鈥淚 always wanted to be a writer,鈥� begins bestselling author . 鈥淚 just never had a story.鈥�

We鈥檙e sitting in the in Cedar, sipping matching cups of chamomile tea and surrounded by the amiable chatter of a score of regulars. It鈥檚 a little hard to believe her. For a woman who鈥檚 written half a dozen successful 鈥渄omestic suspense鈥� thrillers, she seems to have no trouble coming up with stories now.

It鈥檚 all about the 鈥渨hat ifs,鈥� 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 鈥渨hat if鈥� 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鈥檇 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鈥檚 never looked back.

Chevy鈥檚 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 鈥渟omething scary happening to relatable people,鈥� and it鈥檚 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鈥檚 there. In 2015, Chevy again attended the conference, wearing her author鈥檚 hat this time, and found herself doing a panel and a signing with Gabaldon and Jack Whyte.

鈥淚 remember thinking, 鈥業鈥檓 riding in a van with Diana Gabaldon and Jack Whyte,鈥欌�� she says, recalling the sense of disbelief. 鈥淚t came full circle. It was pretty cool.鈥�

鈥淢y life has changed enormously. I was a single girl with a dog and a beat-up Jeep Cherokee,鈥� she says with a laugh. Now, she鈥檚 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.

鈥淗aving a child, I don鈥檛 want to live in the dark. My own tastes have changed.鈥�

She adds: 鈥淚 like to write about marriages, about mothers. I feel it more.鈥�

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鈥檝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.

鈥淚 loved fantasy as a kid,鈥� 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鈥檚 found her tribe. For someone who admittedly felt out of place for many of her younger years, it was a revelation.

鈥淲hen you find your people for the first time鈥� My group of friends are my people,鈥� 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鈥檚 the first time she鈥檚 used a restaurant as a main setting, it鈥檚 the first time the reader gets to see inside the head of the (unknown) antagonist and it鈥檚 set in Seattle, making it the first novel set outside of Canada.

A meticulous researcher, Chevy鈥檚 been immersed in getting the details just right, making the trek south of the border and talking to the Seattle police force.

鈥淵ou have to feel it,鈥� she says. 鈥淎re there sidewalks? What do their [the police] business cards look like? Do they wear suits?鈥�

It鈥檚 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鈥檚 what pulls you in on the first page and doesn鈥檛 let you go until the last.

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

鈥淚 think I trust my instincts more,鈥� she says. 鈥淲hen I get that warning sign that something鈥檚 not working. I know more. I know what it has to be, so I know when it鈥檚 not there.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檓 a lot more confident. I found something I鈥檓 respected for. There鈥檚 a validation there, for sure,鈥� she says. 鈥淎fter six books 鈥� my last one did really well 鈥� you think, maybe I can keep doing this.鈥�

- Story by Angela Cowan

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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