...NOW WRITING
FROM WRITING
REALTOR TO REAL WRITER
## Rene Unischewski is your real name; how did you
choose your pen name? Is it true it’s inspired by your father’s and brother’s
names?
C.S.—You answered
the question for me! Yes, “Chevy” was my father’s nickname, from the
pronunciation of our last name, and some of my friends also used to call me
that. Steven is my brother.
## Is Unischewski from Polish ancestry?
C.S.—My
grandparents on my father’s side were Russian, but my father was born in
Germany.
## Was becoming a writer always the main plan, even
before you were a realtor, or did you just decide to go for it when you had the
idea for Still Missing?
C.S.—Growing up I
dreamed about being a writer, but I became involved in the arts instead and was
planning on getting a Fine Arts degree. When I dropped out of college, I
started working, mostly in sales, eventually moving into real estate. Then one
day the idea for Still Missing came to me and the rest, as they say, is
history.
## Obviously, the realtor job is the direct
inspiration to writing your first book; what other job(s) helped in your new
career?
C.S.—I don’t
think any other jobs have helped with the writing part of it, but my background
in sales has helped me understand the business and marketing part of having a
writing career.
## Was it a long process between thinking about the
story (Still Missing) and getting the confidence to get it out on the
page?
C.S.—It wasn’t
about confidence, I just didn’t have a fully fleshed out idea right away and I
was busy with my career, so I mentally played with the premise for a couple of
months, then one day I walked up to my office and started typing, “Session
One.”
## Renni Browne, founder of The Editorial
Department, had this to say about newly published authors: “The
hardest part after being published depends tremendously on how successful the
book is. If it’s a big book, you lose privacy, still have some negative reviews
to handle, and the expectation for your next book is a lot of pressure. If the
publisher paid a lot for it and it isn’t a big book, your career is in trouble
when it just began.” After the success you’ve had (and are still having)
with Still Missing, how different was your approach with Never
Knowing and were you able to put aside any kind of pressure or did you
instead just work with the pressure and embrace it?
C.S.—I believe
that as an author you always feel pressure. With your first book, you want to
get published and have your book do well. With the second and so on, it’s the
same. Of course, I wanted to write a worthy follow up. But I tried to remind
myself that each book was going to have its own personality and that as long as
I told the story that was coming to me the best way I could, then that’s all I
could control.
## And, if you’ve seen any, what about the negative
reviews you’ve received? Do they affect you at all?
C.S.—I read some
reviews in the beginning, but I don’t as much now. If they are negative I
remind myself that reviews are a reflection of that person’s thoughts,
feelings, and perceptions. There is no right or wrong, and no one person is the
definitive judge on a book. What bothers me, though, is meanness, which you can
run across in the Internet world. People are braver when they are hiding behind
anonymity.
## The major point of criticism I’ve read about Still
Missing concerns the rape and other physical abuse scenes; for some people
they were described in too many details. A victim (especially of a crime of
sexual violence) would probably say that you left out a lot of details because
it must be much worse than any description in a novel. How did you approach
those scenes and how difficult was it to find just the right voice and the
right description?
C.S.—I tried to
stay true to the story without going too far over the edge. Terrible things
happen to people every day and one of the biggest parts of their healing
process is to share their feelings. Not having Annie talk about what happened
in the cabin wouldn’t have been honest. And being blunt about it was the only
way she could cope.
SERIOUS WRITING
on SERIAL KILLING
## Did you read about serial killers as much as Sara
does in Never Knowing and how different was your approach in creating
John compared to The Freak?
C.S.—I did read
quite a few books on serial killers while I was working on this book, which
could be very upsetting and often left me with some terrible nightmares. I
don’t know if my approach to The Freak and John were different. They were
unique characters, but my method was similar. A lot of it just happens
organically, but I work really hard to make them three-dimensional, so that
they aren’t clichés.
## The book The Art of War features
prominently in Never Knowing; Sara definitely applies the lesson “know
your enemy as well as you know yourself and you’ll defeat your enemy”. Without
any mention of that book in Still Missing, we could argue that Annie
also follows the lesson by instinctively ‘studying’ her abductor/enemy and
waiting for the right moment to defeat him. Was The Art of War already
in your mind when you wrote Still Missing or did you read it only later
as part of the research for Never Knowing?
C.S.—I only read The
Art of War later in the process of writing Never Knowing, and not
actually until a few drafts into the book. Then I revised using that book as a
tool.
## I hope, for her own sake, that the psychologist,
Nadine, didn’t have Sara and Annie as patients during the same period of time!
Nadine is more detailed and a more involved character in Never Knowing,
even though she stays behind the curtains; any plans of putting her center
stage in a future book?
C.S.—My third
book, Always Watching, which I’m working on at the moment, is Nadine’s
story.
## In a way, Nadine represents us, the readers, to
whom Annie and Sara tell their stories. Did you at any point consider
using an omniscient narrator instead of the 1st person ones?
C.S.—No, my
stories always come out of me in first person.
## And I guess the logical question now would be:
“Will the next book be told the same way”?
C.S.—It’s also in
first person, but it won’t be told in sessions.
## The two books are connected on many levels; we’ve
mentioned Nadine already; the main character who owns a dog; the very nice and
understanding, self-employed boyfriend; dysfunctional family (difficult
parenting, absence of biological father); friendships and loyalty; the media vs
private life; serial killing; the outdoors, etc. Which of these do you see as
most likely recurring in your future books? And why?
C.S.—I don’t
think I can answer that until I start writing my future books and see what
story is calling to me. But I will always explore my feelings and write about
things that interest me. I love the outdoors, and I’m also fascinated by family
dynamics and psychology, so they will probably pop up again.
SEARCH and TELL
## Do you have a set schedule for your research or
do you stop it once you’ve started writing a book?
C.S.—I do a lot
initially and then as I start writing different things come up that I need to
research more, so it’s ongoing.
## What is the hardest part of research, so far?
C.S.—Depends on
the subject, some things you can spend months on, so you need to make sure
you’re only studying what is relevant to your story. But sometimes you don’t
know what that is until you’ve done the research!
## How much of the outdoors stuff in Still
Missing is taken from research and how much from first-hand experience; do
you fish, do you hunt, and what I’m very curious to know is, have you ever
skinned a deer?
C.S.—On the
island, many people fish and hunt, but I don’t. I love animals too much and
wouldn’t be able to hurt one. And I have never skinned a deer. I learned about
that process by talking to my aunt, who lives in Northern BC.
## I’ve heard John Irving mentioning that one
mistake writers make is trying to be funny and that if you can’t be funny in
real life, you shouldn’t try to be in a book. You’ve managed to put humour in
your books, sometimes with hilarious lines (even if sometimes of dark humour).
Was it important for you to lighten the mood once in a while or was it just
something that popped up at the right moments? And how is your sense of humour
in general?
C.S.—The sense of
humor in the books, dark or otherwise, just comes to me as I tend to find the
absurd, or the irony, in situations. I have a sarcastic, dry sense of humor,
and it’s often the way I express my own emotions. When things are painful,
humor can help.
## What about your mood while writing these books?
Some days must have been darker; at the end of the day can you easily switch
your focus away from the book you’re writing?
C.S.—When I’m in
the first draft stage it can be hard when I’m writing emotional scenes. Some of
the more intense ones can be very draining and I need to take a break. In the
evenings I like to do fun things, so that I don’t stay in a place of darkness
for too long.
## What brings more adrenaline: finding a great plot
idea or writing a scary, suspenseful scene?
C.S.—They are
both exciting for different reasons. Coming up with a great plot idea can make
me feel itchy to get going on a project or a scene. Writing a scary scene can
be intense and creates a heightened sense of awareness— all your muscles are
keyed up, your heart is thudding in the ear.
## How much energy do you put towards finding names
for your characters? Does the good old phone book help at all?
C.S.—I have used
a phone book, but I tend to Google a lot. And I spend a lot of time on names as
it truly becomes that person and I need it to fit them. Some come easy, some I
struggle with and go through a few name changes.
## Do you listen to music while writing? If so, what
are your favourite choices?
C.S.— I have to
have complete silence when I’m writing and usually wear ear plugs.
THIS AND THAT
## You’re a reader of Michael Connelly’s books; what
other authors are on your must-read list?
C.S.—I have just
discovered William Landay and think he’s wonderful. I also like Lisa Gardner,
Karin Slaughter, Tana French, and Gillian Flynn. I have read just about every
Ed McBain. I’m also a huge Stephen King fan, though I haven’t read any of his
recent work. I’m probably forgetting some others.
## What’s the best aspect of growing up on a farm?
C.S.—Because we
didn’t watch a lot of TV or play video games, we used our imaginations more and
we spent lots of time outdoors. I was usually carrying a cat around with me.
## Outdoors: Jogging or walking? Hiking or biking?
Hunting or fishing? Sunrise or sunset?
C.S.—I walk with my
dog every day and when she was younger we used to go on lots of hikes. My
husband and I also like to go biking. Neither hunting nor fishing, but my
husband loves to fish. I’m a morning person, so I’d have to say sunrise.
## What was the most satisfying ‘first’ moment
between these: signing the first contract, holding the book in your hands for
the first time, signing a copy for the first time, the first review, etc?
C.S.— There were
many wonderful moments all along. I have kept a scrapbook of mementos, but I
can’t pick one most satisfying first as each is special to me.
## Are you a fan of the Canucks?
C.S.—I am a
Canuck fan, yes. That’s my home team! But I don’t tend to watch many sports on
TV.
## Last question, you knew I’d ask that one so here
it is: If there’s a crime novel written and you are the main character, what
would be the first sentence of the book, and how would your character die?
C.S.—I write in
first person, so I’m way too superstitious to answer this question!
Thank you to Chevy Stevens and Loren Jaggers.
July 2011
JF
-30-
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