We’re looking forward to introducing you to Kris Neri. Check out our conversation below.
Kris, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
It’s crunch time for me right now. I’m rushing to finish my next novel before a deadline that’s coming up too fast. I also have to make sure my online writing classes are ready for teaching in early January. Yet while I am quite busy, I have made time for an incredible joy that’s come into my life. My husband and I have welcomed a young, eleven-month-old pup named Jack into our home. Jack is a chihuahua-dachshund-who-knows-what-mix. We lost two beloved dogs this year, and that’s been heartbreaking. They definitely take pieces of our hearts when they go. But when we invite a new pet into our lives, they give us their whole hearts, and that helps to fill us up. Even though I love my duel careers of writer and writing instructor, and this is a busy time of the year for me, I’m happy to let into my life this bundle of joyous energy and boundless love.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Being a novelist and short story writer has to be one of the most engaging careers I could have imagined having. I get to live, not merely my own life, but also the lives of all the characters I create. I get to take them through their triumphs and tragedies, their challenges, through the uncertainties that lead them to profound new directions. Because I crave variety in my writing. I write the humorous Tracy Eaton mysteries, featuring the daughter of eccentric Hollywood stars, along with taut, spellbinding thrillers. And the funny Samantha Brennan and Annabelle Haggerty Magical Mysteries, which feature a questionable psychic who teams up with a contemporary goddess hidden within the FBI, who fight the baddies of both our world and other worlds far more dangerous than we can imagine. I’ve also written my first women’s fiction novel, the award-winning Hopscotch Life, featuring quirky protagonist Plum Tardy. My novels and stories have been absolute award-magnets, having been honored by many. That’s incredibly rewarding, but it’s the work that keeps me coming back to the page.
My current novel in progress is a supernatural thriller called Where the Rocks Bleed Red, which is set in the red rock country of Sedona, Arizona, where I spent a good part of my life. My husband and I owned a bookstore there for a long time.
But I’m not only a writer and a former bookseller. Another part of my career is teaching writing. I teach online for the Writers’ Program of the UCLA Extension School, as well as other organizations. I find it equally gratifying to share the knowledge I’ve garnered with newer writers coming up. It’s rewarding to help a promising new writer build the confidence and skills to take them to the next level. It’s also my way of paying back the experienced writers who shared with me when I was new.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
Teachers always saw something in me that I didn’t yet see in myself. Both in high school and college, teachers told me I had an exceptional writing ability, and that I should pursue it. Although I didn’t plan to pursue it, I actually always wrote. Even before I learned to read, I essentially wrote. I used to make up stories about the pictures I found in the Sunday comic strips and “read” them to our family dog–my stories probably weren’t anything like what was written in those comics, but they were definitely all imaginative! Later, in my teen years, I always wrote for small journals of independent newspapers, though it never occurred to me that it would be something I could seriously pursue or that I possessed an exceptional ability.
Years later, when I began to write articles and opinion pieces for magazines, editors also spotted something worth encouraging in me. They came to know that I could be counted on to consistently turn in a well-crafted piece on-time, and that made them offer me assignments.
The direction I’ve received from other professionals is why I teach, and sometimes edit, myself. Showing others a light within themselves that they haven’t yet acknowledged is like mining gold.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
Every writer will receive rejections. Some are kind and even encouraging, most are indifferent, and a few are outright mean. As a new writer, I was too sensitive. I wish I could have toughened up sooner The meaner ones would hobble me. If I could tell myself one kind thing, it would be, “You’re stronger than you think you are. You have the stuff in you to rise above life’s petty tyrannies and to triumph, and it will happen.”
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
Although I often employ humor in my writing, there are some things I take very seriously. One that my closest friends would say is of great importance to me is the concept of justice. Most of us need to know that right will prevail in this world. We need to know the principle of karma is real. I believe that’s one reason why mystery novels and tv dramas are so popular. Because we find it satisfying to see justice being served, even if it’s in fictional forms. We need to experience right winning. Unfortunately, in the real world, bad things do happen to good people. Justice sometimes seems to lose its way, and that hurts in a very profound and personal way, even if we’re not the victims. It’s worse when we are. I subscribe to an old adage: The wheels of justice grind exceedingly slow, but they grind exceedingly fine. Ultimately, it matters to me that right will have its day.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I hope they say I was an excellent storyteller with an engaging imagination. I’d also like to know they’d say I cared about other people, treating them with kindness and compassion.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://krisneriauthor.wordpress.com
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kris-neri-a245a213/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kris.neri.7/
- Other: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/krisneri.bsky.social
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