C.B. has always loved reading, especially romances, but it wasn’t until she lost her voice for a year that she considered writing her own romantic suspense stories. She grew up in Canada’s Northwest Territories and Yukon. Graduating with a degree in Anthropology and Archaeology, she has worked as an archaeologist and an educator, teaching students from the primary grades through the first year of college. She enjoys hiking, canoeing, and snowshoeing with her husband and dog near her home in the wilderness of central British Columbia.1. What drives you to write? I love coming up with a germ of an idea and seeing where it leads. It’s like riding a rollercoaster. You never know what’s around the next bend.
2. What genre(s) of Romance do your write, and why? Romantic Suspense. Action, adventure and a great love story. What more could anyone want?
3. What genre(s) of Romance do you read, and why? Everything. I love romance fiction in all its forms.
4. What’s your writing schedule? Do you write everyday? I try and write for a couple of hours every day. Early morning works best for me. I think my brain’s fresher at that time of day.
5. Give us a glimpse of the surroundings where you write. Separate room? In the kitchen? At the dining room table? I write in what used to be my son’s bedroom. I use his old desk and chair, but I’ve switched out the basketball posters for pictures that inspire me.
6. Are you the kind of writer who needs total quiet to compose, or are you able to filter out the typical sounds of the day and use your tunnelvision? I can’t write if it’s too quiet. I like some background noise.
7. Do you listen to music while you write, and if so, what kind? If not, why not? Old time country and western music is my favorite. Nothing like a little Johnny Cash or Waylon Jennings to get my writing muse stirring.
8. How did you come up with the plotline/idea for your current WIP? The idea for my current WIP came to me in a dream. Maybe I had too much spicy food that night, but when I awoke the next morning, the essence of the story was as vivid as if I’d watched it play out on television.
9. Which comes first for you – character or plot? And why? Definitely character. I create the characters and then let them direct the story. I often don’t know what’s going to happen next until I type the words.
10. What 3 words describes you, the writer? Pantster. Committed. Enigmatic.
Christine : The Person
- Tell us one unusual thing about yourself – not related to writing! I spent seven months living in a tent in the backwoods of northern British Columbia conducting an archaeological survey. (Peggy here: WOW!)
- Who was your first love and what age were you? William Shatner. 11.
- If you could relive one day, which one would it be? Think GROUNDHOG DAY, the movie for this one – you’ll have to live it over and over and…. On my husband’s and my last wedding anniversary, all our family came to our cabin at the lake, and we spent a wonderful day, swimming, canoeing and playing games. To have everyone there, happy and healthy, was a dream come true.
- Do you like a guy in boxers, briefs, or commando? Boxers, most definitely.
- If you had to give up one necessary-can’t-live-without-it beauty item, what would it be? Blush
- What three words describes you, the person? Talkative. Active. Friendly.
- If you could sing a song with Jimmy Fallon, what would it be? ‘With You’ by Charly McLean. This is the first song my husband and I danced to at our wedding.
- If you could hang out with any literary character from any book penned at any time line, who would it by, why, and what would you do together? Nancy Drew. Solve a mystery, of course.
Bonus round
I love the Actor’s Studio show on Bravo, so this is my version of it:
1. Favorite sound: a cork popping on a bottle of red wine
2. Least favorite sound :mosquitoes whining
3. Best song ever written : ‘Hallelujah’ by kd lang
4. Worst song ever written: ‘Drop Kick Me Jesus Through the Goalposts of Life’ by Bobby Bare
5. Favorite actor and actress :William Shatner; Katherine Hepburn
6. Who would you want to be for 1 day and why? ( It can be anyone living or dead)-Nora Roberts, so I could pick her brain for story ideas.
7. What turns you on? : a strong, confident man who isn’t afraid to show emotion
8. What turns you off?: Political rants on FaceBook
9. Give me the worst 5 words ever heard on a first date: “How tall are you anyway?”
10. What’s your version of a perfect day?: sitting by a campfire beside a fast-flowing river after a long hike in the mountains.
You can find CB here: Facebook //Twitter // Blog // Goodreads
C.B.’s newest book, CHERISHED SECRETS is available now.
Blurb:
Twelve years ago, sixteen-year-old Carrie Ann Hetherington, pregnant with the child of a murder suspect, fled the small town of Cooper’s Ridge for the anonymity of Seattle. Now, faced with a family dilemma, she must risk her carefully reinvented life and return to her childhood home.
Eighteen-year-old Declan McAllister’s prom date is found beaten and strangled to death, and he becomes the prime suspect accused of the grisly crime. Now this successful Dallas businessman returns to Cooper’s Ridge to find the true murderer and finally lift the cloak of suspicion he’s faced all these years. In his quest to prove his innocence, he must join forces with the woman who shattered his heart to find a devious killer who will stop at nothing to protect a shocking truth.
Caught up in a menacing web of secrets, deception, and danger, they struggle to overcome past betrayals and present danger. Can they tear down the barriers they’ve erected around their hearts and rediscover true love?
Excerpt:
Her breath caught in her throat. A small fragment of cloth lay atop her purse, the vibrant colors glowing in the meager, late afternoon light. With a shaking hand, she picked up the cloth. The smooth silk slid between her fingers. Mesmerized, she studied the scrap of torn fabric.
The air in the car was suddenly too thick to breathe. Fingers shaking, she turned the cloth over and jammed her fist in her mouth stifling a scream. Written across the silk in thick, black letters was a single, condemning word. Guilty.
She dropped the cloth as if it burned and gulped air. While she’d been traipsing around the forest looking for where the killer had dumped Skye’s body, someone had been inside her car and left this piece of Skye’s scarf for her to find. The same person could still be here, watching her, waiting.
Her hands shook so much she dropped the keys on the floor twice before finally fitting them in the ignition and starting the car. The engine choked, sputtered and died.
Buy Links for CHERISHED SECRETS
Amazon // KOBO // Book Strand // iTunes // Nook //The Wild Rose Press
Peggy Jaeger, Author 