C.C. Hunter Interview - Two Feet Under ~ JeanBookNerd

Photo Content from C.C. Hunter

C. C. Hunter is the New York Times bestselling author of over thirty-five books, including her wildly popular Shadow Falls and Shadow Falls: After Dark series. In addition to winning numerous awards and rave reviews for her novels, C.C. is also a photojournalist, motivational speaker, and writing coach. In February 2018, Wednesday Books will publish her contemporary young adult and hardcover debut, This Heart of Mine. And the first book of her new paranormal young adult series, The Mortician's Daughter: One Foot in the Grave will release on October 31st 2017. C. C. currently resides in Texas with her husband, junkyard dog, Lady, and whatever wild creatures that meander out from woods surrounding home.

C.C. Hunter is a pseudonym. Her real name is Christie Craig and she also writes humorous romantic suspense romance novels. www.christie-craig.com

C.C. would love to hear from you. Because of deadlines, it may take some time to get back with you, but she will reply. cc@cchunterbooks.com

What was your favorite book as a child and why?
I came to reading late. I finally finished my first book when I was in third grade. It was a struggle, but I did it. The book was CHARLOTTE’S WEB, and it still resonates with me. The relationship between Charlotte and Wilbur was so special. It was also an interspecies relationship. I like to think that may be why I have vampires falling in love with werewolves or shapeshifters in some of my books. CHARLOTTE’S WEB remains my favorite childhood book. I later discovered I’m dyslexic, so that explained why it was such a struggle for me to learn to read.

Has reading a book ever changed your life?
Yes! Again, I have to site CHARLOTTE’S WEB because that book taught me that I could do whatever I set out to achieve. I wasn’t stupid, as I’d been called in school. I could finish a book, I could do whatever I wanted. I just had to work harder than most people.

What advice would you give to someone who wanted to have a life in writing?
Know up front that it’s not easy to make a living by writing. I’m very lucky, but I have multi-published friends that still can’t give up their day jobs. You have to write because you love it, because you have stories in you that you have to get out. You also have to learn the craft of writing. Once I decided to become a writer, I took every writing class I could. I studied my favorite authors and wrote every day. It still took me ten years to sell my first book, and another twelve years to sell again. But when I did, I sold four books in one day. I never gave up on my dream, because you really have to be committed to be a writer.

In your newest book, TWO FEET UNDER; can you tell my Book Nerd community a little about the novel?
In TWO FEET UNDER we are back with Riley Smith. She’s accepted her “gift” of seeing and hearing ghosts. This time she’s haunted by the ghost of a convict who needs her help to save a child. However, she has to put her life in danger to do it. And now that she knows that Hayden, the hot ghost she’s fallen for, isn’t dead but in a coma, will she let him follow the light? Or can she convince him to live?

Yup, Riley’s got her hands full in this one. And to top it off, her father’s drinking has gotten worse, just as she discovers he harbors a life changing secret.

What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating Riley?
How resilient teens can be. Riley’s world is falling apart. Her father’s an alcoholic, she lost her mom when she was young, and she had to start at a new school as a senior. Add that she can see dead people, and this girl amazes me. I know, I created her, I write the story, so why should that surprise me? The truth is that I seriously feel I create them and then they take on a life of their own. I don’t plot out my books, I sit at a computer and sort of let them pour out of me. And everything flowing out about Riley shows a young girl who is strong as nails.

Aside from Riley, which of your characters do you feel has grown the most since book 1 and in what way have they changed?
I’d have to say Kylie from my Shadow Falls series. She starts off in book one not even knowing she’s a paranormal. Once she accepts that, she learns she has to discover what kind of paranormal she is. This is complicated by the fact that even the other paranormals can’t figure it out. On top of that, she‘s dealing with her parent’s divorce, hot boys and the usual teenage angst. Like Riley, Kylie also helps ghosts, and through it all, she slowly develops her powers and becomes who she was always meant to be.

Which character have you enjoyed getting to know the most over the course of writing THE MORTICIAN'S DAUGHTER?
I love Riley. I don’t think she would be the main character if she wasn’t the one I found most interesting. I like to put my characters in hot water and see how they get out of it, and see what lessons they learn along the way. Riley has surprised me again and again with her courage, her compassion, her loyalty and her sense of justice. That isn’t to say I don’t love Hayden. That boy stole my heart with his witty comebacks. And when he was willing to give up Riley because he thought his best friend would be able to protect her better, well…I wanted to hug him.

If you could introduce Hayden to any character from another book, who would it be and why?
I’d introduce him to Chase from my Shadow Falls: After Dark series. I think they’d get along really well. They both have some of the same protective instincts and sense of values.

What do you feel is the most significant change since book one?
Riley’s discovery of why Hayden’s ghost is so different from the other ghosts. In book one she can’t figure out why she can actually feel him touch her and is curious why he’s so much warmer than the others. At the end of book one, she realizes why, and in book two, she has a whole new understanding of their situation.

TEN QUOTES FROM TWO FEET UNDER

1. “I don’t mean to confuse you, but…I’m confused.”
2. “He killed someone. He already almost killed you. What’s stopping him from trying to kill you again?”
3. “I know I have to do this. I feel it in my heart. I feel it in my soul. I know it.”
4. “I know. I love you, too.”
5. “What’s a little kitty germs?”
6. “We have to stay together for life. It’s the rules.”
7. “Then it’s meant to be. It’s destiny.”
8. “I think I might be the old maid with a dozen cats and a purple vibrator that I’ll name Big Boy.”
9. “Are you a witch?”
10. “It’s the closest thing to a miracle that I’ve ever seen.”

At a movie theater which arm rest is yours?
The right one.

In one sentence, how would you sum up the internet?
It’s a valuable resource for writers needing to know about how to kill people.

What’s the most ridiculous fact you know?
The eyes of an ostrich are larger than its brain.

What do you usually think about right before falling asleep?
Whatever book I’m working on. I try to program myself to write it in my sleep, so when I show up at my computer the next morning, all I do is type.

What would you like to experience again?
A first kiss. My first one was really bad—it included a bad case of hiccups and seeing my grandfather in tighty whities , so I’d like to get a do-over.

Riley has accepted that her special gift is to help dead people with their unfinished business. But she never thought she’d be tasked with helping the spirit of a convicted criminal who died in prison. He may lead her on the scariest mission yet, but helping him could mean saving the life of a child. The convict’s daughter needs a liver transplant and the one person who could still be a match is his brother…who also happens to be a gang leader.

Hayden’s not happy that Riley’s discovered who he is and is seeing him sick and unconscious in his hospital bed. This feels like as good a time as ever to cross over and put all of them out of their misery….but Riley is in danger. She’s visiting some of the most dangerous spots and confronting some of the creepiest low-lifes in town. For her, he’ll need to regain his strength and fight to keep her safe.

But dealing with other people’s problems still can’t keep Riley from her own. Her dad’s drinking has gotten worse. And she’ll soon learn it’s because he’s been keeping a huge, horrible secret that will change everything she believes about her family and her mother’s death.

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