*ALL REVIEWS FOR MY BOOKS ARE BY REAL READERS & REVIEWERS W/OUT COMPENSATION*
5 of 5 "Lips" from Ms. Romantic Reads (msromanticreads.wordpress.com/2013/01/02/review-christine-m-fairchild-an-eye-for-danger/)
I don't know whether to hug my Kindle close to
my chest or fling it across the room. An Eye For Danger was exciting, thrilling,
swoon worthy, and had me biting my nails and gasping in anger or surprise from
beginning to end. The suspense portion of the story with all the evasive
maneuvers while the hero and heroine are running for their lives made me think
of The Pelican Brief. I spent all day reading this book and only reluctantly put
it down long enough to make dinner... (more at (msromanticreads.wordpress.com/2013/01/02/review-christine-m-fairchild-an-eye-for-danger/) ... As for the story as a whole, I can only attribute my rapt
attention on page after page to the fantastic dialogue and writing skills of Ms
Fairchild. The dialogue witty, sarcastic, caustic, emotional, but the
conversations never stalled. Descriptions of situations or the world around them
were filled with details, sights, sounds, smells. I also loved the fact that I
could never put my finger on who was good or bad. The game kept changing, taunts
and hints were dropped that made me constantly change alliances. The author also
knows how to write really twisted villains. I'll just say there was a scene
towards the end that made my heart pound. This story was an emotional roller
coaster, but one I'd gladly hop on again for the thrill of the ride. If you love
reading romantic suspense with an edge, you won't want to pass this book
up.
Disclaimer: I received a review copy from the author in exchange for
an honest review.
About Christine:
Originally a
journalist, I've been working as a writer/editor ever since (about 25 years),
from tech to marketing to exec communications to entertainment. So I have an
extremely varied background, which has informed my writing style and my
tactical editing approach. Currently, I'm focused on writing
fiction, though teaching is my other love.
What inspired you to become a
writer?
All
my manuscripts originated in dreams. So that's another major influencer. But the
roots of my author side have been there a very long time. Honestly, I grew up
psychic and was the kid of a psychic. (I used to give life-path/archetype
readings.) So I knew 2 things about my own future from a very young age: that I
would be a published author and that I would meet the man I was going to marry
around 30. Try telling an adult that when you're 10 years old! Anyway, those
have both come true. And, funny enough, both my parents told me in my twenties
the SAME intuitions about me (they don't speak, so there was no colluding on the
subject). I must have been born with an instruction manual for us all to be on
the same page like that.
Anyway, when
I was in 3rd grade, I kept getting "best essay" in class and got to read my
stories aloud. I fell in love with storytelling and the look on the audience's
faces. From there, I angled toward animal stories, like Black Beauty and Where
the Red Fern Grows. Of course, these were standard reading material in grade
school. But something in me understood story structure, how to build invisible
worlds and characters (especially when they were animals), and the power of the
imagination to give you something to hope for in the
world.
Then in high
school I got into journalism, which is all about fast storytelling, and I
focused on the short story masters. That carried me into college and studying
James Joyce (needless to say "Dubliners" is my favorite collection). Frankly,
till the day I graduated college, I thought I'd be a short story writer, not a
novelist.
Who are your favorite romance
characters (besides your own?)
Easy
question. Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre and Rochester. There's so much complexity
and sexual tension in the very few conversations they hold. That's brilliant
writing. I tend toward darker romances and deeply flawed characters. I also love
Darcy and Elizabeth for their dance around social obligations and objections,
and for their need to transcend their family dramas to individualize and achieve
their own happiness. And both stories offer a tempered and yet realistic happily
ever after (HEA) ending.
Frankly, I'm not a traditional
romance reader. I came to the romance genre late and with a lot of stereotypes
about it, especially since I came from not just a literary degree background at
UC Berkeley, which I realized post-degree was a rather snobbish department
(always battling for the #1 spot with Yale), but also from a journalism
background. So I grew up with the attitude of "hard news and hard truths." And
yet I can't stand reading Wuthering Heights. It's too dark to me. There's no
joy, no hope.
So
when I finally saw the light with romance books--that they offer hope and joy
and the experience of falling in love again and again--I was nearly 40. I was
burned out on reading literary fiction stories with tear-jerker endings. I
burned out on sadness and finally learned to value happiness in my fiction. I
love a good HEA!
Tell me what inspired this
story.
Like
I said, all my stories evolve out of dreams. Which are probably influenced by
all the crime fiction movies and TV shows I watch. Currently, Castle and Person
of Interest have my attention. I like the charm and self-effacing wit of
Castle's characters (I'm a huge Nathan Fillion fan) and the sleuthing of gritty,
self-sacrificing Reece in POI. I'm a big fan of the hero and heroine fighting
for a cause larger than themselves, while fighting for their own
redemption.
I
also like puzzle stories, i.e. mysteries. And I like stories of corruption and
bad guys getting their comeuppance. You'll probably never find me writing a
serial killer story. There's plenty of those already. What interests me more are
the psychopaths and narcissists living normal lives and abusing the power and
trust of the people. (Let's just say I used to work in
politics.)
In my
book, "An Eye for Danger", my dream comprised the opening scene to the book: the
dilemma of an undercover cop (FBI Agent Sam Fields) breaking protocol and taking
a woman (former war photographer, Jules Larson) hostage to get away from the one
of the detectives (Stone McCarthy) he's investigating for corruption. Basically,
the book opens with the bad guy looking good and the good guy looking bad. I
think it's important to allow your heroes and villains to switch places. In this
case, there are other key bad guys who go down. Stone is an ongoing rival
throughout the series, a personal nemesis to both Sam and Jules. Like Sherlock
Holmes' Moriarty, he keeps rising from the shadows.
How do you balance your
day-to-day commitments with your writing life?
Wow,
you could not have asked a harder question. I'm not good at balance, frankly. In
the past, I wrote at night after work till I couldn't keep my eyes open. So I
burned the candle at both ends.
Now,
I swing wildly, and I'm very all or nothing. I can go for 15 hours a day for
weeks at a time without sleeping or eating or showering--just writing my brains
out. I wrote the first draft of An Eye For Danger (120k words) in less than 4
weeks. A bit manic, I know. My hubby doesn't like this mode so much. Maybe it's
the greasy hair. But it only happens once a year, so I try to roll with the
inspiration. And shower more often.
Right
now, I'm so bogged down in reading materials for other people and finishing
edits on my novel, that I'm not writing. So I'm taking 2 months off to write
this summer. Fortunately, I have a husband who is the major breadwinner, so I no
longer have to work a day job, which gives me freedom to be in the art studio.
That being said, he's also looking forward to my sales coming in. That's only
fair, right?
But
I'm not one to say you have to get up at 5am and write for 2 hours or 2 pages if
you're a real writer. I always think that kind of talk is silly. Everyone's
different. Find your own rhythm. You'll be more productive that
way.
