No, I don’t mean she starts flame wars. INCENDIARY is her latest thrill-filled novel.

Chris Redding lives in New Jersey with her husband, two kids, one dog and three rabbits. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in Journalism. When not writing she works for her local hospital in the Emergency Services Department. She has been writing for thirteen years and has five books published.

Okay, take it away, Chris!

I’ve been involved in Emergency Medical Services, in some way, for about twenty years. My job now is in that department, but it is only tangential to the people who do the real work of saving lives.

I was always fascinated by EMS. I dated a guy briefly in college who was an EMT and I flirted with the idea of joining the local rescue squad. What held me back? My mother. She always said, “You have a big heart.” Too bad she said it with a sneer on her face. I knew she’d never understand me with a pager going out in the middle of the night.

I had another chance in college, but I worked almost full time while going to school full time so there was no time.

After college, when I worked in my field, journalism, my beat was police, fire, and rescue. Then I married a volunteer firefighter. I left the journalism job and joined the local rescue squad. I became an EMT. This set me on the path, in a roundabout way, to my current job.

So you see, if you write what you know, it makes sense that I write about EMS. Hence, my heroine in Incendiary is an EMT. In fact she runs her local first aid squad. And she’s a firefighter. Her brother is the local fire chief. It just made sense to me. I haven’t seen too many books involving EMTs. They are mostly about firefighters, like my hero.

Because I do love me a firefighter. (Remember, I married one.)

But I also think that there is built in tension in this field. EMTs and paramedics are often dealing with life and death situations. Maybe it’s the drama of it all that initially drew me to this field. Not sure, but I can’t imagine not being a part of it, in even a small way.

Blurb:

What if your past comes back to haunt you?

 Chelsea James, captain of the Biggin Hill First Aid Squad, has had ten years to mend a broken heart and forget about the man who’d left her hurt and bewildered. Ten years to get her life on track. But fate has other plans.

Fire Inspector Jake Campbell, back in town after a decade, investigates a string of arsons, only to discover they are connected to the same arsons he’d been accused of long ago. Now his past has come back to haunt him, and Chelsea is part of that past.

Together, Chelsea and Jake must join forces to defeat their mutual enemy. Only then can they hope to rekindle the flames of passion. But before they can do that, Chelsea must learn to trust again. Their lives could depend on it.

Links:

http://www.chrisreddingauthor.com
http://chrisredddingauthor.blogspot.com
https://www.facebook.com/chrisreddingauthor
http://twitter.com/chrisredding

Thanks for having me today Marian.

cmr

Thanks for visiting, Chris!

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: Has anyone ever been discouraging about something you wanted to do? How did you react? Write a character who reacts differently. What happens?

MA