Author Interview: How this author turned dyslexia into a superpower

Dyslexia is a disease that affects 20 percent of the population and represents 80-90 percent of learning disabilities. Fantasy and romance author Cyndi Brec, whom I interviewed, is among those with dyslexia. In my interview with her, we delved into her world both in real life and through her upcoming series, The Therans: Secrets Beneath Scars, which will be released next month. Throughout our conversation, I interviewed her on her authorial choices, inspirations, and personal experiences that affect her writing.

As we began our interview, Brec said she likes writing her heroines into "dangerous webs of deception" while she sips French vanilla iced coffee. She excitedly told me how she was writing the prequels to her novel The Therans: Secrets Beneath Stars. As we delved into our conversation, we discussed everything from Cyndi's struggles with dyslexia to the complicated world of Callie in The Therans: Secrets Beneath Stars. In this article, I've put together a few key points from the interview.

From not being able to read books to writing them

When I asked Cyndi how she felt when she first realized she had dyslexia she said, "When they threw me in an [learning disability] class I figured I must be dumb". When I asked her if she meant that she felt "stupider" she told me how while that could be a label for it, she wasn't too keen on labeling things. She went on to elaborate on her struggles, "In third grade when I was sitting in a reading class and everyone else could read well, I couldn't even put the first three words together". She credited one specific teacher who advocated for her and got her into a learning disability class where she learned how to make reading easier for herself. "In some ways depending on your [type of] dyslexia, the more you slow yourself down and you calm down, the more [you don't] mess up", said Cyndi as she described the techniques she learned in her class.

When I asked her what ultimately led her to pursue a writing career, Cyndi first credited her husband: "Because he told me to go to the writing group. If it wasn't for him, I don't think I would have done it", before describing how the support of this writing group went on to make her dreams a reality.

The personal connection

When I asked her if making death a prominent theme in her books was influenced by her own life Cyndi said, "Well death is serious in real life and we all die eventually and it is what we do with that [which] makes us a better person". She described how she lost her mother and father, going through loss herself. Throughout the interview, I got the feeling that while Callie only existed in Cyndi's book, she was quite similar to Cyndi in many ways. When I reviewed this connection with her, Cyndi described Callie as a mix of herself and her daughter, highlighting a strong emotional connection throughout the story.

Conclusion

After wrapping up this interview, I learned about an author who overcame many obstacles to get where she is today. To me I got the feeling that when she wrote her The Therans series, it was as if Cyndi's real-life world and the world of Callie collided in the stories she wrote.

As we came to an end I asked Cyndi Brec what the one thing people get wrong about dyslexia and she said, "When you transpose letters, you're not dumb. You just have to think and maybe [rethink things] differently. I don't like being labeled, I understand the function of it but I don't think labels should be [there] to suppress you".