Huntington Alum Pens Debut Novel
Patricia Dillon's phone rang not too long ago. She got excited when she heard what the person on the other end had to say.
Mrs. Dillon, the Huntington High School librarian, was called by a member of Huntington's Class of 1991. Cynthia Schmitt, as she was known during her scholastic days, always had a knack for writing. She reached out to her alma mater to see if it would like to have a copy of her new book, Stanlin and Sylvia.
Ms. Schmitt began writing short fiction in grammar school and stuck with it through high school and college. During her years at Huntington High School, she was inducted into the National Honor Society and the French National and earned the President's Academic Fitness Award.
Ms. Schmitt went on to obtain an undergraduate degree at James Madison University and later became a practicing chiropractor. She also continued to write. She took her husband's name following their marriage and is now known as Cynthia Hey.
When she entered the world of chiropractic, Mrs. Hey's writing transitioned from fiction to non-fiction. She captured the 2001 Total Solutions Seminar Essay Scholarship Award and authored the "Words on Wellness" blog for The Reporter, a California newspaper. The Huntington alum also penned the review/position paper "Complementing Chiropractic Philosophy with Science," which appeared in The Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research in June 2007.
Mrs. Hey crossed back into fiction after almost a decade of professionally-related non-fiction writing. Rather than penning short stories, she authored a full-length novel. The book, Stanlin and Sylvia has been billed as "a novel for teens and adults who like fantasy/sci-fi with a tinge of horror."
Mrs. Hey's work has been well-received. Kirkus Reviews wrote "Debut author Hey's smooth, light-treading prose makes a fast read..." and "...the author's adroit style maintains a buoyant tone even with apocalypse on the horizon."
A certified fitness trainer, Mrs. Hey married an "Army guy" and did all the requisite traveling that comes with it. Now, she has returned to Huntington with her husband and has reconnected with her high school. She inscribed a copy of her book for the Huntington High School library and sent it along to Mrs. Dillon with a personal message.