The title of your fourth book is “Chimera“, what does it mean?
Xenia: It actually has more than one meaning; according to Greek mythology Chimera is a monstrous fire-spewing creature with the head of a lioness, a neck of a goat´s head, and a snake´s head as a tail. The other meaning concerns genetics; Chimera is the ability of an organism to have different DNA-coding.

So... which definition concerns your book?
Xenia: Well, its definitley not the first! Seeing as my book is a Thriller in today´s world...

What´s the book about?
Xenia: Basically, Anne´s almost ex-husband, Alex van Veld, is brutally murdered. Unsurprisingly Anne is immediately suspected by the police, especially seeing as she has no alibi and plenty of motive. Despite her mixed feelings concerning Alex´s death, Anne hires a private dectective. Together with Bart (the P.I.) Anne trys to figure out who killed Alex, and why. During their investigation, things take a turn for the unexpected; Anne finds herself being threatened by a mysterious person, and she discovers that her late soon-to-be ex-husband´s life was full of secrets and seemingly odd-coincidences. However, he is obviously not the only one with two faces....

Howcome, after writing two chick-lit novels and a book about „letting go“, you now decided to write a thriller?
Xenia: I wanted to write something different. Alongside that, I´ve always been and still am a huge fan of thrillers! Whether it´s my Sunday-night ritual of watching the German TV-show „Tatort“, a book by Peter James, Stieg Larson, Saskia Noort, Simone van der Vlugt, Esther Verhoef, Jussi Adler-Olsen or Ingrid Noll, I devour them and simply cannot get enough! So as you can see, thriller, crime, suspense, has always interested me (in books and TV shows). The idea of writing a book based on Chimera came from an article I read in a newspaper about a department store robbery in which identical twins were arrested. The evidence that the police had was enough to convict one of the twins, however due to the fact that they had identical DNA, the police couldn´t prove which of the two had actually commited the crime, and in the end both were set free! This article fascinated me, and after a bit of research I discovered Chimera.

Which genre is more fun to write, Chick-lit or Thiller?
Xenia: They´re both fun. It just depends on when you write them and how interested you are in them. Being dedicated and enjoying the writing process is key, no matter what genre. My next novel will be a Thriller again, I´ve already developed the plot and reckon that I´ll start writing in May. But who knows, maybe I´ll write another Chick-lit after that, I have already come up with some new ideas.

With more than 300 pages, „Chimera“ is a thick book, when did you find the time to write it?
Xenia: Last year I was lucky enough to be able to go back-and-forth between my home in Holland and my house in Spain. I always write in Spain and because I was able to go there for 3-4 weeks at a time, I had the opportunity to delve into the material and really develop and research my ideas. To actually sit down and write „Chimera“ was even more fun!

So, why should we buy the book?
Xenia: For those who like page-turners, exciting and intense books, as well as thrillers, it´s a perfect fit. The people that have read the manuscript didn´t know who the killer was until practically the end of book (they kept guessing wrong!), and I take that as a good sign. They´ve all told me that its well-written, exciting and intense; the perfect book for a Sunday on the couch or for tanning by the pool –that´s a good reason, don´t you think?