exhale interviews :: cindy hudson

I was introduced to Cindy Hudson and her work through Writer Mama Christina Katz’s blog, The Writer Mama Riffs, and was thrilled to have an opportunity to review her first book, Book by Book, The Complete Guide to Creating Mother-Daughter Book Clubs.

 

I brought Cindy’s cheerful book, which takes readers step-by-step through the process of creating and maintaining a mother-daughter book club, along on our recent family vacation and found it to be an absolutely delightful and inspiring read.

 

Cindy has created two long-running book clubs, one with each of her daughters, and she also interviewed numerous mothers about their experiences in their own mother-daughter book clubs. Her book covers everything from how to get started, to how to keep your book club thriving, and how to handle challenges that come up.

 

In Chapter 17: Talking about Sex, Alcohol and other Touchy Subjects Peter L. Benson, PhD says he sees mother-daughter book clubs as the reincarnation of the “circle of elders,” the new campfire, where “elders gather to impart the wisdom they have learned in a non-threatening way. It is powerful to have dialogue in a circle of intergenerational people.”

 

It is with this beautiful image in mind and my gratitude for the important work she is doing, that I welcome Cindy Hudson, author of Book by Book.

 

{Enter to win a copy of Cindy’s book. See the end of the interview for details!}

 

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EBG: Welcome and congratulations on your first book! How does it feel to officially be a published author?

CH: It’s overwhelming and a little bit unreal, but it’s very fun and exciting too.

 

Did you always want to be an author or was this book born out of your passion for mother-daughter book clubs?

I’ve always wanted to write, but I didn’t have my heart set on writing books. My first passion is for writing personal essays, but once I realized that there were few resources available for moms in mother-daughter book clubs, which I truly believe can be life changing, I knew I had to put my heart and soul into this book.

 

I know you are a mother of two daughters, and therefore it was natural for you to create mother-daughter book clubs, but I’m wondering what advice would you offer to those of us who are raising boys?

First off, you can always read within your family. Before I started my mother-daughter book clubs my husband and I both read to our daughters. Sometimes it was a whole family event, with all of us listening to the same book. Ideally, your son would be in a book club with his dad, because there are just some topics you can discuss more freely with members of the same sex as the kids grow up. But if that’s not possible, and you have other moms and sons who want to be in a group, you should definitely create a parent-child book club. When you read together you open up so many avenues into each other’s personal lives, and that’s an invaluable experience to have with your child.

 

Your older daughter, Madeleine, started college this fall, right? What has happened to your book club as the girls have branched out for school?

This year the moms bought tickets to a literary speaker series here in Portland. Our first speaker appeared on the night of move-in day at the dorm, and we thought it was appropriate that as three of us moms gathered for the event, our three daughters were having dinner together in their cafeteria at college. We’re also talking about meeting with the whole group when the girls come home for Christmas and again in the summer. If we’re lucky, some of us will squeeze in a meeting during parents’ weekend in February (four girls decided to attend the same college). The bottom line is, we all want to continue to see each other as a group, so I have to believe we’ll make it work.

 

And now, if it is okay with you, I’d love to ask you a few questions about your writing process.

 

Do you have a dedicated writing space? What does it look/feel like? Is it in-home, out-of-home, multipurpose/shared etc.

I love my office in my home. It’s in a corner that’s tucked away from the main action of the house, which means I can shut my door and concentrate if I’d like, or I can leave it open and be in tune with everything else going on. When my daughters were young, they played on the floor beside my desk. Now, my youngest does homework in another room while I’m finishing up my work day.

 

What is your writing process like? (Do you like to compose in a particular notebook, with a certain pen, at the keyboard, at the coffee shop? Inquiring minds want to know! ;-)

When I’m brainstorming, I like to write ideas out with pen and paper. There’s something about jotting things down and being messy about the process that keeps the ideas flowing. When I write though, I think better at the computer. I guess I’m too impatient to write things down twice, once on paper and again on the keyboard. But I’m not afraid to write a lead that’s terrible, double space and write another, and another until I like what I’m writing. Sometimes I have to go into the body of the article or chapter and go back to revise the beginning. Once I have a rough draft, I often go for a walk. There’s something about getting away from a piece of writing that helps me think of all the missing pieces.

 

With all the exciting things happening in your world, when and how do you nurture yourself physically/emotionally/spiritually?

I get time to relax in bits and pieces, and occasionally I find several hours at once on a weekend. Reading for pleasure is one of the most relaxing things I can do. I read so many books for review, that I find it’s a treat to read something just for enjoyment. I also try to walk everyday. My daughters keep telling me to take an ipod with me so I can enjoy music, but I really like tuning into what’s going on around me. I like to breathe in the fresh air and listen to different bird songs. Massages are good, too, but I don’t get enough of those.

 

What books, magazines, websites/blogs (or other resources) do you turn to for inspiration?

For writing ideas I check out Writer’s Digest and Christina Katz’s ezines. I edit Writers on the Rise for Christina, so I get to read the articles by contributors first. And I find a lot of good tips in her Writer Mama ezine and Get Known Before the Book Deal. For mother-daughter book clubs I have found Julie Peterson of Booking Mama to be a good blogging buddy. And I’m tied into the Kidlitosphere, where you can find lots of good online sites talking about children’s literature.

 

What’s next for you? And what is the best way for people to follow along with your work?

I’m already scheduled to talk about mother-daughter book clubs at bookstores and conferences well into next year, which is exciting. The best news I can hear is when someone tells me they’re starting a book club after they’ve read my book or heard me speak. And I’m working on a couple of new concepts for books, but they’re not quite developed enough to talk about yet. I’ll keep posting my news at MotherDaughterBookClub.com and blogging at MotherDaughterBookClub.wordpress.com, so you can stay tuned there.

 

Thank you so much Cindy for sharing your time with us and for sharing your Light with the world!

 

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To be entered to win a copy of Cindy’s inspiring book, please leave a comment here between now and Sunday at 5 p.m. (EST). Good luck and happy weekend to you!

And the winner is…

Tracy from Give it a Whirl!

Congratulations Tracy and thank you again to Cindy!