Chrys Fey is a disabled, tattooed author of books featuring heroines of steel. Her Disaster Crimes series is a unique blend of romance, disasters, and crimes, influenced by her own experiences with natural disasters. The conclusion of her series inspired her to create TheFightingChance.org, a resource for domestic violence survivors. On her blog, WritewithFey.com, she supports, empowers, and teaches fellow writers.
Fey got the idea for her first book when she was twelve and discovered a rusted screw with a crooked tip buried in grass. That screw was a key to an unknown world with an extraordinary character born in heaven.
She is a fur baby mom of four rescued cats. For fun, she photographs antiques, makes playlists, and creates flip cup paintings of Avrianna’s nebula. She loves Halloween, autumn, and gargoyles.
Blog Posts about Chrys Fey:
My Writing and Publishing Roadmap
Learning to Read was a Struggle
Social Media Short Videos:
Feedback as you go or after the first draft?
How many unfinished projects do you have?
How many notebooks do you have?
CHRYS FEY’S STORY (IN HER WORDS):
When I was six years old, I became interested in writing thanks to my mom, Elaine Kaye. She would pen children’s stories at our dining room table, type them up on a typewriter, illustrate them, bind them herself, and read them to my siblings and me. Her passion gave me passion.
I started writing with the hope of publishing when I was twelve years old. I got the idea for a book when I discovered a rusted screw with a crooked tip buried in grass. My imagination soared. This was no ordinary screw. No, it was extraordinary. It was a key to an unknown world. I grabbed pen and paper and started to write. I wrote for every day after that.
Four years and three books after the discovery of that screw, I hit writer’s block. I thought I was doomed until I uncovered the reason for the block; I had grown up and my books didn’t reflect my adult mind. So, I took on the task of rewriting my series from book one, page one. This process, from writing the older version, starting over, and finishing the newer (but still older) version, took eleven years.
After I finished Book One, I sought publication. After I finished Book Two, I tried even harder to publish Book One. And so on. I wrote a four-book series but couldn’t get an agent or publisher. I decided the fix would be to build my resume, so I wrote poems and flash fiction and published a few online, but I wanted more. A lot more. I continued to submit unsuccessfully. During this time, I was also querying Book One with no luck.
Desperate. Depressed. That was me.
I needed to break into the publishing world another way. But how? I had nothing written except for the series that I couldn’t get representation for.
At the time, I was reading a book set during a blizzard. When I finished reading it, I realized how many winter stories I’ve read, but I had never read one about weather I knew…hurricane weather. On Christmas Day 2012, I started writing Hurricane Crimes. Once completed, I sent it to the first place on my list, The Wild Rose Press. And I got an acceptance from the senior editor of the Crimson Rose line for romantic-suspense. It was the answer to my dreams. Since then, the entire Disaster Crimes series has been published.
But my story hasn’t ended yet. I’ve been working on what I lovingly call my Secret Book Baby Series for two decades. Its time will come.
Why Heroines of Steel?
When I was a child, I looked up to strong women – Jo from Little Women, Xena the Warrior Princess, Erin Brockovich, and so many more. I wanted to be just like them, but I was a scrawny thing, shy, and a little nerdy. I felt as far from these strong women as possible. They were lionesses, and I was Dumbo. So, when I started to write, it’s no wonder that my first character was my age but was everything I wasn’t. From then on, all of my heroines became what I wish I could be. Beth (from the Disaster Crimes Series) is a kick-ass self-defense instructor. I want to be as physically strong as her. Dani (from 30 Seconds) is smart, sexy, and has a great sense of humor. I want to be as attractive as her.
At the age of fifteen (a day after my birthday), I had spine surgery to correct scoliosis. Now, I have a steel rod screwed into my spine. Years after my surgery, I wrote a personal essay called Woman of Steel. I am a woman of steel, and because all of my characters are tough women, so are they. They are my Heroines of Steel. I can live vicariously through them, and so can my readers.
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Chrys Fey 