Interview with Kris Pearson

Welcome, Kris, please tell us a little bit about you.

Kris Pearson – my real name. Later this year I’ll be launching into cozy mysteries as Kristy Klewes. And for the weirdest of reasons, I’m also Kerri Peach. Kerri came about when I approached a translation/publishing service in China to see if they’d be interested in my books. Yes they were, but they wanted the love scenes removed! Well, I gave it a go. (Sexy romances, remember.) I completely re-wrote five and sent them off. The translation process has been real fun - I suspect I’ve been helping the translators refine their English in return for them translating my books into Cantonese because some of the questions from them have been really interesting. The first one is now on sale in Taiwan and the others will follow. Quite a number of romance authors also put out a sweeter version of their books, so this is what I’ve done in English with Kerri Peach. However, they were really only intended for China so I don’t promote them.

Tell us about your latest novel or project:

It’s the third in the Scarlet Bay Romance series. Hard to Regret, Hard to Resist, and now Hard to Handle. It’s a series set around the same family, so I made certain to have plenty of brothers and sisters and cousins I could drag into it. To my surprise a lot of current social issues have emerged as well, and this has given them a different flavour to all my other books.

What got you started writing?

I was just one of those kids who wrote things. Book reviews which I read on the children’s section of the local radio station (when there was such a thing!) Became an advertising copywriter - first of all on the same radio station - and then at a series of ad agencies before becoming a retail ad manager for a chain of furnishing stores. After I stopped writing for money, I started writing for pleasure - and, as it turned out, more money.

What challenges did you face when you first started writing?

I chose Mills and Boon because you didn’t need an agent to submit work to them. And with my commercial background I could see they were impressively businesslike. This was back when you had to submit three chapters and a synopsis of the rest of the book by airmail. I spent so much on postage! The work went into their famous slush pile, and it was always months before anyone heard anything back. They were wonderful – they always complimented my writing, always wanted to see the rest of the book, made suggestions for revisions, and then when I’d done that, always turned it down! I had no idea how kind they were being to me because so many people I knew never made it past the first hurdle.

Do you ever get the opportunity to travel for your writing? Either to market or to research.

Not specifically, but I have definitely used pieces of past travel in the books. A holiday to new Caledonia etc.

Who in your life is your greatest cheerleader or support in your writing?

Well, he doesn’t cheer a lot, but he’s very supportive. My incredibly patient husband, Philip, who is always willing to help untangle the computer when I mess up, and we have a lot of fun together designing stuff. However, he doesn’t read what I write, although he is happy to devour truck magazines and photography magazines. I’d have to say my big support comes from Romance Writers of New Zealand - a great organisation which I was membership secretary for, for several years. Philip and I still enjoy putting their electronic short story contest magazine together each year.

What is it like writing in New Zealand that would be different if you lived anywhere else?

These days, not much. I regularly exchange emails with writers all over the world. Of course we have our brilliant scenery here to incorporate into the stories if we want to. My covers are always half New Zealand scenery.

Where do you get your ideas? Is there anything about New Zealand that has inspired you to write?

I like being accurate. I know what goes on here. I have written two sheikh novels and had to do a reasonable amount of research for those, although memories of a trip to Egypt were definitely helpful. If anyone spies on my computer they might come to the conclusion I have ambitions to be a terrorist because I have investigated weapons and Middle Eastern clothing and suchlike! Mind you, a lot of us discuss things like the best way to kill someone, how to get away with crimes and so on. All in the cause of a better book.

I tend to get my ideas from locations. I’ll go somewhere and think ‘I wonder what could happen here?’ And away I go. I grew up in Hawkes Bay, but have lived in Wellington all my adult life and both of these locations feature in my books. Scarlet Bay doesn’t quite exist, but really it’s any small New Zealand beach settlement.

Why do you think readers are fascinated by books written about New Zealand?

Comments I get consider New Zealand to be exotic. And I guess it is compared to the Corn Belt of America for instance. We’re in the South Pacific, we are very beachy, and these days we are very fashionable. Peter Jackson’s movies and assorted other business ventures have really brought us to the world’s notice.

Who is your favourite New Zealand author and why?

So many are my friends that I’m not willing to choose one!

What advice would you give for other writers in New Zealand?

Do it. You can say you are ‘going to write a book’ or you can write the book. Only the second one counts

Do you get to network or meet up with other New Zealand authors?

Yes, RWNZ have a wonderful annual conference, always with expert overseas speakers. These days we have no trouble attracting really famous people. We are the destination of choice for many tourists, and if top authors and editors can get their airfares and accommodation covered, they are very willing to share their knowledge with us. On a local level, we have a noisy and most enjoyable meeting every month.

What was the first thing you did after your first book was published?

Nothing that I can remember. I was very, very lucky with my timing. Having not quite made it with Mills and Boon, I found I had a selection of well edited books ready to go just when indie publishing became possible. By this I mean I published them myself on Amazon and Smashwords, and soon found I was running every aspect of a small global company with sales all over the world. I loved it! I had total control and could do exactly what I liked. I said I was lucky with my timing - I had half a dozen books ready to go, and they were good enough books that sales of one led on through the rest. Also I was one of the early people to make one free. More than two million copies of The Boat Builder’s Bed flew off the virtual shelves in just a few weeks, and that launched all my others. I even got a mention in The Guardian for that… However, these were e-books, so no book launch or publishing party. Once I found they were really moving, I bought my husband a new van. I guess that was the first celebration.

Do you read your book reviews? How do you handle the good and the bad ones?

I mostly don’t read them. I’m grateful for the good ones, and sometimes get a real laugh out of the bad ones. There aren’t too many bad ones, but it’s obvious that some people choose books unwisely. Why would they read something described as ‘a sexy beach romance’ and then complain that it contains sex? Maybe they’re just moral crusaders who like to spread their opinion about. I once found one that said I wasn’t a New Zealander, and that the beach didn’t exist. It was Pukerua Bay actually. I have a friend with a house there, and stole it for the story. Reviewers can say whatever they like and authors have no comeback, but as long as the books keep selling that’s all that matters

It seems like everything has Easter Eggs (surprise reference to your other work) do you have any Easter Eggs in your books?

No – Easter Eggs are a rather nasty little device to bump up the numbers of pages in your books. Amazon pays some authors for the number of pages read, so if other books are hidden inside then more pages are read. They’ve really cracked down on this, thank heavens. However, at the back of every one of my books is a list of all the others I’ve written, and this is absolutely good business practice for any author these days.

How long does it take you to write a book? Do you have any secrets to productivity?

Right now I’m producing very slowly because I’ve been sidetracked onto the cozy mysteries. I literally have three books partly written at the moment. I can only say that sometimes they go fast, and sometimes they hang around for ever.

Where did you get the idea for your first or latest book?

From my friend with the house in Pukerua Bay! She doesn’t want to write it, but thought I might like to…

Do you have any writing rituals?

Nope. Sit and do it whenever possible. Get the emails out of the way first.

What is your best experience meeting a fan?

I haven’t met these two face to face, but I have two elderly ladies in America who send me wonderful letters and are always trying to encourage the next book out of me. I’d love to meet them – one’s in Louisiana and one’s in South Cal.

How important do you think marketing is for authors today?

It’s everything, unfortunately. Really good books don’t sell as well as they should if they’re not marketed properly. Utter rubbish flies up the bestseller lists because of the publicity it sometimes gets.

Do you have any book you have written that won’t ever see the light of day and why?

The first two I wrote. I was learning. I love them both, but even with a heap more work they wouldn’t be good enough to please me. These days anyone can slam something out for sale as long as their mother says it’s good. Yeah… those are the ones that mostly don’t go anywhere. Writing is a trade. You need to serve your apprenticeship. This is probably why I was more successful than I expected to be, and why I know people who are bemoaning the fact that they haven’t sold more than half a dozen books after months of trying.

What quirk or trope of your genre do you like or dislike?

Not keen on billionaires buying virgins to despoil.

Often writers get to approach some serious subjects. Which serious subject are you most proud to have written about or was the hardest to write about?

I said the Scarlet Bay series contained a number of social issues. Rape, forced adoption, alcoholism, father-son rivalry, child support, farm succession, pressure on daughters to obey parents, domestic violence, racism, bullying… they’re all in there, but in small ways because these are basically happy romances. But they’re also ‘real’ books, and need to touch on real-life issues to be the sort of books I want to write. I think the forced adoption was hardest. I had a friend who went through that and it has obviously stuck with me.

Thank you for sharing some of your story.