Interview with Chris Fox

Q: After 50 years working in the consulting engineering business, 30 of which was running your own firm, what made you take up writing?

A: I have always thought there was a writer in me trying to get out, but I also thought there was a golfer in me trying to get out, but he hasn’t emerged yet. I do believe that the writer in me has emerged though.

Q: When did this revelation hit you?

A: My business required a lot of writing; reports, proposals, etc., so it wasn’t such a huge leap for me to start writing recreationally. It started once while my wife and I were on a cruise in 2004, and I was reading a book from the ship’s library about lost treasure. That’s when the idea hit me to write a story about it. I had no idea at the time that it would eventually turn into the full-length novel “Lost Loot of Lima”.

Q: How long did it take you to write the book?

A: About five years. As the story grew, I realized I needed to take a course in how to write a novel, which I did. I also had to establish a direction for the story and formulate an ending. I realized, too, that I needed to create a villain.

Q: You only published Lost Loot in March of 2016. Why did it take so long to publish it?

A: I really didn’t want to take the traditional route for publishing and suffer through all the rejections from publishers. I had considered self-publishing at the time, but decided to write another book instead.

Q: There is a distinct difference in genre between Lost Loot of Lima and your second book, Bosnian Affair. Can you explain that?

A: Writing is about expressing oneself with the written word, much like actors take on a character and singers do so with a song. When placing yourself in the position of the reader, one has to use words to describe the scene, which uses the various senses; what does s/he smell, see, taste, feel or hear. I had written several erotic passages with these elements in mind, as sex is one of the few things that invokes all the senses. So I decided to write what I term an erotic thriller that provides a good storyline interlaced with sexually explicit scenes. The challenge to write erotica for me was to do so without it being smutty…and I think I did achieve that.

Q: How long did that book take to write?

A: About five years. Again, I got the idea when I was on vacation one time in the Canary Islands (February 2009) and pecked away at it whenever I found time. It was predominantly completed in 2014 and published a month or so after Lost Loot.

Q: What about your novella, Angela’s Seduction? What caused you to write that?

A: I wrote that as a perma-free book that I could offer as an introduction for my erotica series. However, this is not my mainstream genre.

Q: Are there other books related to “Lost Loot”?

A: Yes. When I finished Lost Loot of Lima, many of my readers asked for a sequel. I had never even intended to write a book when I wrote Lost Loot of Lima, so it was not really geared to a sequel. However, I revived the character of Kyle MacDonald, whose name had changed to Miguel Diaz at the end of Lost Loot, and set the locale in Central America. I wrote a sequel, Death Drones and then wrote a prequel, The Santini Vendetta. After writing Santini, I had to edit Lost Loot and Death Drones in order for the time lines and character details to work. As of June, 2021, three more books have been added to the Kyle MacDonald series: The Korean Connection, The Colombian Deception, and The Iranian Intercept.

Q: Are there more books planned in the series?

A: Absolutely! There is always room for another story.

Q: What about any other planned books?

A: I wrote a spin-off book, which is planned to be a series, with a character I developed in Death Drones. Maria Delgado is a kick-ass female protagonist, and many readers like to follow strong female characters. The first book in the series is Maria’s Revenge, and as of May 31, 2021, a second book is being launched, The Breaking Storm Conspiracy. A third book in the series is in the works.

Q: To what audience do your books appeal?

I received a poor review one time on Lost loot, citing sexual content. The sexual content did not add to the story, so I removed it, along with any harsh language. All books now in my action/adventure series are considered ‘clean’, and can appeal to a wider audience.