B次元官网网址淚 always wanted to be a writer,B次元官网网址� begins bestselling author . B次元官网网址淚 just never had a story.B次元官网网址�

WeB次元官网网址檙e sitting in the in Cedar, sipping matching cups of chamomile tea and surrounded by the amiable chatter of a score of regulars. ItB次元官网网址檚 a little hard to believe her. For a woman whoB次元官网网址檚 written half a dozen successful B次元官网网址渄omestic suspenseB次元官网网址� thrillers, she seems to have no trouble coming up with stories now.

ItB次元官网网址檚 all about the B次元官网网址渨hat ifs,B次元官网网址� 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 B次元官网网址渨hat ifB次元官网网址� 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 sheB次元官网网址檇 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 sheB次元官网网址檚 never looked back.

ChevyB次元官网网址檚 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 B次元官网网址渟omething scary happening to relatable people,B次元官网网址� and itB次元官网网址檚 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 OutlanderB次元官网网址檚 there. In 2015, Chevy again attended the conference, wearing her authorB次元官网网址檚 hat this time, and found herself doing a panel and a signing with Gabaldon and Jack Whyte.

B次元官网网址淚 remember thinking, B次元官网网址業B次元官网网址檓 riding in a van with Diana Gabaldon and Jack Whyte,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� she says, recalling the sense of disbelief. B次元官网网址淚t came full circle. It was pretty cool.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淢y life has changed enormously. I was a single girl with a dog and a beat-up Jeep Cherokee,B次元官网网址� she says with a laugh. Now, sheB次元官网网址檚 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.

B次元官网网址淗aving a child, I donB次元官网网址檛 want to live in the dark. My own tastes have changed.B次元官网网址�

She adds: B次元官网网址淚 like to write about marriages, about mothers. I feel it more.B次元官网网址�

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. TheyB次元官网网址檝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.

B次元官网网址淚 loved fantasy as a kid,B次元官网网址� 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, ChevyB次元官网网址檚 found her tribe. For someone who admittedly felt out of place for many of her younger years, it was a revelation.

B次元官网网址淲hen you find your people for the first timeB次元官网网址� My group of friends are my people,B次元官网网址� 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.

ItB次元官网网址檚 the first time sheB次元官网网址檚 used a restaurant as a main setting, itB次元官网网址檚 the first time the reader gets to see inside the head of the (unknown) antagonist and itB次元官网网址檚 set in Seattle, making it the first novel set outside of Canada.

A meticulous researcher, ChevyB次元官网网址檚 been immersed in getting the details just right, making the trek south of the border and talking to the Seattle police force.

B次元官网网址淵ou have to feel it,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淎re there sidewalks? What do their [the police] business cards look like? Do they wear suits?B次元官网网址�

ItB次元官网网址檚 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. ItB次元官网网址檚 what pulls you in on the first page and doesnB次元官网网址檛 let you go until the last.

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

B次元官网网址淚 think I trust my instincts more,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淲hen I get that warning sign that somethingB次元官网网址檚 not working. I know more. I know what it has to be, so I know when itB次元官网网址檚 not there.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 a lot more confident. I found something IB次元官网网址檓 respected for. ThereB次元官网网址檚 a validation there, for sure,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淎fter six books B次元官网网址� my last one did really well B次元官网网址� you think, maybe I can keep doing this.B次元官网网址�

- Story by Angela Cowan

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
Like Boulevard Magazine on and follow them on