Interview with Multi Award-Winning Crime Fiction Author Jennifer Chase

Jennifer Chase is a multi award-winning crime fiction author and consulting criminologist. Jennifer holds a bachelor degree in police forensics and a master's degree in criminology & criminal justice. These academic pursuits developed out of her curiosity about the criminal mind as well as from her own experience with a violent sociopath, providing Jennifer with deep personal investment in every story she tells. In addition, she holds certifications in serial crime and criminal profiling.  She is an affiliate member of the International Association of Forensic Criminologists.

Her latest book is the crime thriller, Dead Cold.

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About the Book:

                                                              

What happens when one California community has a disturbing spike in homicides? It catapults cops into a deadly game of murder. Frozen human body parts hideously displayed at the crime scenes offers a horrifying interpretation that only a sadistic serial killer could design—and execute.

On the hunt for a complex serial killer, vigilante detective Emily Stone must face her most daring case yet. Stone’s proven top-notch profiling skills and forensic expertise may not be enough this time.

Young and ambitious, Detective Danny Starr, catches the homicide cases and discovers that it will test everything he knows about police work and the criminal mind. Can he handle these escalating cases or will the police department have to call in reinforcements—the FBI.

Emily Stone’s covert team pushes with extreme urgency to unravel the grisly clues, while keeping their identities hidden from the police. With one last-ditch effort, Stone dangles someone she loves as bait to draw out the killer. She then forces the killer out of their comfort zone with her partner Rick Lopez, and with help from a longtime friend Jordan Smith. A revelation of the serial killer’s identity leaves the team with volatile emotions that could destroy them.

The killer continues to taunt and expertly manipulate the police, as well as Stone’s team, and as they run out of time—they leave behind everyone and everything—in Dead Cold.

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Thank you for this interview!  I’d like to know more about you as a person first.  What do you do when you’re not writing?

I love being outdoors, hiking, taking photographs, and training my German shepherd. And of course, I love to read. I wish I had more time to read both fiction and non-fiction books.

When did you start writing?

I’ve loved books for as long as I can remember. One of my earliest childhood memories of writing was when I was four years old. I wrote tiny script lines for all of my stuffed animals. I loved writing all throughout school and then I wrote more seriously as an adult, writing screenplays, local newspaper articles, and some copyrighting.

As a published author, what would you say was the most pivotal point of your writing life?

I learn something from every book project, but everything really became real (for lack of a better description) for me when I won a gold medal for an action thriller, Dead Burn, in 2013 from Readers’ Favorite. There was an overwhelming amount of entrants, but it was because this particular book was almost scrapped completely because I felt that there were two separate storylines. I thought about it for a while and a solution came to me. I put the most amount of blood, sweat, and tears into that book. It meant a great deal to me to have won that award. It was a personal triumph for me.

If you could go anywhere in the world to start writing your next book, where would that be and why?

I need to be by the water—at least that’s how I feel. It doesn’t always have to be the ocean like here in California, but it helps. I love writing where I’m at right now in my home state of California.

If you had 4 hours of extra time today, what would you do?

Read and sleep.

Where would you like to set a story that you haven’t done yet?

I’ve been thinking about a location outside of the United States, such as Canada or Europe. The interesting settings and storylines would almost be endless.

Back to your present book, Dead Cold, how did you publish it?

Dead Cold is independently published with JEC Press.

In writing your book, did you travel anywhere for research?

I did not travel for research to write Dead Cold, since it takes place in California. I did have detailed research questions that related to various aspects of forensics and law enforcement. I have wonderful expert sources that I can contact. It’s preferred over searching the Internet where information can be incomplete or erroneous.

Why was writing Dead Cold so important to you?

All of the books in the Emily Stone Thriller Series are important to me. I love writing action thrillers—I think was born to write them. Each book challenges me and I think that’s why the character hasn’t become boring or stale—at least not yet. I try to find interesting tidbits in the forensics or crime scene areas that most haven’t heard about and incorporate them into the story.

Where do you get your best ideas and why do you think that is?

I find that when I’m not forcing ideas, scenes, or new characters, it comes to me much easier. When I’m hiking and outdoors, ideas seem to flood towards me. It’s when I’m doing the simplest tasks is when storylines begin to build up in my writing arsenal.

Any final words?

Thank you so much for the interview opportunity.

If readers are looking for a new crime thriller series with an original heroine, then I have a series for you. I love hearing from readers, please feel free to connect with me on social media.