1. I hear you have animals in your children’s books. Tell us about the books.
My books are about the animals of the Chesapeake Bay, including crabs, jellyfish, osprey, oysters, and more. They teach children to be kind, brave, resourceful, and forgiving. Three out of the 15 books are Macy the Mermaid, Jordan the Jellyfish, and Curtis the Crab.
Macy the Mermaid blurb:
Liam leads an exciting life as the son of a 4th generation waterman. He and his dad, Sean, make their living catching fish, crabs, and oysters on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland using their boat, Alyssa’s Mermaid. There is beauty and bounty in the Bay, but there is also something mysterious. What could be in the water below?
Jordan the Jellyfish blurb:
Jordan the Jellyfish is lost and needs to find her way home from Sandy Point State Park to Mayo Beach, Maryland. She encounters danger and fun with her friends in and above the Chesapeake Bay. Her friends include Arthur the Anchovy, Curtis the Crab, and Olivia the Osprey, and they help protect Jordan and help her find her way home.
Curtis the Crab blurb:
Curtis the Crab is off on an adventure to find four musicians who will play in a concert in Crab Alley Bay, Maryland, to help bring more crabs and oysters to the Chesapeake Bay. The musicians are Oakley the Oyster, Bethany the Bass, Sampson the Seahorse, and Jordan the Jellyfish.
2. Why did you add animals to these books?
I love animals, and I have always had a dog or a cat. But I especially love Akitas, and I have had three, named Sumo, Seiko, and Athena. They were big, awesome dogs. Because of my love of animals and the Chesapeake Bay, I constantly wonder what lives in the bay under the sparkles. So I researched online to find there are 12 species of shark, and I learned about many other wonderful animals who live in the Bay. Since I wanted my stories to be fun and educational, I did a lot of research to find each animal’s friends, foes, habitat, and what they like to eat. I also found photos of the animals to be sure the illustrators got them correct.
3. What other books have you written?
A few more of my books are Mud Pies and Vandi the Garden Fairy. These are not about the Bay but are fun books. Mud Pies is about 26 ways to use mud. Vandi the Garden Fairy is a 70-page chapter book about a fairy that cannot fly. I have self-published 15 children’s books through Ingram Spark. I started out with Mud Pies in 2013 and then Jordan the Jellyfish, which was the first story in the Chesapeake Bay Adventure series. When I wrote Jordan, I never intended it to become a series. But the story ideas just kept coming.
Mud Pies blurb:
Have you ever felt cool, squishy mud between your toes or watched a butterfly puddling in mud? Kids play in mud while animals stay cool in mud. People put it on their face and some even bathe in it. Children will learn 26 ways people and animals use mud.
Vandi the Garden Fairy blurb:
Lily lives on a tropical island and goes to an all-girls school. She always carries a hunting knife and knows survival skills. She hunts, makes her own clothes, cooks, and grows her own food. Vandi is the quirky garden fairy who helps Lily overcome bullying and shyness. But can they help each other with secrets, like what happened to Lily’s father and why do the butterflies act strangely?
4. Tell us about your kudos or reviews.
Three of my books, Jordan the Jellyfish, Macy the Mermaid, and Chester the Chipmunk have won awards from Story Monsters. I try to submit at least one book each year to see if it will win an award. I received a certificate for donating eight of my Bay books to the Maryland State Library for the Blind in audio version. The books are available to patrons of the library.
5. How do you promote your books?
I sell my books in person at festivals, book signings, and schools. I also sell wholesale at gift shops and libraries. I promote my books on eight Facebook pages, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X (formerly Twitter). I purchase ads in print magazines, newspapers, and websites. Blogs, television, and radio shows are also great to help promote my books. Amazon sells my books, and my own website is great too. I teach self-publishing classes at the local library and senior center.
NOTE: Readers can learn more about Cindy’s books, find their buy links, and connect with her online at these sites:
Facebook: facebook.com/cindyfrelandauthor
Chesapeake Bay Adventure Book Series: cbaykidsbooks.com
Amazon Author Page: https://tinyurl.com/29dyrwkh
MARCIA: Thank you, Cindy, for being my January interviewee! I look forward to recommending your books to my family and friends who have children!
MONTHLY BLOG EBOOK CONTEST! Would you like to win a Marcia James’ ebook? Visitors to this pro-pet blog can join in the fun, comment, and/or share photos of their pets for a chance to win one of my ebooks!
Each month, I’ll randomly pick one blog commenter to win. To leave a comment and/or a photo, click on the word “Reply,” which is just below the social media icons for THIS interview. (Don’t scroll past this interview to the next interview.) Go Pets!
I call my debut novel Moon for short, and I can’t refer to her as an “it.” She feels like a female to me.
Jellibean’s world is full of animated animal characters, like a bear who’s a baker, some playful parrots, and her best friend, Lady Jane, a cheerful dog. One of my favorite books in the series is Mama’s Map, where Jellibean meets Penelope, a shy possum who’s lost her way home. Together, they follow clues to help Penelope reunite with her family, all while teaching kids the basics of reading a map.
Another one of my favorite books is Bunky & Lulu: Find Their Place, which tells the story of a clown and his elephant best friend. After retiring from the circus, they get bored and start looking for odd jobs together—with hilarious results! A word of caution: elephants should definitely not serve ice cream! There’s plenty of silliness as they stumble through different roles, until they finally find the perfect job where their unique talents shine, helping others in a way only they can.
My most recent book, Fish Patty, is the first in a new series called Fish & Fin. It’s about a young girl who dreams of becoming a marine biologist. The story follows her as she navigates her parents’ divorce and adjusts to life in a small town after moving with her mother. Along the way, she forms a special bond with a fish at her uncle’s shop. When that fish disappears, she meets a new friend who shares her passion for marine life. The story introduces kids to some fascinating fish species, and I spent six months researching marine animals to bring authenticity to the story!
There have been many wonderful reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, and Readers Favorite websites. My book, Ishkabibble Unafraid, received Honorable Mention in the 2023 Purple Dragonfly Awards. It also received the Bobos Babes Heart Award Seal! My book, Kai the Loneliest Palm Tree, received Honorable Mention in the 2022 Purple Dragonfly Awards. My book, Grandpa Moon, won First Place under the Family Matters Category in the 2021 Purple Dragonfly Awards.
Links:
Hi, everyone and thanks for stopping by to visit. Normally, people don’t think of horses as pets, but I’ve always been fascinated by the big, majestic animals! I went to local horse shows in my younger days and rode my cousin’s ornery pony.
1. I hear you have a cat in the first book of your Romancing the Guardians series. Tell us about the book.
2. Why did you add a cat to this book?
I’ve written a western historical romance series, a time travel romance, and have been included in several anthologies.
I thought up this elderly woman character, Felicity, who was widowed and lived alone, who had a unique way to supplement her Social Security. Her delightfully fluttery personality is cover for scary intelligence. The plot in my mind needed a catalyst, something or someone who could give it a little humor, and be present and perhaps responsible for some of the turning points. A large black cat her late husband had rescued from drowning appeared in my imagination. Thus his name, Lazarus. Then I threw in a romance to add spice and give the plot more dimension. It sort of fell together. Thus Lazarus was already in place for the next book, Dangerous Legacy.
Amazon Buy Links for the Legacy Series (and other Justine Wittich books’) are here: 
Above all, it’s a love story between two very different beings, both of whom have the same wish—to stop a series of murders in the main city of Planet Andaan. Kylie Sanderson is the independent-minded daughter of a wealthy family who wants to do more with her days than play. She has put herself through school, over her father’s objection, to become an exobiologist and police detective with SIRT, the Scientific and Investigative Research Taskforce. When a series of women turn up dead and mutated like lizards, she is assigned the case. Griff is a reptile shapeshifter who is kin to those committing the murders, who wants his brethren to stop what they’re doing because it is wrong.
Funny story. My former husband and I were part of an online RPG [role-playing game] that featured characters of our own making. I had created Kylie and he created Griff as part of our repertoires, and they ended up having a great love story in the RPG. After we had separated, I wasn’t ready to let go of the characters yet. So I dreamed up a plot they could inhabit, and here they are!
1. I hear you have a dog in Miracles from the Heart. Tell us about the book.
“The Christmas Gift” is dedicated to my late Jack Russell, Belladonna aka Belle, the best four-legged friend and shadow I could ever have. She brought me extreme joy and happiness. I’ve had some wonderful dogs in my life, but Belle was extra special. On or off a lead, she stuck by me. We’ve had Basset Hounds, Airedale Terriers, a Doberman, and at one time we had 30 birds–from tiny Finches to Amazon Orange-winged Parrots. [We also had] a house rabbit, several cats, and many, many fish–fresh water and salt.
Second Chance Bride blurb:
I’ve written about 30 or more books. Last Christmas is another book that stars Friday, a rescue dog that was found on a Friday and taken to a shelter. He’s adopted by a small-town police chief.
Someone recently called me a hidden treasure. *LOL* The hidden part is probably correct. There has been so much turmoil in my family because of medical crises that I’ve done hardly anything in years to promote my books. I realized I was becoming invisible to the reading public, so this year I vowed to do something about this. Thank you, Marcia, for giving me that opportunity.
The books I’m featuring here today are Will o’ the Wisp and The Haunting of Laurel Cove. Will o’ the Wisp is contemporary romance with suspense; The Haunting of Laurel Cove is a mystery romance with a bit of the supernatural. Both are published by The Wild Rose Press, and both have animals in the stories.
In The Haunting of Laurel Cove, Jane and her faithful, ragtag companion Pepper come back to Laurel Cove to recover from a vicious attack. She becomes obsessed with an old cabin in the Cove, but Pepper will not let her near it. Jane welcomes her dog’s presence while she discovers answers to the secrets and mysteries of Laurel Cove, while guarding her heart against falling back in love with an old flame, Brendan McGarren.
