Welcome to debut thriller author, Heather Chavez!
Heather is a graduate of
the University of California at Berkeley’s English literature program and has
worked as a newspaper reporter, editor and contributor to mystery and
television blogs. Currently, she’s employed in public affairs for a major
health care organization where she writes human interest stories. She lives
with her family in Santa Rosa, California, and is at work on her second novel.
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Publisher's site and buy link: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/no-bad-deed-heather-chavez?variant=32126586945570
What
would you say are your strengths as an author?
I love
reading and writing stories that focus on strong female characters, and I hope
one of my strengths is bringing these women to life. As a former newspaper
editor, I also learned to sacrifice words for the sake of the story. I learned
the importance of revision. I would hope that this has made me better at
creating tension, portraying action, and establishing pace. That’s always been
my goal as a writer: to create a story that will keep readers turning pages.
How
often do you write, and do you write using a strict routine?
I wish
I had a strict routine! Life has a way of thwarting any attempts I’ve made at
establishing one. That’s why it’s so important for me to steal the moments I
can to write, whether that be on a break from the day job or that hour at night
when everyone else is already in bed. I try to write each day, but I also cut
myself slack on the days when I just don’t have the energy. By writing as often
as I can, even if it’s just a few hundred words, the story remains in my head,
and the words come more quickly.
Five
years from now, where do you see yourself as a writer?
In five
years, I would love to be writing full-time. But even if I can’t reach that
goal, I intend to keep writing a book each year, because writing is what gets
me out of bed each morning. Standalone thrillers and domestic suspense are my
passion and likely what I’ll be writing five years from now, though I’ve also
considered series and suspense with science fiction or supernatural elements.
Whatever I’m writing, it will be dark, twisty and fast-paced.
If you
could offer once piece of advice to a novice writer, what would it be?
Believe
in yourself, and respect your writing time. It’s so easy to dismiss writing as
a hobby, especially pre-publication, or to sacrifice writing time if there are
dishes in the sink or a TV show you’ve been wanting to stream. Even now as a
published author, when people ask what I do, I find myself reluctant to answer,
“Author.” Give yourself permission to call yourself a writer and to find a
quiet corner—whether that be in your car or at your kitchen table—and write as
often as you can. Celebrate those days when you fill pages, but also those days
you write only a paragraph—because you wrote. Then edit mercilessly. Also, be kind
to yourself on the days you don’t meet your goals, because sometimes you really
do need to wash those dishes or get some sleep.
What
would you consider to be the best compliment a reader could give your book?
I’ve
had readers mention nearly falling off their treadmill or needing an extra cup
of coffee the next morning. That’s the ultimate compliment: that a reader was fully
immersed in the story and couldn’t stop reading.
What
are you working on now?
My next
book is currently in edits. It’s another standalone thriller. Briefly: Cleaning
up after her wayward sister, Izzy, has long been Frankie Barrera’s job. When
Frankie learns her truck was spotted at a missing girl’s house, she fears Izzy
might be involved—especially since it’s not the first time Izzy has been linked
to a missing persons case.
And now for some bonus questions Heather sent!!
Is
it true you had the idea for this book while in an elementary school parking
lot?
It
is. Years ago, I was picking up my daughter from afterschool care when we noticed
this boy around 14 years old walking alone. Suddenly, two other boys rushed him
and attacked. The fight ended as quickly as it had started, the boys scattering
before I could react. Still, the rest of the day, I kept asking myself
questions: What had motivated the fight? What should I have done? Should I have
called 911? Would my reaction have been different if the attack had happened at
night? And what if my daughter hadn’t been with me? That inspired the first
sentence, and ultimately the plot, of No Bad Deed.
You got your first novel published at the age
of 50. What advice do you have for other aspiring writers?
Spend
at least as much time editing as you do writing, and be ruthless with your
revisions. Before No Bad Deed, I wrote a few “practice” novels. It
wasn’t until much later that I realized those early manuscripts weren’t working
because they were essentially first drafts. In contrast, No Bad Deed
started in third-person with multiple points of view, but after drafting, I cut
about two-thirds of the words and switched to first-person. It was painful, but
it was the right decision for the story.
You
have two kids. How did you balance parenting and writing?
When
my children were younger, they didn’t even respect a closed bathroom door. How
could I expect them to respect a closed office door? By the time I got the book
deal, though, my youngest was a teenager, so that part at least became easier.
Of course, I still had to contend with family demands and a full-time job. But
we all have lives and distractions. For me, I find balance by writing when and
where I can, whether that is at the dining room table while dinner’s cooking or
in the car on my lunch break. If I waited for a block of uninterrupted time and
a quiet house, I would never write.
The
hardcover of your book came out right as Covid hit. How has the virus impacted
its promotion?
I
was fortunate to have a bookstore event—and then everything shut down. In those
early months, it seemed like everyone was still trying to figure it all out, so
the events that were canceled weren’t rescheduled as virtual. They just didn’t
happen. Now, thankfully, the support for virtual events is more robust. I just
presented to a writers club I might not have been able to otherwise visit, and
soon I’ll be on a panel with a group of talented authors from all over the
world. And I’ve managed to connect with readers on social media.
Your
main character, Cassie Larkin, stops her minivan a mile from her house on a
rainy night, to help a stranger who is being attacked by a man named Carver
Sweet. How does that one incident change the course of her life?
In
that opening scene, Carver warns Cassie: Let his victim die, and he’ll let
Cassie live. Cassie’s not about to go along with that. But just because you do
the right thing, it doesn’t mean the universe is going to reward you.
Sometimes, stepping in can ruin your life, which Cassie learns. The next night,
her husband disappears, and her life begins unraveling. The main part of Cassie’s
journey is trying to figure out if that incident helping a stranger is really
connected to everything else that’s going wrong. And if so, how?
Your
book is classified as a thriller. For those of us who don’t know the category
well, what are its basic tenets and what draws you to it?
Thrillers
are known for being fast-paced and action-driven. I enjoy putting ordinary
characters in danger and then making them work hard to get out of it. I also
love asking the questions: What would happen if…? and Why would someone do such an
unspeakable thing? It’s probably the former journalist in me. Over the
years, I’ve heard so many stories about people hurting the ones they’re
supposed to love. A mom abuses her children. A man kills his wife. What prompted
them to do something so horrible? And what are the consequences of that act,
both in that moment and many years in the future?
Your
book takes place in California’s Sonoma County. Why did you choose that as your
setting?
Having
lived in Sonoma County since I was 18 years old, the roads Cassie drives and
the places she visits are the same ones I have. As a writer, I’m inspired by
being able to smell and see and taste the same things as my characters. Wine
Country is also such an interesting place. Within a short drive, you’ve got
redwoods, the coast, wineries, mountains, San Francisco. A lot of beautiful
places for really ugly things to happen.
I
assume the title of your book is a play on the phrase “no good deed goes unpunished.”
At first I thought the bad deed was a reference to Sweet’s attack and
subsequent stalking of Cassie. Am I right that the bad deed in question—and
even its perpetrator—becomes murkier as the book goes along?
The
concept of right versus wrong definitely becomes murkier as the novel
progresses. I liked that idea for the title since a theme in No Bad Deed
is the duality of human nature—good people do bad things, and vice versa, and
sometimes the “bad” choice is the right one for that particular situation. Still,
what one person believes is a good deed can be perceived as a very bad one by
someone else, and circumstances might compel someone to commit an act they
previously believed unthinkable. How far would you go to protect someone you
love? Where is that line, and what would it take for you to cross it?
After
the attack, when Cassie’s husband disappears, we’re not sure what happened to
him and neither is she. What’s on her shortlist?
When
Sam goes missing, he’s trick-or-treating with their 6-year-old daughter. So
when Cassie finds their daughter but no Sam, her first thought is that
something terrible has happened to him. She’s confident she knows her husband and,
at first, that’s the option that makes the most sense. After all, Sam is the
parent who is usually home with the kids each night, while she’s working late
at the veterinary clinic. He’s the one who makes the kids dinner. Coordinates
their schedules. So Cassie believes that even if he would leave her, he
wouldn’t leave the children, especially in such an abrupt and perilous way. But
then she gets a text from her husband: I’m sorry. As she digs deeper
into what happened that night, she learns her husband may have been keeping
some pretty disturbing secrets.
As
a writer, what’s harder—starting a book or ending it?
I’m
a plotter, so starting a book is more intense. I put so much pressure on that first
scene, and that first sentence. With No Bad Deed, for example, that
first sentence is probably the only one I didn’t touch during my many
revisions. That said, I think ending a book is harder. By that point in the process,
I’ve invested so much in the characters, and readers will have invested so much
in the story that I want to do right by them, and myself. The beginning of a
book is full of possibilities but, by the end, those possibilities have
narrowed significantly. It’s much easier to scrap a first chapter than a
climax.
NO GOOD
DEED
Now a
mom, Cassie Larkin has long since outgrown the anger and recklessness of her
own childhood – or so she believes until the night she witnesses a brutal
attack.
Driving
home on a remote Northern California road, Cassie spots a man and woman
arguing. The fight escalates. After calling 911, Cassie does the one thing the
dispatcher warns her against: She gets out of the car. The ensuing violence
leaves her with a few bruises and the fleeing attacker’s threat: He’ll let
Cassie live if she lets his victim die.
A veterinarian trained
to heal, Cassie isn’t about to let the woman die. But while she’s examining the
unconscious victim, the attacker steals her car. Now he has her name. Her
address. And he knows about her children. Though they warn her to be careful,
the police assure her that the perpetrator—a criminal named Carver
Sweet—won’t get near her. Cassie isn’t so sure.
The next
day—Halloween—her husband disappears while trick-or-treating with their
six-year-old daughter. Is Cassie’s confrontation with
the road-side attacker connected to her husband’s disappearance? Her
husband has been growing distant—is it possible he’s become involved
with another woman? Or, worse, one of his students?
As she
desperately searches for answers, Cassie discovers that nothing is as random as
it seems, and that she is more than willing to fight—to go to the most
terrifying extremes— to save her family.
ORDER NOW
What Others Are Saying:
“A
sensational debut – compelling, hypnotic, full of suspense and quiet menace.
Don’t miss it!”- Lee Child
“The kind
of twisty, jet-fueled thriller that explodes on page one and has you happily
abandoning work, sleep, and life as you race to the stunning end. Don’t
miss it!”- Lisa Gardner
“An
extraordinary thriller… that may well become the book everyone is talking
about…In a mesmerizing first-person narrative, [Cassie’s] fear is
palpable, then vanquished by an astonishing ferocity she finds within
herself. Where does that come from? Wait until you find out. This one
glows in dark.”- Booklist (starred review)
“[A]
propulsive debut… Chavez peoples her tale with credible, flawed individuals,
presenting even the multiple antagonists with harrowing backstories and
convincing psychological motives… Chavez is in full command of plot and pacing…
Domestic thriller fans will be well satisfied.”- Publishers Weekly
“Chavez’s
breathless page-turner will have every aspiring Good Samaritan thinking maybe
they should let the NEXT guy help.”- Linwood Barclay, author of The
Noise Downstairs and No Time for Goodbye
“Heather
Chavez’s debut novel starts at a sprint and never lets up, twisting its way to
an exhilarating, you’ll-never-guess-it ending.”- Peter Swanson, author
of Before She Knew Him
