91裸聊视频淚 always wanted to be a writer,91裸聊视频� begins bestselling author . 91裸聊视频淚 just never had a story.91裸聊视频�

We91裸聊视频檙e sitting in the in Cedar, sipping matching cups of chamomile tea and surrounded by the amiable chatter of a score of regulars. It91裸聊视频檚 a little hard to believe her. For a woman who91裸聊视频檚 written half a dozen successful 91裸聊视频渄omestic suspense91裸聊视频� thrillers, she seems to have no trouble coming up with stories now.

It91裸聊视频檚 all about the 91裸聊视频渨hat ifs,91裸聊视频� she tells me.

The history of her first novel, Still Missing, is well known by now: a real estate agent at the time, Chevy was hosting an open house more than a decade ago when a 91裸聊视频渨hat if91裸聊视频� moment hit that would change her life exponentially.

What if she never made it home?

The scenario took on colour and detail and tension, and grew into a terrifying and dark tale of abduction and escape. It was the first time she91裸聊视频檇 written seriously since high school (aside from thrilling descriptions of hardwood floors as a realtor, she laughs). Within six months she had sold her house and made the leap to full-time writer. It took her five years from the moment the idea sparked to seeing the book in hardcover in 2010, and she91裸聊视频檚 never looked back.

Chevy91裸聊视频檚 stories have run the gamut from abductions to murder, abusive spouses to cults, perpetually treading the razor edge between terror and tension. The plots centre on 91裸聊视频渟omething scary happening to relatable people,91裸聊视频� and it91裸聊视频檚 what comes naturally, she says.

Seven years and six books later, her stories have been published in more than 30 countries, and Chevy has cemented herself firmly as powerhouse in her genre.

Having Still Missing become a New York Times bestseller, and the subsequent success of each following title turned her life upside down in the best way.

About 10 years ago, she attended her first Surrey International Writers Conference, and remembers being excited to see Outlander91裸聊视频檚 there. In 2015, Chevy again attended the conference, wearing her author91裸聊视频檚 hat this time, and found herself doing a panel and a signing with Gabaldon and Jack Whyte.

91裸聊视频淚 remember thinking, 91裸聊视频業91裸聊视频檓 riding in a van with Diana Gabaldon and Jack Whyte,91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频� she says, recalling the sense of disbelief. 91裸聊视频淚t came full circle. It was pretty cool.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淢y life has changed enormously. I was a single girl with a dog and a beat-up Jeep Cherokee,91裸聊视频� she says with a laugh. Now, she91裸聊视频檚 a full-time writer, married and the mother of a whip-smart almost-five-year-old.

Chevy grins as she shows me a few pictures of her daughter: on their way to the spa, on a road trip, the pair of them sporting fashionably large sunglasses.

Her writing changed with the arrival of Piper, she says, moving away from the gruesome depictions in Still Missing to a subtler, but no less nail-biting approach.

91裸聊视频淗aving a child, I don91裸聊视频檛 want to live in the dark. My own tastes have changed.91裸聊视频�

She adds: 91裸聊视频淚 like to write about marriages, about mothers. I feel it more.91裸聊视频�

Away from her keyboard, she embraces her own role as wife and mother with enthusiasm. She and her family revel in domestic bliss: going on adventures, walking the dogs, binge watching television shows. They91裸聊视频檝e been to Butchart Gardens three times this year, and nearly always tour the and when they visit downtown Victoria.

And she reads. Oh, how she reads.

91裸聊视频淚 loved fantasy as a kid,91裸聊视频� she starts, and immediately tells me to check out (of Spiderwick and Modern Faerie Tale fame). But before we get pulled into a black hole of favourite authors and beloved books, we veer the conversation back.

Drawn to the written word her whole life, now with a writing group, critique partners and friends in the industry, Chevy91裸聊视频檚 found her tribe. For someone who admittedly felt out of place for many of her younger years, it was a revelation.

91裸聊视频淲hen you find your people for the first time91裸聊视频� My group of friends are my people,91裸聊视频� she says.

With strong support already from her family, finding like-minded friends and colleagues just made the writing life all the sweeter. Now, her husband looks after Piper while she works. She spends four or five hours a day writing new material, and countless more hours marketing, researching, editing and revising.

Her current work-in-progress is still tightly under wraps and ever changing, but she lets me in on a couple details.

It91裸聊视频檚 the first time she91裸聊视频檚 used a restaurant as a main setting, it91裸聊视频檚 the first time the reader gets to see inside the head of the (unknown) antagonist and it91裸聊视频檚 set in Seattle, making it the first novel set outside of Canada.

A meticulous researcher, Chevy91裸聊视频檚 been immersed in getting the details just right, making the trek south of the border and talking to the Seattle police force.

91裸聊视频淵ou have to feel it,91裸聊视频� she says. 91裸聊视频淎re there sidewalks? What do their [the police] business cards look like? Do they wear suits?91裸聊视频�

It91裸聊视频檚 that attention to detail throughout her books that puts you in the middle of a dusty Alberta afternoon where you can feel the heat, or in a remote cabin in the mountains where your fingers slip over padlocked cupboards and barricaded windows. It91裸聊视频檚 what pulls you in on the first page and doesn91裸聊视频檛 let you go until the last.

And as her writing has evolved, so too has her confidence.

91裸聊视频淚 think I trust my instincts more,91裸聊视频� she says. 91裸聊视频淲hen I get that warning sign that something91裸聊视频檚 not working. I know more. I know what it has to be, so I know when it91裸聊视频檚 not there.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 a lot more confident. I found something I91裸聊视频檓 respected for. There91裸聊视频檚 a validation there, for sure,91裸聊视频� she says. 91裸聊视频淎fter six books 91裸聊视频� my last one did really well 91裸聊视频� you think, maybe I can keep doing this.91裸聊视频�

- Story by Angela Cowan

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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