Tell us about Second Chance Grill
Dr. Mary Chance needs a sabbatical from medicine to grieve the loss of her closest friend. But when she inherits a struggling restaurant in Liberty, Ohio she isn’t prepared for Blossom Perini. Mary can’t resist falling for the precocious preteen—or the girl’s father. The bond they forge will transform all their lives and set in motion an outpouring of love that spreads across America.

Welcome back to Liberty, where the women surrounding the town’s only restaurant are as charming as they are eccentric.

Second Chance Grill is the prequel to Treasure Me, 2012 Next Generation Indie Awards Finalist, which The Midwest Book Review calls “A riveting read for those who enjoy adventure fiction, highly recommended.”

What genre is it?
In my opinion, independent publishing is dissolving genre restrictions. My novels take elements from romance, mystery, suspense, literary—I’ll use any tactic available to tell a story in a compelling fashion.

Complete this sentence for us: If you like____________, you’ll love Second Chance Grill.
If you’re partial to movies like Steel Magnolias and books like Fried Green Tomatoes, you’ll thoroughly enjoy Second Chance Grill.

What was the most challenging – or the best – part of your creative process?
Possessing the ability to set emotion on paper. Literature connects people; it’s the closest we come to walking beneath another’s skin. I cherish every facet of the process from the moment the blank page waits for inspiration through the final edit.

Tell us a bit about yourself.
I’m zany, an adoptive mother of four, recently remarried and a happy transplant to Charleston, South Carolina. I can also be frighteningly focused, silly or contemplative. At a party, I’m the woman who loosens everyone up with a few jokes so they’ll spill their darkest secrets, which I file away in my brain for characters in future books. This does not go down well with everyone.

I’m forever asking the What if? question as I travel, glean the news or meet new people. I also read voraciously, everything from The Wall Street Journal to the latest novel that catches my eye. Once I have a compelling character, I interview him or her in the first person. In essence, I become the character and simply write out backstory on a pad. I never do this at my Mac—there’s something about writing longhand, the slower process, which allows ideas to germinate. Once I understand the main character, the plot takes shape.

Do you have a website where readers can keep up with your work? How can we follow you on Facebook and / or Twitter?
www.christinenolfi.com
@christinenolfi on Twitter
FaceBook Author Page.