With a BA in history, a brief sojourn in law school, and a young family to feed, Cindy Sample embarked on a journey far removed from her initial dreams of being an author.  Putting aside her literary longings for a weekly paycheck, she applied for a job as a receptionist with a real estate office. Her career path eventually led to a position of CEO of a national mortgage banking company headquartered in Sacramento.   After one too many corporate mergers, Cindy found herself plotting murder instead of plodding through paperwork. Her experiences as a single soccer mom trying out on-line dating fueled the concept for her debut novel, Dying for a Date, a mystery that combines murder, mortgage and serious laughs. The sequel, Dying for a Dance, will be based on her adventures in the glamorous world of ballroom dancing.     Cindy Sample writes a popular humor column entitled “Hot Flash” for the Gold River Community Newspaper.  She is a frequent speaker in the Sacramento area with topics ranging from: “Never let a lack of ability stand in the way of success”, “Dating for the Hot Flash Set”, and “So you want to write a novel.”   Cindy is the past president of the Sacramento chapter of Sisters in Crime. Her short story, Tea Time, is included in the 2008 Capital Crimes Opera and the YWCA and is on the National Kidney Foundation Annual Author’s Luncheon committee. Anthology. She has served on the boards of the California Mortgage Bankers Assn., the Sacramento   Cindy recently agreed to co-chair the Left Coast Crime Convention, which will be held in Sacramento in 2012. Volunteers are welcome! Contact her at www.cindysamplebooks.com        

Dying for a Dance was a 2012 finalist for the LEFTY Award for best humorous mystery. It also won the 2011 NCPA Best in Fiction award.

Cindy was the Sacramento Bee featured volunteer for her work on behalf of the Annual Authors Luncheon benefiting the National Kidney Foundation.