NINE DAYS - Christine Pisera Naman - One Free Book

Welcome, Christine. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.

I always start off trying to not write any of myself into my characters. I want them to be unique and original and usually nothing like myself. But so many times at the end of a novel, when I’m rereading I sometimes see a bit of myself peeking through.

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

When I was a young mom, I color coded my kids. My oldest son was blue, my daughter pink, and my younger son green. Everything they wore and had needed to match. Thank goodness as they grew so did I. lol.

When did you first discover that you were a writer?

I’ve always had an interest in writing. I began writing in the third grade. My first stories were about a chipmunk that lived under our back porch. I remember I loved to give him thoughts and feelings. But serious writing came much later as an adult with short stories about my every day experiences.

Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading.

I love to read anything. I am currently reading The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty. I am always in awe of other writers.

How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world?

You know, that’s great question because keeping sanity in our run, run world is difficult. I think what keeps me most sane is prayer. No matter how busy I am, I make sure to take a few moments to stop into church each day and say a prayer or two. Quiet, empty churches are special to me.

How do you choose your characters’ names?

Choosing character’s names can be difficult. First names are easier to choose than last names but after a little bit of juggling I can usually find first and last name that works.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

Being the mother to three wonderful people. Although I don’t really believe I had much to do with it, I hope I had a small hand in helping my kids become the great people they are.

If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?

The family dog. I’m loyal and loving.

What is your favorite food?

I love steak.

I do, too, but I don’t eat it as often as I used to. What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?

My greatest roadblock with writing is that I struggle to write when things in my own life aren’t calm. Sometimes I expect for all of my ducks to be in a row before I can sit and create. But, I push through and write anyway because let’s face it who’s ducks are all in a row? Certainly not mine.

Tell us about the featured book.

Without giving too much away, Nine Days is a short novel about one woman’s search for God’s Grace in her life. It’s a struggle that I think we all feel at some point in time. But it’s a book full of hope and faith.

Please give us the first page of the book.

People’s lives are like tiny boats floating along in great big seas. Some people’s lives float along smoothly, like it seems that lives should. These lives, for the most part, rock gently back and forth against gentle currents. Every once in a while, these lives encounter an obstacle that causes a ripple. This ripple stalls them or pushes them slightly off course, but never pushes them too far from their original path. They recover from the intrusion and proceed much like they were before. But other lives contain a defining moment, a moment that is big, a moment that doesn’t cause a ripple but a wave. This wave is not a gentle rolling wave, but rather a harsh, crashing, wave. It is a wave that knocks them down and rushes over them and strips them bare. When they are finally able to stagger to their feet, they look around to find that not only are they not the same, but the course before them is different from the one they faced before. It is also clear that this new course is their only choice.

The people with the first kind of lives, the lives that float, say things like “Life works out somehow” and “What will be, will be.” People’s lives that contain a wave—a moment that socks them in the stomach, say things like, “You never know where life will lead you” or “It can all change in a moment.” Until Mary Grace Mastrianni was thirteen years old, she had a floating kind of life and she believed that life worked out somehow. Three days after she turned thirteen, she found out differently and began saying, “It can all change in a moment.”

How can readers find you on the Internet?

My website christinepiseranaman.com will be up and running soon.

Thank you, Christine, for sharing your new book with us.

Readers, here’s a link to the book. By using it when you order, you help support this blog.
Nine Days: A Novel

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