A retired librarian, Cindy Vallar is the Associate Editor of Industry for Solander, the magazine of the Historical Novel Society, and writes the “Red Pencil” column where she profiles authors and compares a selection from their published historical novels with an early draft of that work. She also reviews for their journal, Historical Novels Review. She is the Editor of Pirates and Privateers, a freelance editor, and a content editor for Pyrates Way magazine. She belongs to the Historical Novel Society, the Red River Branch of Clan Cameron, the Scottish Clans of North Texas, the Laffite Society, the Louisiana Historical Society, and the National Maritime Historical Society.

Cindy’s love of Scotland has taken her to that country several times to do research and attend an international gathering of Clan Cameron on the chief’s estate in 2001. She also covered that gathering for the Scottish journal, Dalriada. In 2005 the Commissioner of Clan Cameron in North America invited her to the clan’s North American Rally, where he presented Cindy with the first Friend of Clan Cameron Award. She’s also served as the Co-membership Director and Secretary of the Red River Branch of the Clan Cameron Association North America.

Her two passions, pirates and Scotland, have led Cindy to share her knowledge with others through the workshops she conducts online and in-person. She is an instructor for several Romance Writers of America’s chapters. She invites you to visit her award-winning web site, Thistles & Pirates (http://www.cindyvallar.com/), to learn more.