They might not be raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but that doesn’t mean that we love them any less. Welcome back to My Favorite Things, the weekly column where we grab someone in speculative circles to gab about the greatest in geek. This week, we sit down with Cindy R. Wilson, whose latest, Sting, comes out on tomorrow, March 3rd, from Entangled Teen!
What does Cindy love when she’s not writing about getting revenge for those who’ve been wronged? Spoiler alert: a director who inspired her so much it bled into her fiction, collectibles that serve as a reminder of everything she enjoys, the best pet for those allergic to dogs, and a memento for every novel written. Intrigued? Read on to learn more!
Favorite Director
Right now I’m all about Guillermo del Toro — especially his speculative projects. When I first saw Pacific Rim, I knew I was in love. Especially because I’m a big fan of robots. In fact, this movie was one of the reasons I wanted to write a book with robots in it — and my newest release, Sting, has a few because I just couldn’t help myself. I love how creative del Toro is and how unique and different his worlds are. Directors/writers who can make me think and want to create something even bigger and better make me happy!
Favorite Collector Item: Pins
Yes, I am a collector. I collect pinback and lapel pins of all sorts. (And yes, I do have Pacific Rim pins in this collection). Here are some of my faves, though I have more that I need to put up. Basically my pins are all the things I enjoy, love, saw, or read recently, and some for holidays or everyday fun. I even have a pin of a chinchilla because I have a pet chinchilla. A majority of my pins are speculative. Everything from Supernatural to Harry Potter to Stranger Things and X-Files.
Favorite Pet
When I found out how allergic to dogs I was, my dream of a happy golden retriever running around in my backyard kind of faded into the background. I’ve always been a dog person, but the older I got, the more their dander bothered me. So I started doing research on pets — ones that were still just as cute, loved to play, and were good with families. Then I found out about chinchillas! Before last year, I had no clue what they really were or that they loved to play, had great personalities, and can live to be over 20 years old. About four months ago, our family finally got to adopt a cute little chinchilla we call Mr. Wicket von Oin. He likes to play dress-up, too. Here he is with his favorite top hat.
Favorite Book Mementos
One thing I enjoy doing when I’m writing a new story is finding a memento for that book. One time it was a pocket watch that looks very steampunk and actually winds and works. For Sting, I found this scorpion necklace that I had to have. Before I had actually books of my stories to hold in my hands, my favorite thing to do was to get some sort of memento to help me remember writing some of my favorite books. Now I’m happy to say some of those books are out there in the world for you to read. Hope you enjoy!
Cindy R. Wilson began creating worlds as a kid, entertaining her siblings with spontaneous ghost stories before bed. She filled notebooks with novels and ideas and realized quickly she wanted to be a writer as an adult.
Now Cindy lives in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and loves using Colorado towns and cities as inspiration for settings in her stories. She’s the mother of three girls who provide plenty of fodder for her YA novels. Visit her website to learn more about her books or subscribe to her newsletter: https://www.cindyrwilsonauthor.com.
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Your chinchilla is ADORABLE. The top hat is everything!