About
Chris holds an MFA in Fiction from Syracuse University and a Ph.D. in Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Denver. He has taught creative writing and literature at both private and public colleges, and has written, presented, and published numerous academic papers and articles.
Not by Blood is your third novel but your first psychological thriller. What attracted you to the genre?
It was a natural progression. Jonah Man, my first novel, is literary fiction, but the final section is told from the perspective of a detective. The Exiled is a noir, hardboiled detective novel. And Not by Blood is, like most psychological thrillers, the story of a civilian who’s forced to play the role of detective. The “psychological” piece is what really drew me to the genre. In NBB, Tina, the protagonist, is trying to solve a mystery, but she’s also trying to “solve” her brother’s trauma, her husband’s trauma, her own trauma—all while protecting her young son from events that are likely to traumatize him. Psychological thrillers generally require some suspension of disbelief, but at their core they mirror real life.
Tell us about your day job.
I’m officially a ghostwriter now. The career shift (I’d been teaching) happened by accident. I published The Exiled at a time when James Patterson was looking for writers to staff his novella-length Bookshots series. My editor knew his editor. I wound up writing three of the novellas, plus one full-length novel. From there, I was able to sign up with an agency that specializes in ghostwriting. I really love it. I work with people I’d never meet otherwise (to date: an actor, a rock star, a restaurateur, and a retired lawyer who happens to be the brother of a famous author).
If you had to name one writer who has influenced you, who would you pick?
John Banville. I think he’s one of the greatest living prose writers, but, more practically, I wouldn’t be writing genre fiction if it weren’t for him. He writes a mystery series under the penname Benjamin Black (or did—he recently dropped the pseudonym). I stumbled on an interview where he said something like: “If I knew Benjamin Black could have supported John Banville, I would have started thirty years ago.” I grew up reading Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, so I figured I might as well give it a shot.
If you weren’t a writer, you’d be…
Nothing practical. If I had my choice, probably a musician. Music gets you out of your own head while writing pushes you deeper inside.
Last show you binge watched?
Barry. It’s brilliant. It bounces effortlessly between slapstick, action, and high drama. And it seems like everyone involved is having a blast.