Author Cissy Hunt & A Rose Blooms Among the Thorns

Say hello to my seventh guest on the Virtual Book Tour: author and poet Cissy Hunt. Cissy’s book A Rose Blooms Among the Thorns is a special testament to Cissy’s own life experiences, and how she has turned these into a means of enlightening and helping others. Before we find out more about Cissy, let’s take a look at her book.

Cissy says: “It is about a woman's journey from domestic abuse through healing to forgiveness. Though it is a fiction book, it is taken from my own life. It was a very hard book for me to write, because of having to relive it all, but true and complete healing came from writing it. It took me a long time to start writing the book but it came quickly once I started. I am a minister called to helping women who have come out of domestic abuse.


I started my book, A Rose Blooms Among the Thorns, in Feb of 2009 and turned it in to the publisher in June of 2009. The toughest obstacle that I had to overcome before completing my book was taking the journey into my past, but when the journey was complete I received complete healing. As for my title, "A Rose Blooms Among the Thorns", what is behind it is symbolism. Rose = new life; Blooms = over coming thorns = abuse."

You mention that this book was inspired by personal abuse. You live such a happy settled life now—was it difficult to dredge up your own pain to express it on paper, and why did you feel the need to share this with others?

Yes it was very difficult to take the journey back into my past but it had to be done, because there is so much domestic abuse in this country and women are left feeling that "IT" is all their fault. A woman that escapes a violent relationship leaves feeling worse than "DIRT."

Do you feel that being an ordained minister enables you to empathize with others' pain and thereby express your own emotions better in your writing?

Yes, a woman can relate to another woman who has been where she is now. It gives her hope, hope for a better live that doesn't hold pain and sorrow. I can show them that hope for a better life in my writing.

You love to write—was there someone who inspired you from an early age, or did you get your spark from books or poetry while growing up?

I loved reading every since I learned how to read. I'm a type of reader that gets totally "into" a book. I could go anywhere in time and be anyone I wanted to be. Books were an escape for me. One person inspired me to write and she was my 12th grade English teacher, Miss Fife. She not only complemented me on my writing but would push me to pull more out of myself. "Dig deeper," she would say.

Tell us more about your poetry—what moves you, inspires you? Do you have a special place or set of circumstances to be comfortable in writing?

My poetry just comes to me. I don't just sit down and say, "I'm going to write a poem today." Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and the words just flow out of me. I'm a night person and I like sitting on my deck at night (we live out in the country) and words come to me. I wrote my poem Like the Moon for one while on my deck at night.

What kind of response have you had from readers? Do people relate well to your book? Have your helped people through your own journey?

The people who have read my book said they loved it. They said that it made them cry, laugh, and made them angry, but most of all it made them think, think about what is going on around them in their own neighborhood and community. That is the response I wanted. I wanted people to open their eyes to what was going on in their own community.

How did you get published?

I sent in the first three chapters of my book and the publisher, PublishAmerica, liked it and sent me a contract.

What books/ideas do you have lined up in future?

I have been thinking of a sequel to my first book, A Rose Blooms Among the Thorns. It has been very strong in my thoughts. I just want to get this book out to the public first before I start on a second one.

Thanks for sharing this with us, Cissy. Interested readers can purchase A Rose Blooms Among the Thorns on Amazon, or visit Cissy's website.