Cynthia Swanson is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the psychological suspense novels “The Bookseller,” “The Glass Forest” and
“Anyone But Her” and the short story collection “This Isn’t New: Women’s Historical Stories.” She was named 2025 Indie Author of the Year by the Indie Author Project, has twice received the Colorado Book Award and many other honors for her work. She also edited and contributed to the award-winning anthology “Denver Noir.” She lives with her family in Denver. Find her online at www.cynthiaswansonauthor.com.
SunLit: Tell us the backstory behind this short story collection – what’s it about and what inspired you to write it?
Cynthia Swanson: Before becoming a novelist, I was a short story writer. Like many aspiring authors, I’d heard that publishing short fiction could give you some street cred when you were ready to pitch a novel for publication. Plus, I love the short form, so it was a natural fit to keep writing and publishing stories as I began writing novels. My first two novels were practice novels that will never again see the light of day. I wrote them long before writing “The Bookseller,” which became my debut novel in 2015.
All along, I was also writing short fiction. For many years, I considered putting together a short story collection. Publishers, especially the Big 5 and other large publishers, are generally less interested in collections than novels. But once I learned how to self-publish, which I did in 2024 for my third novel, “Anyone But Her,” the idea of a collection resurfaced for me.
UNDERWRITTEN BY
Each week, The Colorado Sun and Colorado Humanities & Center For The Book feature an excerpt from a Colorado book and an interview with the author. Explore the SunLit archives at coloradosun.com/sunlit.
The theme of “This Isn’t New” came to me in the wake of the 2024 election. I already had several stories that explore various challenges women have faced over the decades. What I’ve been writing for years, I realized, was women’s history via a storytelling lens. Once I landed on that theme, I wrote additional stories, enough for a complete collection.
SunLit: Tell us a bit about the diverse characters you chose. A female take on Bozo the Clown?
Swanson: She calls herself Boza, and she feels mighty clever for having come up with it. I love this character because she’s stunningly flawed, yet empathetic and unapologetically herself.
The stories in “This Isn’t New” span decades from the 1870s through the early 2000s. Each story—and each woman—grapples with a different issue or viewpoint. Boza, for example, is a young woman trying to get out from under the thumb of her very traditional mother. Another story, “Baby Doll,” reverses that conflict: in the 1920s, we see through a mother’s eyes her concern for a daughter whose future she dreads if the girl fails to conform to prescribed gender roles.
“This Isn’t New: Women’s Historical Stories”
Where to find it:
- Prospector: Search the combined catalogs of 23 Colorado libraries
- Libby: E-books and audio books
- NewPages Guide: List of Colorado independent bookstores
- Bookshop.org: Searchable database of bookstores nationwide
- From the author
SunLit present new excerpts from some of the best Colorado authors that not only spin engaging narratives but also illuminate who we are as a community. Read more.
The story with the earliest time frame, “In This World As in the Other,” is about a female theologian in the late 1800s who struggles to break through professional barriers. In the 1960s, we meet a free-spirited singer and songwriter whose beauty is more societally valued than her musical talent.
SunLit: Did you begin your writing with specific themes you wanted to address or was the collection more character-driven? Or maybe a little of both?
Swanson: I’d say both. Knowing I wanted the collection to span most of the 20th century, I took a look at some of my past published stories, deciding which were candidates for inclusion and how much revision, if any, they might need. I also determined where I wanted to flesh out the theme with brand-new characters and scenarios. Once I knew that, I began playing with ideas set in different eras, using different voices and conflicts.
SunLit: Tell us about the short story you selected and how it fits into the overarching theme of the collection?
Swanson: As mentioned above, the main character of “Send in the Liar,” Boza the Clown, struggles to find her place in a world that, while rapidly changing for women, continued to have its constraints. The story is set in 1979, a time with more hopefulness for women than most. And yet, Boza’s own mother embraces traditional female roles and expects the same for her daughter.
Their relationship is in stark contrast to that of Alex Parry and her teenage daughter, Suzanne, whom readers of “Anyone But Her” will recognize from that novel. Boza’s brief interaction with Alex before Alex’s death, combined with Boza’s heartbreak for Suzanne’s loss of Alex and her own desire for a better role model, compel Boza to make the decisions she does.
SunLit: Did you set out to tell stories along a particular timeline for the collection, or were the time frame and setting random or dependent on the characters you chose to highlight?
Swanson: I wanted the stories to span the 20th century, and I was okay with a slight spillover back to the 1800s and forward to the 2000s. In certain instances, the era I chose was driven by the storyline. For example, the story, “Red Food” (previously published, but revised significantly for the collection), is set in 2005. In the revised version, I needed the main character to have a cell phone, so I bumped that one into the 21st century.
SunLit: Some of the main characters you describe as “ancillary” figures from your novels. Did those characters share any common traits that made you want to put them front and center in their own stories?
Swanson: The primary trait they share is that they were characters I’d always thought more about, characters whose stories I wanted to explore. Claire Miller, the main character in the story “The Unlived,” is the mother of Kitty Miller of “The Bookseller.” Kristina Hawke of the story “A Complaining Woman” is the high school principal in my second novel, “The Glass Forest.”
As mentioned above, Boza crosses paths with the characters from “Anyone But Her.” Boza’s story is actually inspired by a deleted scene from “Anyone But Her,” which I expanded and changed significantly to create the story.
SunLit: You’ve bounced back and forth between short stories and novels. What do you like best about each of those two disciplines?
Swanson: I love the deep dive of writing a novel. There are intricacies to a novel — within character, plot, and setting — that are difficult to get into deeply in short form. That being said, writing short fiction is a great exercise for novelists, because learning to write tightly helps you discipline yourself during the revision stage of novel writing.
This is especially effective if you’re the sort of writer whose early drafts have gotten away from you and include more than you need. When I teach writing classes on revision, I advise my students to save these “bits” for potential future projects—which is exactly how Boza’s story came to be.
SunLit: What do you want readers to take from this collection?
Swanson: I’m intentionally self-publishing this collection because I wanted it out well in advance of the midterm election next November. Traditional publishing, even in small or university presses, generally takes at least a year from manuscript acceptance to publication date. The collection has been vetted and is ready for publication, and I want readers to have access to it sooner rather than later, which is why I chose to self-publish now, rather than pursue traditional publishing and not have it in readers’ hands until 2027 or later.
I hope readers find in these stories an honest assessment of where all women, but women in the United States in particular, have been and where we are now — and I hope they take that assessment with them to the polls in November. We’ve gained a lot of ground, and we’ve lost a lot of ground. But we’re still in this, and we’re still committed to creating the future we want for our children, our neighbors, and ourselves.
SunLit: Have you figured out what form your next project will take?
Swanson: My fourth novel is in the works and has been for a few years. I gave myself a break from it to write the stories and put together “This Isn’t New,” but I’m full steam ahead on the novel these days. It’s a mystery set in Denver and a fictional mountain town in the 1930s, with themes of legacy, identity, and discovery.
SunLit: How do you decide if and when to pivot on a writing project? Is it okay to abandon one project in favor of something new and shiny?
Swanson: I grappled with this when I put my novel-in-progress aside to work on “This Isn’t New.” When I wasn’t feeling it with the novel, I struggled on for a few more months, thinking the flow would come back if I “just kept trying.” Sometimes that works. Sometimes it doesn’t.
Eventually, I realized I had to commit myself to the project that was calling to me: the story collection. I was about 95% sure I’d return to the novel after allowing myself to create the collection. I was also pretty sure I’d have more clarity about the novel’s direction if I let my heart drive my writing practice.
And that is exactly what happened. Once the collection was in the hands of beta readers, and later my developmental editor, I plunged back in on the novel. Today, the novel writing is going very well, with a clear focus about what I need to do. This is a good lesson in trusting your gut. No one else knows your creative heart the way you do.
A few more quick items
Currently on your nightstand for recreational reading: “Circe” by Madeline Miller. I haven’t read mythology in years, and “The Odyssey” was back in college, so in a lot of ways, this is fresh material for me. It’s brilliantly written and a complete page-turner.
First book you remember really making an impression on you as a kid: Judy Blume’s books, all of them. I suppose that’s not surprising, given that it was the 1970s and Blume was one of the first middle grade and young adult authors who focused much of her work on the stories of girls — and who told it like it is.
Best writing advice you’ve ever received: In a perfect illustration of teaching by example, my mother, also a writer, taught me the discipline of butt-in-chair-hands-on-keyboard. She wouldn’t have used those words, but the sentiment was there: I can still hear her typewriter keys clacking deep into the night. She knew, as all persistent writers do, that words only appear on the page when you put them there. There’s no magic; you just have to do it.
Favorite fictional literary character: There are so many, it’s impossible to select one. A few recent faves: the title character of “Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk” by Kathleen Rooney; Luz from Kali Fajardo-Anstine’s “Woman of Light”; and Bonnie and Colum from the story “Eat My Moose” in Erika Krouse’s wonderful collection “Save Me, Stranger.”
Literary guilty pleasure (title or genre): Kind of going back to Judy Blume, childhood or teen favorites are a guilty pleasure. One that I still think about and want to re-read: “The Witch of Blackbird Pond” by Elizabeth George Speare. God, I loved that book. Read it until it was dog-eared and falling apart.
Digital, print or audio – favorite medium to consume literature: Print. I can do audio for nonfiction, but because I write fiction, I need to understand a novel or story collection’s structure, and you really only get that with print. Same goes for ebooks; while convenient, they make it difficult for me to see the big picture. That being said, I often acquire reference titles in ebook form, because I appreciate the searchability.
One book you’ve read multiple times: “The Joy Luck Club” by Amy Tan. Maybe because it’s about mothers, daughters, and history—all of which I explore in my fiction, too. But also, it’s simply a beautiful story about friendship, loss, and love.
Other than writing utensils, one thing you must have within reach when you write: Water, hand lotion, and cough drops. Okay, that’s three things, but we live in a dry state, and I don’t know how anyone here gets by without them handy at all times.
Best antidote for writer’s block: Reframe it. It’s not writer’s block; it’s thinker’s block. If you’re stuck, you’re probably overthinking it. For a short time (short being key here), do something else. Take a walk. Read a book. Fold laundry. Let it simmer until the path forward becomes clear.
Most valuable beta reader: My betas change from book to book, depending on genre and themes, as well as beta reader availability. But “This Isn’t New” is my third book with the same developmental editor. I call her my fairy god-sister, because without her, I’m not sure I’d have a writing career.