Author Interview: Cyn Bermudez
JC – How did you discover your interest in astronomy?
CB - I fell out of the womb in love with the stars. Space has always fascinated me. My earliest recollections are of wanting to be an astronaut. When I was a kid, fourth grade, I remember an overwhelming desire to know everything about space. My mother had this old encyclopedia set, beige with black trimming. The set was missing letters, but we had the “S” volume and the “B” volume. I read about stars, stellar evolution, our sun, and black holes. Black holes—mind blown! I spent hours and hours thinking about the singularity. And the stars—billions of suns—some more massive, some less massive than our own star. Maybe they have planets, too. I’d stare up the stars and my imagination went wild with all the what-ifs that racked my brain. Is there life out there? Are they looking up at the stars and wondering what if, too?
JC – What are your favorite types of stories to write? What are your future plans for writing?
CB – My absolute favorite types of stories are character driven, hard science fiction. I also like fantasy, horror, weird, mystery, contemporary, and literary fiction. I write what I like to read.
Currently, I’m working on my first novel, which is in its fourth draft. I also have a novelette and two other novels that I’ve started but are still in the first/second draft phase. I'm also working on a graphic/comic serial. For now, my future goal is to write full-time and make enough to support my family, and myself, so I can finally quite my day jobs.
JC – When you write, do you have a routine? Do you need a title, an idea, or an outline to begin, or do you just start writing?
CB – I wish I could I have routine. If I had time, I’d develop a routine, which I think would be a good thing. Right now my writing life is chaotic. I write where I can squeeze it in, which means my mind is always in writer mode. So when I sit down to write, I just pull out whatever story I want to work on and go for it. If I’m starting something new, most of the time I start with an idea. Sometimes I outline.
JC – What types of books, stories, and authors inspire you?
CB – I love stories that extrapolate science. I like stories that examine current or extrapolated political and social issues, usually allegorically. I like stories with layers, with characters that have complex internal and external lives, characters that grow. I like stories that make me think. But I also like entertaining stories, mysteries, crime fiction, weird/surreal fiction, and even love stories. It’s not always about heavy issues. I like lighthearted stories, too. Feel good type of stories. I love it when I read a book and it consumes me. Like it’s four in the morning, my eyes are stinging, but I can’t go to sleep because I need to know what happens next. I love that.
Authors who inspire me wrote something I connected with, something that resonated with me. And the author usually embodies something I can relate to or something I hope to achieve for myself.
JC – Your story, “To Dream in Color,” feels post-apocalyptic and dark. Do you think humanity is headed in that direction? Is there a way we can stop that trend?
CB – That is a really good but complex question. My short answer to each of your questions is yes. For some in our global community, humanity is already in a dark place. Is that ever going to change? All humans—every single human being—of all ages, all around the world, should have their basic human rights ensured: clean water, nutritious food, health care, education, and protection from harm. Will we as a species ever accomplish this? However, I consider myself more optimistic than pessimistic. I know there are good people out there, people who take a stand and fight what feels like an impossible fight. And I believe there is always hope.
JC – Do you have any advice for writers wanting to get published?
CB – Read and write a lot. Get your work critiqued if you can. Learn how to accept and discern constructive criticism. Revise. Polish. Read the guidelines. Follow the guidelines. Remember that every writer faces rejection. Be diligent and don’t give up.
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Cyn Bermudez is an author, astronomy nerd, and comic con enthusiast. Her fiction is forthcoming or published in Middle Planet,Perihelion, The Best of Vine Leaves Literary Journal, BWS Quarterly Review, Fiction Vortex, The Red Line, The Milo Review, Beyond Science Fiction, and more. For more of her fiction, please visit her website at cynbermudez.com. Cyn is also the editor-in-chief of "The Riding Light Review," ridinglight.org. Someday she hopes to tree camp in Germany.
