BooksChatter: ℚ♫ Blind Chess: The Neve & Egan Cases [4]

Today we have the pleasure of meeting up with author Cristelle Comby to talk about Blind Chess (1 November 2015, Cristelle Comby, 154 pages), a New Adult Mystery & Detective novel, book four of The Neve & Egan Cases series.

Author Q&A | Synopsis | Teaser | The Series | About the Author | Giveaway & Tour Stops

Hello Cristelle, welcome to BooksChatter.

To start, do you have a music playlist that you used in Blind Chess, or which inspired you whilst you were writing it?

"I listen to a lot of music; it’s an important part of my life. I have a lot of rock CDs, some metal too. I’m a huge Rammstein fan, love me some Metallica, or Linkin Park, Evanescence, Nightwish, Apocalyptica, Muse, ACDC, Led Zep, and tons more. I also have a soft spot for Adele, she just has the most amazing voice.

When it comes to writing though, I only listen to instrumental music at a low volume -- having something with lyrics on is too distracting. Seeing how I hate classical music, I’ve turned to movies soundtracks. I have a folder full of them on my computer.

My favourite composer is Hans Zimmer. Probably 80% of the soundtracks I have are from him. Below is my top five."

The first thing that draws me to a book is its cover. Can you tell us about your cover for Blind Chess - why you chose that concept and who the artist is.

"For the whole of the Neve & Egan series, I wanted to do something simple yet dynamic, with a retro-feel to it.

I’ve done each cover myself with Photoshop (I’ve been using it for the past ten years or so). The only thing that I had to subcontract was the CGI heart for book two. All the other elements come from photographs which I took.

For the background, I started with several layers of textures, like jeans and leather. Because one of my main characters is blind, I wanted a background that looked like you could touch it. Then there’s the Union Jack, the UK flag, because all the stories are set in London. And then, on each cover, one element which summarizes the book, and of course the title and my name."

Why should we read Blind Chess and The Neve & Egan Cases series; what sets it apart from the rest?

"The Neve & Egan cases follows to PI in London, Alexandra Neve & Ashford Egan. He used to be a university professor, she was his student. What sets them apart from the rest is that Egan is blind… a blind private investigator. The two of them find a way to make it work, and Egan grows throughout the pages, shines even.

The books carry a very important message to me. That everyone deserves a chance at life, that everyone can accomplish great things."

Can you tell us something quirky about Blind Chess, its story and characters?

"Their names play on the theme of fire vs ice (which is one of the themes in book one). Neve’s the fiery one, she’s half-Italian, impulsive, action prone. Egan’s more collected, a thinker. Only their names are the opposite of their personalities. Neve is the Italian word for snow, and Egan is a traditional Irish name that means fiery, ardent."

Who would you recommend The Neve & Egan Cases series to and what should readers be aware of (any warnings or disclaimers)?

"The series’ not for kids (the third book’s darker), but anyone over fifteen should be fine. Technically, it’s labelled as “New-Adult” but anyone who likes a cosy mystery should enjoy it."

If you could / wished to turn Blind Chess and the The Neve & Egan Cases series into a movie, who would be your dream team?

"I don’t know how well the stories would translate onto the screen. It’s written in the first person POV and that’s always hard to transpose on TV (unless you had a lot of voice over). I don’t have the faintest idea about director, but I wouldn’t mind having the creative team behind Sherlock :)"

What is in store next?

"This book was the last of the Neve & Egan cases for a while. It’s all I’ve been doing for the past three year and I need a break. I’m currently working on a new series… different genre, different city, different characters -- it’s a great breath of fresh air to me."

Thank you again for chatting to us today, and we look forward to your future releases.