Kristina Rienzi
Kristina Rienzi
Kristina Rienzi is a Jersey Shore suspense author, and the President of Sisters in Crime-Central Jersey. A dreamer and hopeful future Oahu resident, Kristina encourages others to embrace the unknown through her writing. When she's not writing, Kristina is sipping delicious wine, spoiling her pups, watching The Twilight Zone, singing (and dancing) to Yacht Rock Radio or rooting for the West Virginia Mountaineers. She believes in all things paranormal, a closet full of designer bags, manicures, the Law of Attraction, aliens, angels, and the value of a graduate degree in psychology.
Marina Raydun: Why do you write?
Kristina Rienzi: Simply put, writing brings me joy, and the silence I need as an INFJ. Yes, I masquerade as an extrovert. But in those dark places, it’s all about my alone time. On a deeper level, it gives me the liberty to force growth in my characters, and hopefully in my readers, too.
MR: Is being a writer a gift or a curse?
KR: It’s absolutely a gift! Stories give us a unique perspective on this journey we call life. I’m so grateful to be able to share mine with the world.
MR: How did publishing your first book change your writing process?
KR: To start, getting professionally edited gave me a crash course in craft. It changed the way I wrote all of my future books. Pre-editing became part of my process…and so did plotting. After publishing CHOOSING EVIL with Frost Books Group, I graduated from writer to author and one published book wasn’t good enough anymore. I needed to write more. Publishing a book metamorphosed from a goal to a lifestyle and a career path.
MR: If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
KR: Study the craft, then write as much as you can, as often as you can. Writing a novel would have gone much smoother for me the first time around if I didn’t let life get in the way for so many years.
MR: What do you owe real life people upon whom you base your characters?
KR: Fortunately, I don’t have to worry about this because I don’t base my characters on real people. It conveniently saves me the trouble of explaining myself to family and friends!
MR: What’s the most difficult part about writing characters from the opposite sex?
KR: Actually, I find it much easier to write men than women. I’m not sure why, but I seem to get into my male characters’ psyche much easier. I’m a glitter-loving, high-heel wearing, girly-girl on the outside. However, my personality tends toward more masculine traits. I’m sure that has something to do with it.
MR: How do you select names of your characters?
KR: My main characters come to me with a name. However, there are some ground rules. I try to mix up the alphabet in the story, and only use a name once between stories. It can get confusing fast, and I like to keep the details simple so readers can focus on the story.
MR: What’s the best and worst book review you’ve ever received?
KR: Yikes. Not sure. I try not to read reviews. I don’t want to get too excited, or too upset. I want to keep writing, after all!
MR: What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?
KR: Too many to name! But, one in particular is not only one of my best friends and soul sisters, but a truly inspiring person: Christine Clemetson, psychological thriller author. Christine encourages me, joins me on my writing adventures (from meetings to road trips to conferences), and talks story with me whenever she has the chance. We write with a Twitter group most mornings (@5amwritersclub) and check in on Twitter with its hashtag of the same name - #5amwritersclub. Discipline makes all the difference. Having an accountability partner you admire is key to persevering through all of the ups and downs in this business. Writing friends are life!
MR: If you could cast your characters in a Hollywood adaption of one of your books, who would play your characters?
KR: All writers think of this, don’t we? Well, for my latest book (not yet published), AMONG US---a government conspiracy thriller pitting a conflicted English Professor against a clandestine security agency ---Jennifer Lawrence is my perfect heroine, Marci Simon. Jennifer could easily transform from a conservative educator to a fierce bada** on a mission to expose the truth, or die trying. Pierce Austin, the security agent after Marci, must be Ian Somerhalder. He has perfected the art of being a mysterious and manipulative, yet likeable, adversary. They’d be perfect in the push/pull of conflict in AMONG US.
Connect with Kristina here:
· Website http://kristinarienzi.com
· VIP Newsletter http://bit.ly/RienziVIP
· Facebook http://bit.ly/RienziFB
· Rebels Reader Group http://bit.ly/RienziRebels
· Twitter & Instagram @KristinaRienzi
· YouTube http://bit.ly/RienziYouTube
· Amazon http://bit.ly/RienziAmazon
· Goodreads http://bit.ly/goodreads-krienzi