Today, we’re visiting with Nike Chillemi who started writing at a very young age.  She’s a wife, mother, animal lover, and in love with crime fiction. 

JRC:  Welcome, Nike.  You’ve been called a crime fictionista due to your passion for crime fiction.  How did that come about?  Have you always been interested in crime fiction?

Nike: I’ve been reading mysteries, detective novels, and thrillers for many years. That’s my genre. What many don’t know is that I’m a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC. In the real world before I started writing seriously, I worked in the bridal industry. Bridal gown manufacturers I worked for sent me to bridal fairs in Atlanta, Dallas, Las Vegas, Chicago, and of course in my town, New York. I’d hear the term “fashionista” brandied about. Since I worked in sales/marketing, I had a few clues as to what to do. I checked to see if anyone was using the term “crime fictionista” and found nobody was. So, I took it and started building a brand around it.

JRC:  You’re a founding member of the Grace Awards, a reader’s choice awards for excellence in Christian fiction.  Tell us a little about that.  For instance, how can I get my books entered into this?

Nike: I’m the Chair of the Grace Awards. It’s my baby, so to speak. The Grace Awards is designed to give those authors who might otherwise fall through the cracks at other contests a shot. The story might be a sweet romance, but the publishing house is not CBA approved. Perhaps the novel is a bit edgy, but has wonderful redemptive themes. The awards are going into their third year. It’s a reader driven award. Readers vote for their favorite novels. The reader must have a social networking site that is active. In this way we know they’re a real person. The reader must also tell us in no less than 30 words why they like the novel. That is to determine that they’ve read the book.

JRC:  Sounds like a valuable award and I like your approach—the reader must have read the book. You were a judge for the 2010 Inspy Awards in the Suspense/Thriller/Mystery category,  and in the 2011 Carol Awards in the suspense, mystery, and romantic suspense categories.  Sounds like a lot of work. Tell us a little about that.

Nike: I like to read books so it’s not that much work. But it is a lot of reading. The work is the Grace Awards. I’m the chief cook and bottle washer. I do have an independent person who counts the votes…my husband. But he doesn’t read fiction. He’s strictly a nonfiction man. So, he hasn’t got a clue what the books are about when he’s counting.

JRC:   And with all this, plus monthly book reviews for The Christian Pulse online magazine, you still published three books in the last eighteen months. How do you find time to write?  What is your writing schedule?

Nike:  I always say if you need to get something done, give it to a busy person. My novels are full length 80 to 85 thousand words. I’d like to slow down on the writing and put out a 90 to 110 word novel once a year. That would be ideal. As to my writing schedule, I’m like one of my detectives. I carry notepaper, sometimes scraps. I write scenes all the time. We were once driving to vacation in Alexandria, Virginia and passed a sign on the highway. The exit was for Neuse. Well that’s now the last name of the chief suspect in my contemporary work in progress. Nothing goes to waste. I’ve been known to write scenes on napkins, well outline them at least.

JRC:  The three books are part of your Sanctuary Point series.  Tell us a little about this series?  How did it come about?

Nike: Quite frankly, I wanted to write what I thought was a realistic series that had a chance of fitting into traditional Christian publishing. So, I picked the mid-1940s right after World War II. That was a time when nearly everyone waited until marriage to consummate a relationship. I thought I could write something that was realistic for the times. The other reason is that I am in love with the panache of the period. Despite the fact that nearly every family lost a son, nephew or grandson in the war, there was optimism. It was a time when ordinary Americans had dignity and class.

JRC:  There was more dignity and class then, wasn’t there? I miss that. Sanctuary Point Book Three: Perilous Shadows came out last month.  Give us a little bit about this third book.

Nike: Well, Kiera Devane is a trooper. Despite a tragic upbringing she’s got a lot of moxy. You don’t want to mess with this lady. She is pretty, and stylish, and can dish it out as well as anyone. A lethal combination, I think.

JRC:   Is Sanctuary Point a real place?  If not, did you base the location on someplace you have lived or visited?

Nike: I’m very familiar with the south shore of Long Island. Our family enjoys the beach at Long Beach every summer. We know the towns of Oceanside and Island Park. I created the village of Sanctuary Point on an actual point between Oceanside and Long Beach.

JRC:   Do you have the plot of the book worked out before you start?

Nike:  I do. I’ve got the entire thing loosely plotted. However, this story was supposed to be number two in the series, but the hero balked. He was in love with the murder victim in book number one, BURNING HEARTS. He decided he could not fall in love so fast, so I moved this novel to number three. That’s not all, the character I had sketched in as the murderer balked at committing murder. So, a lot of things changed as I went along.

JRC:  Sounds a lot like how I work: a plan, subject to change.   Do you do character bios?

Nike: Yes, I do. I’m a firm believer in detailed bios. That’s why my characters don’t always do what I originally plot out for them. As I’m fleshing them out, they become living people with minds and hearts and ethics of their own.

JRC:  What advice can you give writers?

Nike: Write, write, write. Put it aside and then rewrite it. Read the best people who publish in your genre. Read the novels that have won the big contests like the Inspy Awards, The Christy Awards, and the EPIC Awards. Pay attention to how these authors write. Don’t be afraid to read the best of general market fiction. You’ll see astounding writing there.

JRC:  Thanks, Nike, for letting us get to know you a bit better, and learning about all you are involved in.  We’ll look for your books at:  http://amzn.to/PlDJrr.

Nike has given me a sample of her book ??? to share with you.  If you’d like to see a sample of her writing, continue below.

From Chapter 3 of Perilous Shadows

Argus walked Kiera out of the diner and took her elbow as her heels tapped down the cement steps. Her suit was austere, yet somehow she made it sizzle. He shifted his eyes away so as not to be caught staring, but not before taking a second look. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

“No, that’s quite all right. I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time.”

“Still, lass, I don’t feel quite right.”

“This is the Tastee Diner parking lot. It’s well lit. What could happen?”

Argus rubbed his chin. “Oh all right, if you insist. I’ll say good night here.” He’d tried to be the gentleman, but she was skittish as a young filly.

“Trust me. I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

Fighting against an uneasy feeling in his gut, Argus walked to his car on the other side of the lot. Since Ada’s death, he’d become overprotective toward women. Fishing in his pocket for his keys, he heard raised voices. One of them, Kiera’s.

“Leave me alone. You cheated on me.”

Argus dashed for Kiera’s car, thinking he recognized the male voice, yet he couldn’t quite place it.

“Give me another chance. You misunderstood. It meant nothing.” Paul Gregorski, sportscaster at the station, had a hold of Kiera’s arm.

A jolt like an electrical charge shot through Argus. “Let go of her if you know what’s good for you.”

Paul dropped the arm and turned to face Argus. “So, you bumped my show for your special report, and now you want my girl.”

“My relationship with Miss Devane is purely professional.” He would not allow the slightest insinuation.

Kiera squared her shoulders. “Look, Paul, I wish you well, but let’s let bygones be bygones.”

The sportscaster slanted his head toward Argus. “I don’t want to discuss this in front of him.”

“I’m not going anywhere unless Miss Devane asks me to leave.”

Kiera pivoted away from them and pulled her car keys out of her purse. “I don’t give a hoot what either of you do. I’m going home.” She slid behind the wheel of the Pontiac, backed out of her spot, and gunned it out of the lot.

Argus watched her signal light flash a right. She made the turn and her tail lights disappeared into the twilight. He laughed aloud.

Paul growled. “What’s so funny?”

Argus shook his head and walked to his DeSoto, got in, and put the key in the ignition, but didn’t turn it on. She’d never be mistaken for a Carmelite nun. Not in a million years. Blunt, not soft and feminine like his Ada had been. And where’d Kiera get that short Betty Boop hair-do? Not his style at all. No Sir. Where Ada was a sensitive and godly woman, this one was so hardboiled he couldn’t imagine her on her knees praying. So, why was she so captivating?

 

You can find the entire book at:  http://amzn.to/PlDJrr.