Top Ten Signs You Might Be Living With a Writer

10. Is on first-name basis with mail carrier, UPS and Fedex drivers; thinks postal holidays are a horrible idea.

9. Has more online friends than those she sees in person. Communicates with many of these friends daily.

8. Favorite stores: Barnes and Noble and Office Max.

7. Refers to imaginary people as if they’re real. “Today I realized why Mark is so reluctant to get involved with Candace.”

6. Choreographs love scenes – for said imaginary people.

5. Plots revenge on her enemies by killing them off in her books.

4. Friends are reluctant to invite you over ever since the time she asked, in the middle of dinner, “Do you think it would be possible to poison someone at a dinner party and make it look like an accident?”

3. Attention wanders at dinner in restaurants, riding in elevators or on public transportation or while shopping at malls, as she strains to eavesdrop on the conversations of those around her.

2. You can predict how long she’s been waiting to hear back on a submission by her mood: one week — no discernable change. One month — mopes around house, eats copious amounts of chocolate. Three months — has developed a nervous tic, occasionally snaps at children or dog. Six months — subject to crying jags if confronted with empty mailbox; children and dog duck for cover every time phone rings.

1. Hears voices in her head – and writes down what they say.

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Hi, my name is Cindi Myers and I want to thank the Jaunty Quills for inviting me to their blog toay. My dear husband is familiar with all of the above ‘signs, having lived with this writer going on 29 years now. My 32nd book is out this month. A Soldier Comes Home is the story of Captain Ray Hughes, who receives a Dear John letter while he’s serving in Iraq. He comes home to an empty house and a three-year old son he scarcely knows and has to pick up the pieces of his life again. He meets Chrissie Evans, the young widow next door whose husband was killed very early in the war. They’re attracted to each other, but each has to get past their own private pain in order to love again.

I definitely think a sense of humor is a requirement for anyone living with a writer. My dh has grown used to my odd questions, my eavesdropping, and my getting out of bed in the middle of the night to write down ideas. While I was working on A Soldier Comes Home, he grew accustomed to large holes cut in the daily paper — The Rocky Mountain News was running a series of articles about our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan and I save these as research material.

He’s accepted that publishing operates like no other business on earth, and he’s my biggest cheerleader when I’m feeling down. But he still shakes his head and laughs when I mention my characters talking to me, and he’s as curious as anyone else about where I get my ideas.

Captain Ray Hughes returns from a tour of duty in Iraq, but not to the home he knew. His wife has filed for divorce and left Ray to raise their three-year old son. Ray must learn to be a father to the son he hardly knows and pick up the pieces of his own life. He turns for help to the young widow next door, Chrissie Evans. They become friends and then lovers. But having lost one husband to the war, can Chrissie risk her heart again?

Do you have any writerly quirks to add to the list? Or any questions about me or my books?