Meet the author of TREASURE ME, Christine Nolfi and a Giveaway!

Today we will be meeting Christine Nolfi, the author of TREASURE ME!

When did you decide to become a writer?

I can’t recall a time when I didn’t write. Poems. Short stories. Later, novels. After college I owned a small public relations firm but was always moving toward the day when I’d write novels. In 2004, I began writing fiction full-time.

        

Like all writers, the journey began with an insatiable hunger to read. During childhood I used to wander through libraries drawing my fingertips across the spines of books. I felt like I was touching other souls, reaching into other lives I would only know through their words.

What kind of books do you write?

Treasure Me is the first book of the Liberty, Ohio series. The entire series is a contemporary blend of mystery, comedy and romance with the mysteries drawn from U.S. history.

The story of Justice Postell, the freed slave from South Carolina featured in Treasure Me, is a major plot point in several of the books. Justice left behind more than a diary and several bags of rubies! Readers will learn that all of the women surrounding The Second Chance Grill have links to American history all the way back to the Revolutionary War. But don’t make me give away all my secrets. I’d rather let readers discover the fun on their own.

I’ve also written several dramatic, stand-alone novels that will soon be released. The Tree of Everlasting Knowledge will appear on Amazon in August.

Do you write in just one genre and, if so, what made you choose that genre?

An editor in New York once described my novels as, “women’s fiction bordering on literary.” Some people view the Liberty books as romantic comedies. Or light mysteries. In reality, I think I write genre-blended books. I dislike the genre label, preferring instead to approach each work as a great story waiting to be told.

What other books have you published so far and what are they about?

The next book in the Liberty series, Second Chance Grill, will appear on Amazon in late August. It’s actually a prequel featuring the love story between Anthony Perini and Liberty’s new doctor, Mary Chance. Readers will certainly learn more about the town’s most mischievous preteen, Blossom Perini. And readers will learn more about the amusing “bad blood” between Liberty’s gun-toting matriarch, Theodora, and fluttery Ethel Lynn.

What is the biggest obstacle you have to overcome when you want to write?

Knowing when to stop and rest is the biggest obstacle. I get utterly caught up in the character’s lives. During the first 100 pages it’s easy to conduct a normal 9-to-5 routine. By page 250, all bets are off. I wake in the middle of the night with half of a scene spilling from my subconscious and hurry to my computer. Midway through dinner I leap up to scramble for pen and paper because I’ve suddenly solved a story problem. It becomes rather silly, but my children and fiancé are very understanding.

What are a few fun facts about your life?

I adopted my four children—a sibling group—from the Philippines when I was on the edge of middle age. I’ve always owned animals, including a gosling I raised after it’s mother was killed. I love to cook and garden.

After an unexpected divorce, I hid out for years raising my children and writing novel after novel. Then I mustered up the courage to try the dating site, Match, and found Barry. He’s the love of my life. It’s amusing for a couple of fifty-somethings to get engaged at a time when we’re sending six kids through college. Life is full of surprises.

Currently we’re selling our respective homes in northeast Ohio for the big move to Charleston, South Carolina in August. Which brings me to another fun fact: the Treasure Me plotline regarding freedwoman Justice Postell is loosely drawn from my own family history.

My late mother’s family is of French and English descent. My French ancestors arrived in Charleston not long after the Revolutionary War. The history is sketchy, but they may have been plantation owners. Given that, I’ve always wondered if I have black relatives I’ve never met. This question is dear to my heart because my adopted children are Filipino and questions of skin color were common around the dinner table when they were growing up. I tried to portray in Treasure Me that “family” has nothing to do with skin color and everything to do with finding people you love, and who will love you in return.

Where and how can your readers find out more about you and your upcoming books?

I’d be delighted if they’d follow me on  Twitter and visit my Blog.

Readers can find TREASURE ME on Amazon.

There's a copy of TREASURE ME today for one lucky commenter!