Cynthia Rutledge learned at an early age the value of having an active imagination. If she didn't like the ending of a television show or movie, she simply thought of a different one. Or if she had difficulty falling asleep, instead of counting sheep, she made up a story.

She wrote her first book in junior high school with the hero modeled after Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits. (Anyone remember him?) When she let a favorite teacher read it and received a less than enthusiastic response, Cynthia promptly relegated it to the trash. However, she couldn't stay away from writing. When she was sixteen she penned these words in her diary: "I don't know what I would do if I couldn't be a writer." .

But it would be several decades before her dream would become a reality. In the meantime, she would go to college, first graduating with a BA in Sociology and Political Science and later with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. As a registered nurse she would work at a variety of different jobs, including a hospital discharge planner, a hospice coordinator, and most recently, as a regional consultant for a large insurance company.

During all this, she and her husband Kirt would raise one daughter, Wendy, and a variety of pets. It was while Wendy was in college that the dream of writing resurfaced. A little over three years after she began writing again, Cynthia sold her first novel, Unforgettable Faith, an inspirational romance to Steeple Hill. She's proud of the books she's written and truly believes that to get to know an author, you only need to read her work. Cynthia invites you to grab a cup of hot cocoa, curl up with one of her novels, and get better acquainted!