Meet Kris Neri

We were lucky to catch up with Kris Neri recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kris , so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.

To my mind there are a few components that go into building confidence and self-esteem. We need to produce something valuable, of course, and feel justifiable pride in that. But in addition to being aware of how far we’ve come, we need to be honest about what will be required to move forward. If we’re fortunate, we’ll have a mentor or mentors who’ll provide genuine feedback about our progress, confirming we should feel confident, and they’ll help us to develop the skills to accomplish more.

I was lucky. I started my writing career by writing nonfiction magazine article. Lots of magazine editors continued to give me writing assignments and helped me to progress in that field. When I decided to begin writing fiction, while there is a difference between writing articles and fiction and there was a lot to learn, my writing skills transferred over. My first anthology short story publication, a funny little story called “L.A. Justice,” went on to win the Derringer Award for that year’s Best Short Story. That gave my self-confidence as a writer a boost. Also supportive were the many readers who encouraged me to put those same characters into a novel.

After the publication of my first novel, Revenge of the Gypsy Queen, that book went on to receive three major award nominations within the mystery field, the Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity Awards for Best First Mystery Novel. That real world feedback further built my self-esteem. But here’s an honest assessment of where I’d progressed to — awards for “Best First Novel” indicated I was an exceptionally good beginning novelist, but I’d need to keep improving if I was to become a successful established author. Thankfully, my editor for Revenge of the Gypsy Queen helped me to develop the skills I’d need to make that leap.

At every turn, successes have allowed me to develop realistic self-esteem and confidence in my ability as a novelist and short story writer, and the editors who have chosen to publish my work have all helped me to continue perfecting my storytelling skills. I’m justifiably proud of what I’ve accomplished, and enormously grateful to those who have mentored me along the way.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Books and writing are my life. I write the humorous, Tracy Eaton mysteries, featuring the daughter of eccentric Hollywood stars. I also write the Samantha Brennan and Annabelle Haggerty magical series, featuring a quirky, questionable psychic who teams up with a modern goddess hidden within the FBI. And I write standalone thrillers, short stories, and women’s fiction. My writing has been honored by such prestigious awards as the Agatha, Anthony, Macavity, Derringer, Lefty, and New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards. I am a three-time Lefty Award finalist for my humor writing and a four-time winner of the New Mexico-Arizona Book Award for my own novels and books to which I’ve contributed.

I also teach writing online for the Writers’ Program of the UCLA Extension School and other organizations, such as the Sisters in Crime Guppy Chapter. And I oversee an in-person writing workshop program for the Southwest Word Fiesta in southwestern New Mexico where I live, in which I and other local prominent authors and writing instructors offer workshops on a wide variety of subjects.

My latest novel, Magical Mushrooms, is currently a finalist for the New Mexico-Arizona Book Award in the science fiction/fantasy category.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Three traits that have served me well in my writing career are persistence, dedication to improving, and giving free reign to my abundant imagination. Every writer is going to receive some rejections—that’s inevitable. Too many writers become so discouraged by them, they give up, without realizing the next editor might be the one who’ll accept their work. Rejections have just spurned me on to reaching those acceptances. As a result, at this point in my career, I’ve enjoyed so many more acceptances than the smaller number of rejections I’ve gotten. 

I’ve also always dedicated myself to improving my skills. Even now, after having had eleven novels and more than sixty short stories published in the US and overseas, I’m never complacent. I’m always striving to make myself a better writer. I never want my writing to be just good enough. I want it to be as unique, engaging, and strong as I can make it. I go for grabbing hold of the reader and not letting go.

I’ve been blessed with an amazing imagination. I happily give it free reign to reach into new territories. I try to capture in all my books and stories fresh, new plots, with original ideas and presentations, as well as allowing all my characters to speak in strong, engaging voices.

For those early on in their writing journeys, I’d like to remind them that every writer who has achieved any level of success started out exactly where they are. Whatever they dream can be achieved with persistence and hard work, and imagination and hope. I also encourage them to celebrate any level of success and encouragement they receive. If any new writer receives a personalized rejection from a literary agent that praises their work, even if that agent doesn’t take them on as a client—that’s something to celebrate. It means that writer is on the right path.

I also encourage them to keep improving. Work with a strong writers group. Read writing books. Take classes. Attend writing conferences. And especially, to put their strongest, most engaging ideas on the page in the best way possible. It’s not an overnight journey, but it is achievable.

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?

There hasn’t been one single person. There have been so many. Every editor and publisher I’ve had—and there have been a number of them—has contributed to my improved writing, promotional opportunities, and commercial success. Every time an editor has shot down one of my ideas, it has led me to finding a better way to handle whatever writing challenge was in question. All of my novels and many of my short stories are considerably better because of the ideas and challenges that came from my editors.

They’ve also contributed good promotional ideas. My first publicist had the idea of creating a recipe card for a dish just mentioned in the novel during a dinner scene the characters shared. I’ve made sure I always mention dishes in all the novels I’ve written since, and I’ve created recipe cards, which also contain book reviews, for all of them.

My publishers have always aided the success of my books however they can, such as taking out ads for my books in conference programs, especially when one of my books has been up for an award.

I do want to heap praise the members of my current writers group by names. They are authors Alethea Eason, E.J. Randolph, and Kate Rauner. Their advice and encouragement has always been invaluable.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Credit: Joe Neri

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