen Sound in Calgary.

Recently one of Cindy’s songs, “The Dance of Life,” was chosen by Faith Flix Films for their movie Providence, but it was initially written to support the Olds and District Hospice Society.

Cindy released her first children’s book in May of 2019 through Word Alive Press, with Willow’s Lullaby to follow this Christmas.

Cindy will be at Better Books and Bibles in Calgary, Alberta on Saturday, September 21 to share her music and books. On October 25–27, she will be speaking and sharing in music at the Alberta Women in Focus Retreat in Canmore, Alberta, with plans to inspire women and their families to celebrate their faith and aim for surrender, holiness, and to finish well.

For eight years, Cindy was involved in creating and serving at a single-parent dinner which ran with the help of her home church family. Currently she is the Director of Central Alberta Pregnancy Care Centre at the Olds satellite office, where she trains volunteers as client advocates for women, their partners, and families facing pregnancy and other related issues. She also enjoys connecting and encouraging women involved with RSVP Ministries as their Regional Chair Advisor.

Cindy looks forward to promoting her new books, as well as the narrated e-versions, and recording two songs that go with them. She has two other children’s books ready for publishing, one non-fiction book in the works, and a musical she’s been playing with for some time.

You can visit her at www.newcindypalin.com, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, or invite her to your next writer’s group, ladies retreat, or bookstore nearest you.

Q&A

Q: What inspired you to write To Willow’s House for Tea?
A: My granddaughter Facetimed me to ask me over for tea. We live more than a thousand miles apart, and I couldn’t explain to her why I couldn’t just pop over, thus the book—to explain the distance and show her my heart.

Q: Is To Willow’s House for Tea going to be a series?
A: My plan is to write stories from everyday activities with my grandchildren. Willow’s Lullaby was inspired when I rocked my granddaughter to sleep for the first time, and it was written as a faith prayer for her future. But the stories aren’t in any chronological order.

Q: When is your most creative time to write?
A: Spending time with my grandchildren inspires me to write, which usually happens on the trip back home, whether in a car or on a plane. Writing more serious material, or music, is written on my laptop or at the piano on my days off.

Q: What is one pointer you would give to new writers?
A: Be consistent by choosing to write for two or more hours a day, then reward your productivity with a treat of some kind and rest.

Q: What elements stand out in your writing?
A: I believe my rhythm and rhyme are strong suits, as well as my seriousness and joy.

Q: Name one of the next projects you are excited about.
A: In Every Once and a Magical While, Willow has a younger brother, and I’ve written a story for him that is quite comical. When he was born, he was big enough that he didn’t look like a newborn. Here is one of my favoirite lines from the story: “Every once and a magical dittle, a big brother’s born instead of a little.”

About this Contributor:

Cindy Palin’s first book, The Faith Keeper, placed as a finalist in the 2016 Word Awards. After Cindy became a grandmother, she began writing specifically to connect to her grandchildren, who live on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast. To Willow’s House for Tea will be followed by Willow’s Lullaby, coming Christmas 2019. Cindy’s goal as a writer is to influence future generations to be present in one another’s lives. Visit www.newcindypalin.com to learn more about Cindy, her writing, and social media platforms.