Interview With Author Nancy Christie
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been writing my whole life—well, technically, since second grade—and to date have six books to my credit: one novel, two short story collections, two books for writers, and one inspirational book.
Not that I ever thought about being an author or writing a book. As a child, I just made up stories, and then eventually began writing them down. It wasn’t until later in life that I started submitting them, with my first one published when I was 40.
Eventually, these became my first collection and second book, Traveling Left of Center and Other Stories, which came out in 2014. (My first book, The Gifts of Change, came out in 2004, and was the result of journal entries inspired by my mother’s cancer diagnosis.)
Since then, with the exception of the two books for writers—Rut-Busting Book for Writers and Rut-Busting Book for Authors—I have stuck with fiction. And with my latest book, Reinventing Rita, I have moved into novel-writing.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My debut novel, Reinventing Rita, is the story of Rita Reynolds who has to decide if being fifty means she is too old to start over and reinvent herself. (Spoiler alert: she’s not.) It’s the first in my Midlife Moxie Novel Series, stories about women facing personal and career challenges at midlife, who find their inner moxie and ultimately pursue their dreams.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’d love to say something very unique or unusual or eccentric, but after years of writing professionally as a copywriter and magazine writer, I don’t require anything special to inspire or motivate me, except for the knowledge that the writing won’t happen unless I sit down and do it.
I’ve written at all times of day (although I prefer early morning) and in a variety of places, including a hotel bathroom which was the only place where I had a working outlet.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
The first is The Writer On Her Work—Vol 1, edited by Janet Sternburg. That book made such an impression on me that I bought a second copy just in case.
Next up is Writing a Woman’s Life by Carolyn Heilbrun—a slim yet powerful study about women as writers living the writing life, despite the inherent challenges and social expectations.
The third is Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh—an incredible collection of essays about the importance of women finding their center as well as a space for contemplation and creativity and self-fulfillment.
These are by no means all the books that have influenced me as a writer and as a woman but they are top of the list and the ones I turn to when I need encouragement and direction in my own writing life.
What are you working on now?
I am finishing up revisions to my next novel, Finding Fran, and writing my third novel, Moving Maggie. Both are for my Midlife Moxie Novel Series.
I’m also revising a few short stories that will be in my fourth collection, The Language of Love.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use a combination of tools: interviews (such as this one), social media, in-person events, virtual events and blog tours, book review requests, and handouts such as bookmarks and lists of upcoming appearances that I give to everyone who wants them and even to people who didn’t ask for them but got them anyway!
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Focus on the craft first. Constantly improve yourself as a writer. Don’t be in such a hurry to publish that you turn out a substandard product. Use beta readers and editors. And have a website!!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never give up.
What are you reading now?
I just finished Ann Patchett’s This is the Story of a Happy Marriage and am now reading Seed to Dust by Marc Hamer.
What’s next for you as a writer?
More novels, more short stories, just more writing. I won’t stop writing until, well… I just won’t stop writing.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Writer On Her Work—Vol 1, Writing a Woman’s Life, and Gift from the Sea. The fourth book would be a really big blank notebook that I could write in. Oh, and some pencils!
Author Websites and Profiles
Nancy Christie’s Social Media Links