and Anyone But Her, and the new short story collection This Isn’t New: Women’s Historical Stories. Swanson was named 2025 Indie Author of the Year by the Indie Author Project, has received the Colorado Book Award (twice) and the WILLA Literary Award, won the Indie Author Project contest, and been a finalist for the High Plains Book Award, the WILLA Literary Award, and the CAL Award. She is also the editor of the award-winning anthology Denver Noir. She lives with her family in Denver.
Recently I asked Swanson about what she was reading. The author's reply:
My latest read is Circe by Madeline Miller. I’ve been in a book club for 25 years, and one of the things I love most about book club is that we read books that either I hadn’t heard of before or hadn’t gotten around to reading. Circe falls into the second category: it was on my radar but hadn’t risenVisit Cynthia Swanson's website.to the top of my To-Read list until another book club member selected it for her month hosting. I loved this novel, which is both an alternative take on The Odyssey and a fleshed-out relating of the goddess Circe’s own story. Much mythology focuses on men’s adventures but doesn’t go into depth about what women (and goddesses) were doing, other than seducing men and leading them down dangerous paths. I love how Miller turns that on its head and portrays Circe as a sympathetic character with her own dreams and desires, irrespective of what Odysseus or any other male wants. At the same time, she experiences growth; when she’s young, she makes mistakes that she has to live with for the rest of her (endless) life. As the novel goes on, Circe tries to overcome her personal demons. Will she succeed? Read the book to find out.
The Page 69 Test: The Bookseller.
The Page 69 Test: The Glass Forest.
Writers Read: Cynthia Swanson (February 2018).
Q&A with Cynthia Swanson.
The Page 69 Test: Anyone But Her.
My Book, The Movie: This Isn't New.
--Marshal Zeringue
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