Sunday, February 3, 2013

Mystery Author of the Month, Chris Redding



I’d like to welcome mystery author, Chris Redding.


Patricia: Chris, where did you grow up? Did your childhood contribute to your desire to be a writer? 
Chris: I grew up in an affluent suburb of Philadelphia. We weren’t affluent, but lots of others were. My mother was mentally ill, so yes I think most artists have dysfunction in their past. Yes, my childhood indeed let me to be a writer.
Patricia: Where do you live now? Do you use that locale for settings in your novels?
Chris: I live in New Jersey and I use the area I live in in most of my novels. I make them fictional places so I can rearrange things how I like them.
Patricia: What inspired you to write your most recent novel?
Chris: Incendiary was the most recently published.  Someone once had the idea for a story where the arsonist is a police photographer.  If there is a series of arsons, the cops take pictures of the crowds to see if there is anyone they can spot in all the pictures. If the police photographer is the arsonist, he wouldn’t be in the picture. Incendiary is my take on it.
Patricia: When did you “know” that you wanted to be a writer?
Chris: In fifth grade, we had to write a short story. I wrote about an old lady with cats. I received an “A” and was allowed to read it in front of the class. When I was done the whole class looked at me in a different light. Suddenly I wasn’t the bespectacled, buck toothed socially awkward.  I had moved them. That was powerful.
Patricia: Name three of your favorite authors in the mystery/suspense genre. What makes them your favorites?
Chris: Lisa Gardner because she just writes great stuff. And she’s a lovely person.
Stephanie Bond because she writes with humor. I once heard her speak and she has a lot of wisdom to give new writers.
Anyone who writes funny cozy mysteries. I love them. 

Chris Redding lives in New Jersey with her husband, two sons, one dog and three rabbits. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in journalism. When she isn’t writing, she works for her local hospital. You can find her at: http://chrisredddingauthor.blogspot.com and www.chrisreddingauthor.com. Her books are filled with romance, suspense and thrills.


 A View to a Kilt
Omnilit: http://tinyurl.com/cr-vtak-omni
Nook Store: http://tinyurl.com/3tlk2nh
Blonde Demolition
Amazon in print: http://tinyurl.com/87qdaam
Incendiary