Christi Caldwell: Writing Regency With Grit!

 Have you ever had a girlfriend that was not only the sweetest, most kind and giving person you know but is also one of the most inspiring people you would ever meet?  That is the kind of person Christi Caldwell is.  The type everyone would love to know!  Rather than let the challenges of life get her down, she grabs  life by the horns and refuses to settle for anything less than awesome.  She literally wrangles her dreams until they come true!  
Along the way, she has never lost her kind, caring spirit.  One that shines through in every conversation. Take a minute get to know her as you read and you will assuredly agree.  It is truly an honor to know her!

InD: You live in Connecticut right now?
CC: I do.
InD: Were you born and raised there?
CC: I have been here nearly all my life. When I was pregnant with my first child, Rory, my husband and I bought a plot of land in North Carolina to build a home on. We loved it there! My sister was there, so we bought a house across the street from her and next to my parents. We were still building that home, while living in Connecticut, when Rory was born with Down syndrome. There was so much uncertainty, we weren’t sure what to do in terms of moving. Ultimately, we decided to go but my husband was working as a teacher and the healthcare costs were too much and we were losing everything. We ended up having to sell our house and move back to Connecticut and live in a one-bedroom apartment. We slept in a walk-in closet and Rory had the bedroom. After that, we just stayed in Connecticut.
InD: What about your parents and sister?
CC: Before they moved to North Carolina, we had all planned to move together because my sister had gotten a job and my dad was retiring. When I had to move back, though, my parents moved back, as well. My sister ended up changing careers and is in Texas now.
InD: It sounds like you grew up in a really close family then, if you all moved to Charlotte together.
CC: Yes, we all traveled as a unit. My relationship with my parents and my family is so great and having a child with medical needs, my parents could provide support. We were always a very close-knit family. My parents supported me through everything. I was going to be a Broadway actress at one point, and they were like, “We’ll pay for singing and dancing lessons, if that's your dream.” Or when I was going to go into Political Science and live in D.C., and when I started writing my own romance novels when I was 13.
InD: You started writing romance novels at 13?
CC: Yes! I started reading romance novels in the six-grade. When I was 13, I saw Jude Deveraux's "Eternity.” I remember how the cover was raised and there was this gorgeous floral bouquet. It was on my aunt’s coffee table. I picked it up and I was lucky my parents were okay with whatever I wanted to read. I worked through her books, then I found Julie Garwood, and I’ve never stopped reading since. They changed my life!
InD: How did they change your life?
CC: I struggled as a reader when I was younger. I was throwing books at the wall because I couldn't read them. I was so frustrated. My parents hired this amazing tutor and he would come over and talk about me just needing to find what I liked to read. That sounds so cliché, but it turned out to be true.
InD: Why did you hate to read before that?
CC: I was unable to read. I don't know exactly the reason I struggled because I was never tested.

Read the entire interview in the May 2019 issue of InD'Tale magazine.

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