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Author Chevy Stevens is a powerhouse of her genre

Vancouver Island writer is a New York Times Bestseller
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Novelist Chevy Stevens photographed at the Crow and Gate pub in Cedar, BC. (Photograph by Don Denton)

香蕉视频直播淚 always wanted to be a writer,香蕉视频直播 begins bestselling author . 香蕉视频直播淚 just never had a story.香蕉视频直播

We香蕉视频直播檙e sitting in the in Cedar, sipping matching cups of chamomile tea and surrounded by the amiable chatter of a score of regulars. It香蕉视频直播檚 a little hard to believe her. For a woman who香蕉视频直播檚 written half a dozen successful 香蕉视频直播渄omestic suspense香蕉视频直播 thrillers, she seems to have no trouble coming up with stories now.

It香蕉视频直播檚 all about the 香蕉视频直播渨hat ifs,香蕉视频直播 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 香蕉视频直播渨hat if香蕉视频直播 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 she香蕉视频直播檇 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 she香蕉视频直播檚 never looked back.

Chevy香蕉视频直播檚 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 香蕉视频直播渟omething scary happening to relatable people,香蕉视频直播 and it香蕉视频直播檚 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 Outlander香蕉视频直播檚 there. In 2015, Chevy again attended the conference, wearing her author香蕉视频直播檚 hat this time, and found herself doing a panel and a signing with Gabaldon and Jack Whyte.

香蕉视频直播淚 remember thinking, 香蕉视频直播業香蕉视频直播檓 riding in a van with Diana Gabaldon and Jack Whyte,香蕉视频直播櫹憬妒悠抵辈 she says, recalling the sense of disbelief. 香蕉视频直播淚t came full circle. It was pretty cool.香蕉视频直播

香蕉视频直播淢y life has changed enormously. I was a single girl with a dog and a beat-up Jeep Cherokee,香蕉视频直播 she says with a laugh. Now, she香蕉视频直播檚 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.

香蕉视频直播淗aving a child, I don香蕉视频直播檛 want to live in the dark. My own tastes have changed.香蕉视频直播

She adds: 香蕉视频直播淚 like to write about marriages, about mothers. I feel it more.香蕉视频直播

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. They香蕉视频直播檝e been to Butchart Gardens three times this year, and nearly always tour the and when they visit downtown Victoria.

Writer Chevy Stevens photographed at the Crow and Gate Pub in Cedar, British Columbia (Don Denton photography)

And she reads. Oh, how she reads.

香蕉视频直播淚 loved fantasy as a kid,香蕉视频直播 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, Chevy香蕉视频直播檚 found her tribe. For someone who admittedly felt out of place for many of her younger years, it was a revelation.

香蕉视频直播淲hen you find your people for the first time香蕉视频直播 My group of friends are my people,香蕉视频直播 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.

It香蕉视频直播檚 the first time she香蕉视频直播檚 used a restaurant as a main setting, it香蕉视频直播檚 the first time the reader gets to see inside the head of the (unknown) antagonist and it香蕉视频直播檚 set in Seattle, making it the first novel set outside of Canada.

A meticulous researcher, Chevy香蕉视频直播檚 been immersed in getting the details just right, making the trek south of the border and talking to the Seattle police force.

香蕉视频直播淵ou have to feel it,香蕉视频直播 she says. 香蕉视频直播淎re there sidewalks? What do their [the police] business cards look like? Do they wear suits?香蕉视频直播

It香蕉视频直播檚 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. It香蕉视频直播檚 what pulls you in on the first page and doesn香蕉视频直播檛 let you go until the last.

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

香蕉视频直播淚 think I trust my instincts more,香蕉视频直播 she says. 香蕉视频直播淲hen I get that warning sign that something香蕉视频直播檚 not working. I know more. I know what it has to be, so I know when it香蕉视频直播檚 not there.香蕉视频直播

香蕉视频直播淚香蕉视频直播檓 a lot more confident. I found something I香蕉视频直播檓 respected for. There香蕉视频直播檚 a validation there, for sure,香蕉视频直播 she says. 香蕉视频直播淎fter six books 香蕉视频直播 my last one did really well 香蕉视频直播 you think, maybe I can keep doing this.香蕉视频直播

- Story by Angela Cowan

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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About the Author: Black Press Media Staff

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