We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kris Neri. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kris below.

Kris, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I received a publication offer from a medium-sized independently-owned press on my first novel, Revenge of the Gypsy Queen. The hangup was this company only published nonfiction books — my book would have been their first fiction. I agonized over the choice. They didn’t have the experience to know how to send novels out into the world, and since that was my first book, neither did I. On the other hand, they had as much to prove as I did. If I accepted a contract from a major corporation-owned press, I would have just been a number, maybe lost in their stable of authors. I took a risk on the indie-owned press. To my surprises the company’s publicist had been eager to try promoting a fiction author, and she really threw herself into the effort. So did I. Since my book would be coming out from a smaller press, I knew I had to raise my own buzz. Since the novel dealt with the kidnapping of the owner of a trendy Italian restaurant, I purchased Italian candies I liked. I sent advance word of the publication, along with some of the candies, to every bookseller, librarian, and reviewer in the country. You can’t buy buzz with some candy, but you can attract attention. Thankfully, Revenge of the Gypsy Queen held up to that scrutiny. Great reviews began going out from every major reviewer, and the wholesale orders for the book were greater than our fantasies for it. Revenge of the Gypsy Queen became a bestseller and a finalist for the major awards in the mystery field. Big risks can bring big results.

Kris, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Since readers search in niches for new reads, writers need to place their books in as many niches as possible. The mistake too many authors make is writing their books so they read far too much like others in that niche. My approach has always been to fit the niches I place my books in, but to also stand out. To bring creative new approaches to my stories to set them apart. To make them unforgettable. That’s my brand. My Tracy Eaton mysteries, which feature the daughter of eccentric Hollywood stars, aren’t forgettably whimsical, they’re laugh-out-loud funny a times and deeply heartfelt at others. That’s why Library Journal called the series, “A real treat.” and Mystery News wrote “Kris Neri and Tracy Eaton will be favorites in the mystery field for quite a long time.” The same is true for my Samantha Brennan & Annabelle Haggerty Magical Mystery series. In the paranormal realm we see too much of the same mythologies, so they all fade into the background. But my Samantha Brennan & Annabelle Haggerty Magical Series, which features a questionable psychic who teams up with a contemporary goddess hidden within the FBI, brings unique features to the paranormal niche. It’s the reason why both series have become award-magnets.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

Early on in my development as a writer, I learned that I could not only write well myself, I also possessed the ability to explain techniques and approaches to others in a way they could make use of them, even if they were absolute newbies. I enjoyed being able to help other writers, and I appreciated it as a way of paying forward those who had taught me. One day the director of an adult-ed school asked if I’d consider teaching novel writing classes, since a friend of hers, whom I’d been helping with her writing, said I was the best teacher she ever had. Honestly, I was floored! I had never even considered teaching as a path, but I accepted the opportunity. It’s become a gratifying part of my life to be able to share what I know with others. Teaching hasn’t turned into my full time career, but today I consider it of equal importance to my own writing. I now teach writing online for the prestigious Writers’ Program of the UCLA Extension School and other organizations, such as the Sisters in Crime Guppy Chapter. I also often present one-off writing workshops in person and on Zoom for a variety of writers’ organizations. I’m so glad I didn’t pass up an opportunity that’s led to a rewarding part of my life.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

It’s rewarding for me to know I can touch the lives of people I will never even meet. I can provide them with entertainment, maybe enlightenment, and give them a break from whatever struggles fill their lives. Readers have told me they appreciate the chance to follow my characters on their journeys, sharing their challenges, and experiencing with them the outcomes they’ve wanted in their lives. I hope the vision of my characters overcoming setbacks helps my readers to understand they can achieve the same in their own lives. That’s an enormously fulfilling aspect of my creative work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://krisneriauthor.wordpress.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kris.neri.7/
• Linkedin: Kris Neri
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geatAsbmb2g

Image Credits

Joe Neri