Cynthia Keyes wishes she could say that she wanted to be a writer her whole life, that it was her dream. But it wasn’t. She fell into it on a whim and discovered to her surprise that she enjoyed it. What she always has been is a reader. She will read anything. During the times she could not afford books, she read whatever sat on the shelves of the secondhand store. Sometimes it was History, sometimes Romance, and sometimes it was how to make macrame hangers.

But she is getting ahead of herself. She grew up in Brightsand, Saskatchewan, in an immigrant family with six siblings. They were a hard-working troop, scraping a living out of a rocky mixed farm. She looks back on those busy years fondly. She has plenty of stories about walking through miles of snow to school, uphill both ways!

She went to the University of Saskatchewan, studying History and English, which she converted into a career in teaching. She loves her job. She teaches a wild crew of junior high students. There is never a dull moment. It has been a passion of hers which has truly made life worth living. Much of her time is committed to coaching. She can be found most mornings in the gym by six thirty, spending time with her teams. They have had some memorable seasons, winning basketball districts against all odds.

She was lucky enough to marry the love of her life. She and her husband share another passion, gardening. He does the vegetables and she does the flowers. Together they spend many peaceful evenings, enjoying the beauty and bounty they have created.

She squeezes her writing into the bits and pieces of the day that remain. In many ways it is her personal time. She has been surprised by the writing process. Though she starts with a plan, her characters always surprise her with their antics. She looks forward to every new book, with its host of characters leading her into places unknown.