by Kris Neri with the Femmes Fatales
My friend, Greg Lilly, author of Stray, has posed fifteen questions for me today:
GL: When did you become interested in writing?
KN: I’ve written most of my life, somewhat seriously since high school in the sense that I wrote pieces for literary journals. The idea that I could follow it as a profession didn’t occur to me until before midlife, when I began writing articles for magazines. That was a great time for article writing. There were so many magazines published then, they contained a great deal of content, and they paid well for material. I wish I’d started it sooner.
GL: What did you read as a child?
KN: My favorite books as a child were the Nancy Drew mysteries. Less for the mysteries, than for the image they projected of a strong, independent girl. I led a very restricted life, except in my imagination, and I so admired Nancy’s take-charge spirit. My parents believed women should be submissive, and they already considered me too rebellious. If they’d ever read the Nancy Drew books they bought for me, they would never have allowed me to read them. Thankfully, that didn’t happen, and I just grew more independent and rebellious.
GL: Who are your literary heroes?
KN: Oh, gosh—where to begin? When I was in college and a drama major, I read plays. My all-time favorites were Henrik Ibsen, Noel Coward, and Oscar Wilde. When I started writing novels, though I hadn’t read plays in years, I reread all those favorites and many others, and through them I learned how a narration plays out, how we stage stories, how we make use of drama, and so much more. From there I read mystery classics, such as Agatha Christie, and then the authors published before I was, such as Marcia Muller and Sue Grafton. Today, I love Joshilyn Jackson and Sarah Allison Allen. I’ve learned from them and countless others. The ones I’ve named are only a fraction of those I’ve admired, however.
GL: When did you first decide to write a full-length novel? What was it? Did it get published?
KN: After writing articles for years, I decided to take a stab at writing fiction. But I started with short stories, since I was accustomed to the short form. I’d had some stories published in small magazines, when I had a chance to get a story published in an anthology. That was when my characters, eccentric Tracy Eaton and her reality-challenged mother, movie star Martha Collins, walked onto the page. I put them into a story called, “L.A. Justice,” which not only made it into the Murder by Thirteen anthology, it went on to win the Derringer Award for Best Short Story in the year it was published.
Readers loved those characters, and loads of people kept encouraging me to put them into a novel. Naturally, I followed that advice and wrote my first novel, Revenge of the Gypsy Queen. At that time, I’d had quite a few stories accepted by a magazine called Futures, and became friendly with the editor, Babs Lakey. Babs had heard and shared that a mid-sized publishing company, Rainbow Books, which had previously only published nonfiction books, but which were now looking for novels. I submitted Revenge of the Gypsy Queen to the editor, and she made an offer on it within days. I got so lucky with that book! Not merely because it found a home fast, but because there were still mystery bookstores all over the country then. Most of them carried my novel and hand-sold it, and that book went on to garner Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity Award nominations for Best First Mystery.
GL: You write and edit and teach, how do these different aspects support you--creatively, emotionally, professionally--as a writer?
KN: I find them all so rewarding, and as long as I keep them in balance, I want to keep doing all of them. I have at times over-scheduled classes and editing to the detriment of my own writing. I’ve learned I can’t let that happen. We always have to fill our own wells, or we can’t offer anything to anyone else. But anyone who has ever taught anything will tell you that when you teach, you learn as much as your students. I can’t tell you how many times, after spending considerable time explaining to students how particular approaches will improve their novels-in-progress, I realize I need to take that advice myself! Also, sometimes a student’s or writing client’s question will open an unexpected line of thought that benefits me.
GL: You are an editor and, as a writer, you work with editors. Which side of the fence is easiest for you?
KN: It’s definitely easier being an editor than having one! When you are the editor, you’re not the person who has to rewrite the novel, and find ways to answer the issues the editor has raised. At this point in my career, I’ve had so many editors. I’ve learned from absolutely all of them. I will always be grateful for their guidance and insights. Each one has made me a better writer. As an editor, I hope I’ve done as much for the writers I’ve edited. I find it rewarding to help other writers achieve their visions for their novels.
GL: How do you describe yourself and your books in one sentence? Okay, if not one sentence, three?
KN: Kris Neri writes novels, told with warmth and humor, which take engaging characters to unexpected places. She has a particular fondness for quirky characters that walk unique, independent paths. She’s continually surprised by what her characters will do.
GL: What would your "shelf talker" in a bookstore be? "If you like _____ you'll love Kris Neri." And why?
If “quirky, humorous fiction” was inserted in that blank, I’d be thrilled.
GL: Your Tracy Eaton Mysteries and Samantha Brennan & Annabelle Haggerty mysteries are award nominated/winning books. What inspired you to write Hopscotch Life?
KN: Because I was a bookseller for the ten years we owned The Well Red Coyote bookstore in Sedona, AZ, I read much more general fiction during that time than the mystery or fantasy fiction I’d read more of earlier. I’d always had a love for quirky female protagonists, and I also found so many I came to love in general fiction. I’ve also always loved variety in writing, which is why I haven’t limited myself to writing one series in one genre, as many writers do. So, I wanted the experience of writing an entirely different kind of novel than I have before. It’s been such a rewarding experience. It won’t be the last general fiction novel I write, but I also won’t give up on mysteries and fantasies either.
GL: What characteristics of Plum Tardy are modeled after you?
KN: I can be kind of offbeat and out of synch with more conventional people. I’m not sure if others notice that, but I know it. I’m not someone who mis-quotes proverbs as Plum does, but I find it funny that she does. I’ve probably made some hopscotch moves, too, But none of the circumstances of Plum’s life have happened in mine.
GL: What other characters hold some part of Kris in them?
KN: I suppose there’s some of me in all of my characters. We know ourselves better than anyone else, so it’s only natural that writers use some part of themselves in their characters. Tracy Eaton’s spirit probably reflects my own, but I don’t make her wacky choices. The same could be said about Samantha Brennan’s outlook, although I sure don’t share her eccentric wardrobe. Sadly, though Annabelle Haggerty probably reflects my own sense of responsibility, unlike her, I’m not really a goddess. Honestly, if I had Annabelle’s powers, I’d abuse them.
GL: The book makes readers want to live in Applewood, Arizona. How did you create an engaging town?
KN: Since Plum had lived her entire life in a little corner of Southern California, and really never considered living anywhere else, I thought about what she would have to find in another place to make her want to change her entire life and stay there. It was so fun imagining what the town looked like, along with the stores, restaurants and bars it contained, and its general spirit. Mostly, though, it was the people Plum encountered that made the town feel like home for her. Through routine shopping she met Jake, who felt more like a father to her than anyone she’d met since her own father died. Through Flo, the bookseller, she came to inhabit the apartment that felt so safe and homey to her. Through Brian, her old high school crush, she came to see the town through his eyes and appreciate all it had given him. On and on it went. Whatever Plum experienced in Applewood, invariably filled some deep need within her. I loved sharing her experiences vicariously—writing about Applewood was like vacationing in a place that also felt like such a special place to me.
GL: Each character has many facets, and the reader's opinions of them change as the story unfolds. What insights did you gain as you wrote and developed the characters?
KN: I came to see that people who initially might seem off-putting, might have so much more to offer if we simply look past their surface behaviors. Such as Flo, the Applewood bookseller, who generously offers Plum a place to stay, but who also sometimes comes across as prickly and cold. Once you understand what she’s suffered and know why she behaves as she does, it’s easier to understand that she’s broken and trying to keep herself from being hurt any further. The same is true for Gil and Hannah Russell, who can seem snobbish and entitled. But I had to balance the way they acted with the crushing losses they’d also suffered. I not only came to see these characters in a more caring way, which allowed them to blossom in new ways, I think seeing how some of these characters evolved made me more generous with the difficult people I encountered in my own life. Now, I try to see the heart that exists beneath the hurt.
GL: What has you excited about the publishing world?
KN: I love that there are good independent presses, like Cherokee McGhee Publishing, which encourage creativity and originality. So many of the books being put out by large presses now are reprints of old books by bestselling authors with new covers. Just as with independent films, it’s the independents that blaze new territories, and that’s exciting.
GL: What's next for your writing career?
KN: I’m about 25% into another magical novel, tentatively called MAGICAL MUSHROOMS, and that’s always the point when a book begins taking off for me. But if another totally unexpected storyline idea takes hold of me, who can say where that would lead me?
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