Interview with Kris Pearson, author of Resisting Nick
Tell us about Resisting Nick Resisting Nick came about because of a boy I had a hopeless crush on as a teenager. We never so much as exchanged a word, and he was several years older than me and a real bad boy. He obviously burrowed into my brain and stayed there. I even pinched part of his name! I often wondered what had happened to him, so one day I started inventing his future. I gave him a girl called Sammie (who is definitely not me, although she grew up in a similar small town.) And then I added some angst and problems to pull them together and drive them apart. And an eventual happy ending of course, because this is a romance after all. It’s set in New Zealand, because that’s where I’m from. And there’s a trip to Australia, and one to a country in Europe which I won’t name here because that would be a real spoiler. What genre is it? Did you say it is a romance? What kind of readers will it appeal to? Resisting Nick is not all plain sailing for my main characters, but it’s not emotion-drenched like a lot of romances. Complete this sentence for us: If you like ___________, you’ll love Resisting Nick. You are a reasonably prolific writer. If someone had never read a Kris Pearson before, where would you advise them to start and why? When we were chatting before the interview, you mentioned in passing that your book was “hardly Fifty Shades” (in terms of sexual content). We’re not asking you to criticise a fellow writer, of course, but do you think it is possible to go too far? Ooops – I need to be careful what I say, because my book Out of Bounds has a thread of incest running through it… In our pre-interview chat, you also mentioned how well sales of your books are going. Obviously, it helps that you write good books, but what are your other secrets of success? Having said that, I’m experimenting with a cover for an upcoming book about a group of romance writers. It’s a comedy – quite different from my others so far – and I want to get more than one couple onto the cover because there are three main couples in the book, and several other hopeful characters as well. That’s proving to be a challenge. It’s called The Bonk Squad. I’m a bit worried people outside New Zealand won’t know what ‘Bonk’ means…. That’s where having another cover that identifies the book as obviously one of mine will be valuable. Hmm – what else? Good catchy blurbs that hook prospective readers. Spending enough time and money on promo to get a bit of attention, but not so much that there’s no time to write the next book. Making friends! I think that’s really important. Making friends with other writers, because you never know where unexpected opportunities come from. Turning your readers into friends so they’re looking forward to the next book and wanting to buy it. I’m in constant touch with people around the world now, swapping stories, gathering news, sounding out possibilities. Writing a book is never easy, but other than that, what has been the toughest part – editing or marketing? And a book is not a finite thing. It’s possible to alter characters’ motivations, change the story threads, and make things go in whole new directions when you edit it. Nick had his first 12,000 words chopped off, which made a huge difference to how the story unfolded. So no – I don’t find editing hard. Having said that, I have a long career in advertising behind me, and I’ve always proofread my own writing, and been used to taking responsibility for the finished product. You wrote your autobiography at age 12. Do you remember what was in it? And can you fill us in on what you’ve been up to since then? And since then? Worked in radio in New Zealand…saved enough money to spend a term at the University for Foreigners in Perugia, Italy, and a summer in London. Married a man I met when we were working together in TV once I was back home again. Copywriter for several ad agencies, and then retail ad manager for a chain of furnishing stores. Keen gardener. Current membership secretary for Romance Writers of New Zealand. Still married to the same lovely man. Books pouring out of my fingertips. Have you got a site where readers can keep up with your work? Do you use social media? Social media is not my thing. I don’t Twitter, and I only occasionally put messages on Facebook. I get sick of other people bombarding me, and don’t want to annoy them in return. And anyway, I need the time for writing. Where can we buy Resisting Nick? Through Smashwords for other e-readers. And only $2.99. What a steal. What’s next? |
Hmmm sounds interesting
Great Interview Kris.
Way to go Kris!!
HimKris for so,e reason on my iPad the interview is cut off. I loved the Boat Builder’s Bed
I can’t believe how many books you have soon to be published! What’s the writer’s equivalent of green fingers?!
I can’t believe how many books we have to look forward to! What’s the writer’s equivalent of green fingers?!
So productive! And love the background to this story.
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