Fantasy author Cerynn McCain returns to the themes of trauma and healing in all of her works. She says, “My characters break. Some don’t heal. Some harden. And some take a very long time, and deal with PTSD, and find their way. I work very hard to show that struggle and that victory as relatably as I can, because for myself personally, I didn’t find a lot of stories where I could heal along with them.”

Q: What/who were your early literary influences, and how do you think their writing has shaped you as a storyteller today?
A: Oh, I always credit Tolkien and C.S. Lewis with my drive to tell stories today. I always loved how they wove their allegories so well into the stories that their books couldn’t stand without them, but so subtly that they could be missed if you weren’t looking for them. It always inspired me to do what I could to write my own tales and worlds as well.

Q: How do you nurture your creativity when life gets busy or overwhelming?
A: I don’t let life get busy very long, and thankfully my husband is supportive of that. When things start getting in the way of my writing time, I start saying no to everything, even if it’s something ‘important’ because if I’m deprived of my creative outlet I tend to get very emotional and weepy, and my husband doesn’t like weepy me haha. Luckily, we’re both introverts so he has no problem with me cancelling plans so we can stay home and watch movies and write.

Q: What’s the best piece of advice another writer has given you about storytelling?
A: “Get it on the page.” Sometimes I get so stuck on, “I’ve got to get the wording right” that I tend to get stuck on a blank page. But you can’t edit a blank page. Get it out. You can fix it later.

Q: When do you feel most “in the zone” with your writing—early mornings, late nights, or somewhere in between?
A: I write whenever and wherever I can, but man I write best at night.

Q: Do you find inspiration in other art forms (music, film, visual art)? If so, how does it shape your work?
A: I don’t find inspiration from anything other than God, but I do love to play videogames and watch movies to recharge. It’s a good way for my brain to transition out of my editing head and into my relaxed head. And often while I’m playing games I’ll listen to my books on audio and that helps me daydream and plan where I want to take my characters.

Q: Do you have your own circle of writer friends? If so, what other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?
A: I see so many writers that have such a supportive group of writing friends, and I love that! But no, I tend to be the friend on the outside looking in. I’ve tried to make friends a few times, but I don’t live close to anyone and can’t get together for writing sessions or anything. Now, I’ve made some fantastic author friends through my writing, and I love them! But we are friends outside the written word, not through it.

Q: What themes do you find yourself returning to again and again in your work?
A: Ooooh trauma and healing! I found myself reading so many books that dealt with things like self-harm, SA, abuse, and they’d start great but then the MFC would meet her dashing prince and everything would magically heal. At least in a lot of the stories I read, I’m not saying every book. I return to those themes a lot in my book. My characters break. Some don’t heal. Some harden. And some take a very long time, and deal with PTSD, and find their way. I work very hard to show that struggle and that victory as relatably as I can, because for myself personally, I didn’t find a lot of stories where I could heal along with them, it was always too fast.

Q: Do you ever feel pressure to include (or avoid) certain topics in your writing? Why or why not?
A: I have no control of the stories my characters want to tell. Some of them have motives or pasts that are uncomfortable, both for the reader and myself, but I never feel pressure to include or avoid anything. I write what they go through, and if that makes me uncomfortable then I explore why.

Q: What’s a quirky or unexpected detail about your writing space?
A: I don’t have a writing space. I carry my computer with me everywhere and write when I need to. BUT, I cannot sit comfortably in chairs. Dining chairs, computer chairs, anything like that. I see so many writers showing off their little offices and stuff but if I sit in a chair, I have to have my feet up under me or on the chair next to me or my feet start aching and burning and it’s just miserable. So, I tend to write on the couch, partially reclined.

Q: What’s the most rewarding feedback you’ve ever received from a reader?
A: Several of my readers have contacted me to thank me for the slow, “one step forward, five steps back” sort of healing that my characters grow through, the failings they experience, the poor choices they make, not for any stupid reason, but because they just make mistakes, and sometimes cost people their lives. That has been rewarding for me because it means I’ve written them how they need to be. No matter what I may want the characters to do, they make their own choices.

Q: What’s a challenge you’ve faced in your writing career, and how did you overcome it?
A: Marketing. It has been the thorn in my side since the beginning and got to the point that I didn’t want to write anymore because I knew I’d have to keep marketing if I wrote. I fixed it by handing it to God. He gave me the talent to tell stories, not to sell them. So, I stepped back and let Him put my books in the hands that need to read them. Perhaps not the smartest move businesswise but I always swore as soon as my books became more business than passion, I would hate them so I will forever strive to write what I feel called to write, and let God do the rest.

Q: How do you define success as an author? Has that definition evolved over time?
A: This is so funny because my husband and I were just talking about this. Yes, my definition has definitely changed over time. I used to define success by what other authors were saying, by the numbers they were bringing in, the signings they were invited to, the popularity they had. And yes, some of that would still be lovely. But the connections I’ve made through my books. The people I’ve met. The readers I’ve befriended, and the people who feel safe with me to share some very difficult life situations and ask for prayer and support and advice… they are my success, and I wouldn’t trade them for all the popularity in the world. I treasure each of my readers and am touched that they’ve bonded so much with my characters that they can find solace in my dark, traumatic stories. They are what define my success now.

Q: What do you wish readers understood better about the writing or publishing process?
A: It takes a long time. I pour my soul into every one of my books, and I don’t write short books. But the Indie world has made readers expect releases every few months, and when they’re a year or two spread out they lose interest in that author. Now, some authors can write that fast and I am impressed by that, but I write when I feel lead to, and I don’t write fast. I edit the book a thousand times, reread, edit, rewrite. It takes me some time.

Q: What have you written that you found to be the most fun to write?
A: As terrible as it sounds, torture and trauma are the most fun for me to write. I get bored writing if everything is all smooth and happy and I find I get writer’s block if there’s no trauma on the horizon. So, when I find myself struggling to write… someone is going to get hurt. Haha

Q: What’s your favorite under-appreciated novel?
A: Pieces of Pink by Annelise Driscoll. Fantastic book I ate it up.

Q: Do you have an all-time favorite writer, or does your favorite change over time? Who is your favorite writer today?
A: Tolkien, not only for his writing skill, but for himself as a person. He will always be my top favorite. Without him my own written world wouldn’t exist. He showed me I could create my own races, my own world, my own languages. 

Q: What is your favorite genre to read? Do you write in that genre? Has that always been your favorite genre, or has your taste evolved as you have grown as a writer?
A: I actually love historical fiction and dark dark thrillers. And no, I don’t write in either genre. I have a hard time reading books in the genre I write in because either my brain tries to edit it, or I’m so intimidated by how good it is that I contemplate giving up altogether haha. But give me dark, man. I need the dark. Outlander was a big favorite of mine for a long time.

Q: If you could live in the world of one of your books for a day, which would it be and why?
A: I only write in one world, but man I would love to visit it. I would be so excited to see it all brought to life.

Q: What’s a surprising or unusual skill you have that might make its way into a story one day?
A: It’s actually already planned into my next book, but crocheting. Sienna will learn how to crochet in the second book in the Crossing the Line series.

Q: What’s one thing you hope readers take away from your latest book?
A: Crossing the Line deals a lot with expectations vs what’s right. I am a Christ follower, but I know there’s a lot of religious trauma in the world today. And I deal with that in all my books, but in CtL Sienna is faced with the life she’s always been expected to live, and a life that is arguably much harder (following Christ) but in the long run much more rewarding. Though she will be destroyed for it.

Q: What do your plans for future projects include?
A: I have no plans to leave Yeir any time soon. Tolkien wrote in Middle Earth, in all its ages. I will write in Yeir after the war (The Abandoned Crown Series), before the war (Crossing the Line Series), and I have a series planned for both the rise of the war (how my villain in TACS rose to power) and after TACS for those that survive it, as well as a series in the Uncharted. I have lots of plans, but one world to put them in.

Cerynn’s love of creative arts follows her through every aspect of her life, and her husband constantly has to pull her back to earth when her daydreams take over. And, when all is said and done, she’d have it no other way.

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