My guest today is prolific author, Christy Tillery French. Christy, thanks for dropping by. Please tell us more about you.
I’ve published eight books to date. I’m happy to state several have won awards and two are internationally published. I co-own with my husband two small businesses and am a book reviewer for Midwest Book Review. I am a volunteer with Wolf Creek Weimaraner Rescue and donate proceeds from my books to local shelters and rescue groups.
When did the writing bug bite, and in what genre(s)?
I’ve loved writing since the fifth grade when I was asked to start a newspaper for my elementary school. I didn’t actually begin to write books until my kids were grown enough that they didn’t need me constantly. My first book was a romantic comedy, which is my favorite to write. I’ve since published in several genres: psychological thriller, romantic suspense, as well as humorous mystery. But in all my books, romance is a strong element.
What are your writing goals?
Readers! Lots and lots of readers! I’d also like to earn a viable income from writing. If not, I’m having fun, so I’m not complaining.
Briefly tell us about your latest book.
The Bodyguard and the Snitch, number 4 in my Bodyguard series. In this installment, protection specialist Natasha Chamberlain thinks guarding a defense attorney from a disgruntled client should be a fairly normal job, but when she learns he’s been targeted by the mafia, she’s ready to call it quits. However, the attorney holds her to their contract and Natasha finds her own life placed in danger, along with her bodyguard cohorts Pit and Bigun.
What are your protagonist’s strengths? Flaws?
Strengths: My bodyguard sees herself as protector of the innocent and is zealous in her attempts to protect her clients. She cares about animals, especially dogs and horses. She loves deeply and is loyal and very independent. She’s tough physically but has a soft heart. Flaws: She’s too spontaneous at times, is overly zealous, young and a tad naïve. She has a bit of a temper. She has no patience for people who are cruel to animals or humans and is quick to confront them over it. Well, actually, I don’t count that last one a flaw.
Where do you write? What do you have around you?
Usually in my office at home, where it’s the quietest. My husband built and installed a large, L-shaped unit which butts up against two walls and has abundant workspace and bookshelves. Occasionally, I write on the back deck of our houseboat, which I find calming (I am drawn to the water). Always nearby: my Weim, Emma.
What are your current projects?
Actually, doing three at this time. Of course, the next installment in the Bodyguard series, The Bodyguard and Bridezilla. This idea came to me during the one-year (!) planning phase for my daughter’s wedding. Meghann is a perfectionist, very detail oriented and meticulous. She formulated a timeline (I suspect the very day she got engaged) and we stuck to it, no matter what. At times, she got a little, shall we say, overworked about things. Towards the end, her friends would run when they saw her coming. I tried that but wasn’t fast enough and could never get away in time, so found myself in the role of soother and doer, trying to keep my daughter’s nerves under control while taking care of problems that came up. I’m happy to say the wedding came off beautifully and I gleaned a lot of good things to use in the book.
I’m also working on an apocalyptic romantic suspense about a future world in which the great majority of the population has been decimated.
My sister, Caitlyn Hunter, and I are doing a faction together about our Great Aunt Bessie, who grew up in the mountains of North Carolina. Her father (our great-grandfather) was marshal and tax collector of Hot Springs, NC, and the stories our dad tells about Bessie and her father and the colorful mountain folks around them are funny and heartwarming. This is our way of ensuring those great stories don’t end with our dad but will continue on.
I love Hot Springs and set one of my own books there. Cool!
Where can folks learn more about your books and events? My websites: http://christytilleryfrench.com or http://www.authorsden.com/christytfrench.
All my books are available at online stores such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Fictionwise, etc. If they’re not on-shelf at brick-and-mortar stores, they should be in their system.
Christy, I appreciate the interview. Continued success with your writing and endeavors with Caitlyn as well.
