I’m delighted to welcome Chrys Fey here today for an interview and a look at her romantic suspense, Hurricane Crimes.
Hi, Chrys, so glad to have you here today. Tell us a little about Hurricane Crimes:
Hurricane Crimes is a romantic-suspense with secrets, crimes, and extreme levels of danger.
Blurb:
After her car breaks down, Beth Kennedy is forced to stay in Florida, the target of Hurricane Sabrina. She stocks up supplies, boards up windows, and hunkers down to wait out the storm, but her plan unravels when she witnesses a car accident. Risking her life, she braves the winds to save the driver. Just when she believes they are safe, she finds out the man she saved could possibly be more dangerous than the severe weather.
Donovan Goldwyn only wanted to hide from the police, but the hurricane shoved his car into a tree. Now he’s trapped with a beautiful woman while the evidence that can prove his innocence to a brutal crime is out there for anyone to find.
As Hurricane Sabrina wreaks havoc, Beth has no other choice but to trust Donovan to stay alive. But will she survive, or will she become another hurricane crime?
What are you working on now? Do you have any releases scheduled for this year?
My current work in progress is titled, In the Ring, and it is about an unlikely pair: a wrestler and a librarian. It is a very sweet romance with a lot of action. No, not that kind of action! Although there are some pretty steamy love scenes, but I was talking about physical fights and family drama that’ll put you on the edge of your seat.
Do you have any good news you’d like to share?
I do! Hurricane Crimes is FREE today and tomorrow (January 17th & 18th) on Amazon! So get your copy now!!
And I recently signed my second contract with The Wild Rose Press for my romantic-suspense, 30 Seconds, a story about a woman who gets stuck in the middle of a war between a police force and a deadly mob.
What are your writing goals for this year?
This year I hope to finish writing (and editing) In the Ring. I also plan to complete the A to Z April Blogging Challenge. Wish me luck!
What do you enjoy most about writing?
Creating characters. I’ve written a lot of blog posts about character development because I find the process so fascinating. When do we ever have the opportunity to create a person down to every last detail from their eye color to their height, including their personality, likes and dislikes? Never! But when you’re a writer you get to do it all the time! And then you can put that character through whatever you want, and at the end of the book they will still be by your side. Unless, of course, you kill them off . . .
Do you have a favorite hero and/or heroine in your books and why?
The protagonist from my unpublished supernatural-thriller series is and will always be my favorite character. And she should be! After all, I had been writing about her for eleven years. She is smart to the point of being frightening, powerful in every sense of the word, and she has godly anger that is unleashed whenever she’s provoked, which is quite often. In other words, she was a great deal of fun to write!
What is your favorite scene from Hurricane Crimes and why?
Hurricane Crimes is a short story, but there are so many great scenes. Gosh. Well, let’s see. I’d have to say the scene right in the beginning when Beth goes out into the storm to save Donovan. It is very dangerous and suspenseful, but I had a blast writing it because I imagined I was the one in the middle of the fierce wind and rain. What Beth goes through in this scene is unbelievable and will make everyone want to applaud her for her efforts.
What is your favorite food to cook or eat?
Well I’m a vegetarian, so my favorite food to cook is pasta! I especially love my eggplant pasta. I dice a few slices of eggplant, sauté the cubes in olive oil until they are tender, and add it to chunky Italian sauce. Then I scoop big helpings of the sauce onto Garden Rotini Pasta because they are made out of vegetables and add a bit more flavor to each bite.
Do you listen to music while you write? What are you listening to now?
That is a definite yes! I say it all the time that music is my muse. It helps me to get into the mood for whatever story or scene I need to write. While writing Hurricane Crimes, I listened to a lot of Adele to help me create Beth Kennedy, a woman who can endure almost anything. Now, I am listening to bands like The Veer Union, The Lost Prophets, and Sevendust while writing In the Ring.
These are a few of my favorite things:
1. Doing art projects with my nephews.
2. Participating in charities for kids like Operation Christmas Child and Locks of Love. Last year I donated 14 inches of hair!
3. Collecting shells from Florida beaches.
I have two questions for your lovely readers. 1. Have you ever experienced a hurricane? I’d love to hear your stories! 2. And since I shared one of my favorite vegetarian dishes to make, do you have a favorite meat-less recipe?
Excerpt:
On the television set, which was fighting to stay alive, was breaking news. She caught bits and pieces of it as she emptied the bowl of blood-tainted water and threw out the cloth. It was about a high-speed chase that had occurred about a half-hour ago. Beth shook her head. Apparently, Donovan wasn’t the only idiot driving around during a hurricane.
She went back into the living room and began replacing all the medical supplies into the first-aid kit. Behind her, a reporter was explaining that the driver of the car was believed to be a murder suspect.
“The name of the—”
The lights flashed, prompting Beth to snatch up her flashlight.
“Donovan Goldwyn.”
Her fingers went cold around the plastic tube as ice frosted her veins. She straightened her spine and turned stiffly to the television, her heart wasn’t beating in her chest. On the screen was the picture of the man who was right now changing in her bedroom. Above it was a caption in bold letters that read—SUSPECT.
She gripped the flashlight in her frozen fingers. Her heart thudded fearfully. She stared into the immobilized violet eyes through the glass.
“Oh my god,” she gasped.
She had brought a murderer into her home!
Hurricane Crimes is FREE on Amazon, January 17th & 18th, 2014:
Amazon US: http://amzn.com/B00GVK921G
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00GVK921G
Bio: Chrys Fey is the author of the short stories—The Summer Bride and Fallen. She created the blog Write with Fey to offer aspiring writers advice and inspiration. She lives in Florida where she is ready to battle the next hurricane that comes her way.
You can fine Chrys at:
Blog: www.writewithfey.blogspot.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com.chrysfey
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/ChrysFey
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/104393486222481948013
Hurricane Crimes on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18757793-hurricane-crimes
babettejames.com 
Love the cover and I’ve already downloaded this book. Man, I have got to find more time to read! My ereader is begging me to upload another book and get busy. 🙂
Hi, Lilly! Thank you downloading a copy!
I can relate. I have so many great eBooks waiting for me to read and there’s just not enough time in the day or days in the year to get to them all.
Lovely post, ladies. I’ve never been in a hurricane, but a good friend who lives on the Florida Gulf Coast has and she’s told me how frightening it can be. As for meatless dishes, I’m not a vegetarian, but I do eat a lot of meatless dishes and I like quinoa salad. Best of luck with your story!
Barb, Hurricanes can be very frightening. Quinoa salad sounds good! And thank you so much! 🙂
I enjoyed your interview, Chrys! I’ve experienced the backlash of hurricanes more than once, including the power outages, but have never been directly in one’s path. Scary stuff, even on the edges!
I eat mostly vegetarian, and my favorite meatless dish is wild rice salad. You can also use a mix of brown and wild rice, add your favorite vegies and mix well. I use marinated artichokes (and some of the juice) along with a tapenade for the dressing. Depending upon the season, this can be served warm or cold.
I’m glad you enjoyed my interview, Ashantay. 🙂 Oh yes, just getting the rain bands on a hurricane is scary because that’s when a lot of tornadoes can occur.
I can’t believe I never thought of that! I just went grocery shopping yesterday and I picked up wild rice. I am going to have to do this! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for having me on your blog, Babette! You are a great host, and I liked answering your interview questions. 🙂 I’ll definitely be coming back in the future. 😉
I enjoyed this interview and wish you the best of success with Hurricane Crimes and your WIP as well. I enjoy all types of vegetarian dishes. Cornbread salad is one of my favorites. I put everything but the kitchen sink in it, so it’s a little different each time.
The Ocean Between – Romance for the True Romantic
Thank you so much, Lynda! Cornbread salad sounds different and yummy! I will have to figure out how to make that. 🙂
Chrys, I was brought up on a spit of Long Island, New York just a short walk from both Jamaica Bay and the Atlantic Ocean–the bit that was hammered so badly by Hurricane Sandy. When I was in school we had Hurricane Donna & I was sent home early. My brother set up the pump down in the basement in case water got in. It had to go out a window of course to let the water out. Well, little did we know the Bay and the Ocean would meet in our backyard. We stood helplessly at the top of the stairs to the basement watching water rise–it had poured in the window meant to take water out! My mother had recently redecorated my room & all my stuffed animals had been down there. When the waters receded we had to put all the animals out on the lawn to dry, but most of them smelled so bad they had to go. We also had numerous cans of food without labels!
I used to be vegetarian so have lots of favorite meatless recipes but I guess Spanakopita is a real have–though a nightmare to make!
Good luck with the book!
Thank you for sharing your story with me, Andi. I’ve only had to deal with a small flood, so I can only imagine the fear of watching your house fill up with water. And to lose all of your stuffed animals as a kid is terrible. I would have been devastated!
I’ve never heard of Spanakopita. I’ll have to look it up.
Thank you!! 😀
Hi Chrys and Babette! Great interview! I can’t wait to have each of you on my blog very soon.
I’m a Floridian and have lived in towns from Gainesville down to Big Cypress Key. I have too many hurricane stories to tell.
I’m not a vegetarian, but two of my granddaughters are. We cook vegetarian often. Their favorites are my pot pie, (made with mushrooms and other veggies) and spinach pizza with artichoke hearts.
I have my copy of Hurricane Crimes and plan to read it tonight! Good luck and great sales!
Yes, I can’t wait for March to be on your blog, Sandra. Another big thank you for helping me out with my blog tour.
It’s great to “meet” another Floridian. I based this story off Hurricane Frances from 2004. I’m sure you remember that one. She was the second of three hurricanes to hit Florida in the span of four weeks.
I love vegetable pot pie and spinach pizza! 😀
Thank you for getting a copy! I hope you enjoy it. 🙂