Cindy Miller: Quitting Is Against My Nature

Cindy Miller is a writer and editor who has worked in newspaper and magazine publishing for 28 years. Cindy edited Arizona Woman magazine and the Arizona Woman Who’s Who in Business, was the founding editor of the award-winning AZ Society magazine and the Red Book Magazine, and has written and edited for the Arizona Republic. Her high-profile interviews have included Senator John McCain, Governor Janet Napolitano, Madeleine Albright, several top athletes, and the philanthropist Mavis Leno as she was spearheading the movement to stop gender apartheid in Afghanistan. Cindy lives in Scottsdale, AZ.

In this interview, Cindy discusses how conversations with her daughter’s wedding dress seamstress led to writing the biography, The Alterations Lady, her hope for readers, and more.

Name: Cindy Miller
Literary agent: Leticia Gomez
Book title: The Alterations Lady
Publisher: Apollo Publishers
Release date: October 29, 2024
Genre/category: Biography
Elevator pitch: In 1996, when the Taliban took over Kabul, Lailoma Shahwali watched with her young son as insurgents executed her husband for having been associated with the previous president. The Alterations Lady documents her story as she flees her country with her five-year-old son—first over the treacherous Hindu Kush mountains into Pakistan and ultimately to the United States, where she finds success against all odds.

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What prompted you to write this book?

I had worked in publications for many years as a writer and an editor. It was a satisfying career, and on the day I met Lailoma I had no intention of writing a book. As she was marking my oldest daughter’s wedding dress for alteration, I found so much more than “just a seamstress.” Circling the mounds of ivory on her knees as she carefully pinned the hem, she opened up about her husband’s brutal murder, her escape into Pakistan and transitioning to life in the U.S. As I heard more and more of her compelling story, I knew that I couldn’t not write it. I also knew telling the story would require more than a few thousand words.

How long did it take you to go from idea to publication?

I learned the basics of Lailoma’s story in late 2009, and we started in-depth interviews in 2010. Since both of us worked, we confined our conversations to weekends. The project was daunting, and several times I set it aside for brief periods. Should I keep going, or should I quit? I didn’t quit, though, for two reasons: Quitting is against my nature, and I didn’t want to let down Lailoma. As much as I wanted to tell her story, she wanted it told. In 2019, I worked with an editor who not only was a good editor but also had experience with, and a heart for, the refugee community. After our work, she coached me through the process of finding an agent.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

Yes. Even though I had been writing and editing for many years, I knew the input and expertise of a publishing house would be invaluable—and it was. In that regard, the only surprise to me was the length of time between signing the contract and actually seeing the published work. To be fair, the publisher had told me that upfront, but I was still surprised.

I was also surprised, pleasantly, at how vested I became in Lailoma’s extended family, including getting to know her son, whom I watched mature and eventually become accepted to medical school, and her mother, with whom I shared many pleasant interactions. Lailoma was one of nine children, and through our conversations, I came to know each of them by name, along with parts of their stories.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

I hope that, like me, readers will realize there’s a story behind every face. We don’t know what someone else is going through—or has gone through—without asking. I hope that, like me, readers will become a little more empathetic and realize that, while we are all different, so much we experience is universal.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

Persevere. If you feel compelled to write a story, it’s probably worth writing. I was often tempted to give up on this project. Writing is work, and I could think of a million reasons not to continue my efforts. In the end, I just couldn’t let it go.