AN INTRO FROM ROWEN CHAMBERS

Briefly introduce yourself and the other pen names you write under.

I’m Rowen Chambers and I write psychological thrillers. Many of my thrillers involve a romantic relationship. It’s an area I know well because I also write romance. Under the name Allie Everhart, I write small town romance, sports romance, and romantic suspense. As Kai Juniper, I write dark romance featuring younger characters.

What do you enjoy most about writing a thriller that you don't necessarily get to explore when writing romance?

The sinister side of relationships. In romance, my characters experience ups and downs, but in the end they’re happy and in love. In my thrillers, the relationship appears happy on the outside, but in reality it’s a nightmare. There are control issues, gaslighting, mental games, manipulation—and instead of a happy ending, one of them goes to prison or dies!

What are you most excited for readers—both existing fans and those discovering you for the first time—to experience in your new book, From My Dead Husband?

Trying to figure out what’s really going on. In the book, Claire (the wife) is certain her husband is dead but then starts having doubts. If he’s dead, how does she explain the cards she keeps getting, written in his handwriting and mentioning things only her husband would know? As the book progresses, Claire gets even more evidence that her husband might be alive. But how is that possible? It really keeps readers guessing until the very end.

What's the most satisfying part of writing a twist that you hope readers won't see coming?

Knowing how fun it will be for readers to reach the twist and be so shocked that they have to go back and read the earlier chapters to see if they missed something. As an avid reader myself, I love that feeling and look forward to it.

Do you know all your twists before you start writing, or do some of them surprise you too?

I’m always surprised. Before I write the book, I have several twists in mind, but when I’m actually writing the story, a character will often do something I hadn’t planned on. I’ll stop and think to myself, ‘wait, what just happened?’ and then I read it over and think ‘Oh, that’s good! Let’s go with that!’. Some of my best twists happen that way.